Your Favorite Technology That Didn't Come To Pass

I do some automation work on the side and there is a fairly large market for home and commercial automation already, and it is growing. There are a number of large vendors that do in fact supply everything from HVAC thermostats to AV receivers (as well as lighting, home theaters, touchpanels, etc), though I have never seen a request for a smart refrigerator (granted I haven't been doing this for long). Standards would be nice, but most projects buy their automation equipment from a single vendor (which have their own protocols), and communication with consumer devices (TVs, projectors, etc) is usually done with IR bugs and learning equipment, or if we're lucky, with serial connections.

It's still cost prohibitive for most consumers, but as with anything else tech the costs are only going down. Until then, there are plenty of rich guys that want to control their houses from their iPads!

OK, they are a bit expensive and don't work quite as well, but they do exist.

Flying Car [terrafugia.com]

Personal Jet Pack [martinjetpack.com]

Robot Maid [irobot.com]

Automated House [smarthome.com]

Computer Teacher [cbtcafe.com]

Underwater City [michaelbehar.com]

Pill Food [military.com]