South by Southwest Interactive showcases some of the world’s best innovations among a hodgepodge of beer and barbecue every year. This time around, Google’s Captain of Moonshots (yes, that’s a real title) used his keynote address to explain the less than stellar reception of Google Glass. Following the keynote, most of the tech displayed at the festival was something else altogether. It seems more than ever that we’re in a future that makes science fiction seem like a reality. Here’s the tech from SXSW that got us most excited:
Flying cars!
It’s time to get off the roads and into the sky. AeroMobil revealed a prototype that could be taking flight by 2017. While the hybrid vehicle tops out at 99 mph on land, the company says it’ll do around 124 mph up in the clouds. Not a bad way to get from point A to B.
Meerkat is top dog
Meerkat is a pretty straightforward app that got a lot of attention at this year’s SXSW. The app, which live-streams video over Twitter, has already been used for many practical purposes such as viewing apartments and broadcasting events. Meanwhile, the app has more entertaining uses, such as when legendary skateboarder Tony Hawk live streamed an impromptu bowl session. The celeb athlete streamed himself shredding up an empty pool.
Watching your brain have a foodgasm
GE showed off some awesome culinary innovations at its SXSW Barbecue Research Center. That included a headset which allowed SXSW attendees to watch their brainwaves as they scarfed down delicious food. GE also had a gargantuan experimental smoker on display and an interactive food chemistry lab run by Josh Bousel from Serious Eats. Science aside, the food looked pretty darn delicious.
The best tech from 2015
The tech from SXSW this year has been nothing short of mindblowing. While we didn’t feature every single innovation, there’s so much more to see. 2015 has been a great tech year so far (take a look for yourself) and we can’t wait to see what else is in store.
