With new ideas innovation continuing to drive Cambridge's businesses, Stephen Hodsdon – a partner, patent and trade mark attorney in the Cambridge office of J A Kemp – considers what engineering and IT fields may lead the way in 2019. It is a well-known statistic that Cambridge produces significantly more patent applications per head than any other area of the UK and this shows little sign of decreasing. As a patent attorney, this is of course unsurprising, but it doesn't happen by accident. The diversity of Cambridge-based innovation makes it hard to pick even a selection of sectors which will lead the way in 2018. However, gazing into my crystal ball (sadly neither real nor, as far as I can determine, a Cambridge invention), here are a few thoughts on the areas that could drive 2019's innovation output.