The shape of wings to come

Holographic contact lenses and brain links on way too

- EMMELINE SAUNDERS

IMAGINE waking up in the year 2075, not to a blaring alarm but to simulated sunlight and artificial birdsong in sync with your circadian rhythm.

Instead of checking messages on your phone, holographic contact lenses display all the information you need.

Turning to your wardrobe, you pick out an outfit that can give instant updates on your health thanks to tiny sensors woven into the fabric.

Your fridge already knows how many calories you need for the optimal breakfast, and your humanoid helper prepares your meal. They then call you a personal drone to fly you to work.

Once there, you plug your brain into a shared server - no more wading through endless emails trying to find a spreadsheet, colleagues can ping figures instantly, using thought control.

To some, this sounds like a hi-tech paradise. To others, a dystopian nightmare. But it is not some outlandish plot to a new sci-fi drama, it is a vision of the future that is closer than you might think, says UK-based futurologist Tracey Follows.

She says people always ask her when there will be flying cars - as seen in 1989 movie Back to the Future Part II, starring Michael J Fox.

And Tracey says: "I tell them, look at what drones can do already: everything from ferrying around medical supplies in war-torn areas to, in Ireland, delivering a hot cup of coffee.

"Vertical takeoff and landing is the next big thing - in Dubai they're already rolling them out.