Last year, we outlined the key trends that would shape the year through disruptive technologies and business models. While they continue to influence the decisions that businesses make, in 2019 there are a host of new considerations to be aware of. Here, D/SRUPTION's Laura Cox and Sarah Finch list nine important developments that are becoming fundamental to businesses around the world over the coming year. Web 3.0 refers to the next iteration of the internet. It will use technology to capitalise on interactivity, propelling the internet away from keywords and towards smarter search.

Disruptive technology trends determine the way the new year will be shaped. They will accelerate and transform many industries at a rapid pace throughout the year. They will shape the world and the future and will be present on the horizon of business owners and investors alike. The intelligent digital mesh is going to include interconnected humans, robots, devices, content, and services all driven by digital transformation. Disruptive technology trends are going to propel the future where technology innovation leaders must evolve and change at the same pace of the trends they must embrace.

When we think about technology, we often think about physical devices that are electrical or digital. In fact technology encompasses far more than that. The dictionary definition refers to Technology as, "methods, systems, and devices which are the result of scientific knowledge being used for practical purposes." As we look to the year ahead tech disruption will be driven as much by the methods and systems as it is by the devices we associate with tech disruption. It's impossible to predict exactly which trends will become the most disruptive over the course of 2018.

When we think about technology, we often think about physical devices that are electrical or digital. In fact technology encompasses far more than that. The dictionary definition refers to Technology as, "methods, systems, and devices which are the result of scientific knowledge being used for practical purposes." As we look to the year ahead tech disruption will be driven as much by the methods and systems as it is by the devices we associate with tech disruption. It's impossible to predict exactly which trends will become the most disruptive over the course of 2018.

A lot can happen in a year. At the start of 2017 I highlighted 15 disruptive technology trends I expected to see in 2017. As we start 2018 I thought it would be interesting to look back over the last 12 months to see what progress has been made. . . Whilst the use of industrial robots for manufacturing is nothing new, 2017 saw a growth in organisations implementing industrial robots alongside their human colleagues. These lightweight plug and play systems, offer huge flexibility, and with an average cost of around £18,000 are a growing part of the industry.

What will be the biggest and most disruptive technology trends of 2018? We talk to industry experts to find out. We expect 2018 to be a big year for the development and roll-out of second generation hardware for VR/AR such as the Oculus Go and Magic Leap's Mixed Reality headset – set to be better, lighter and cheaper than ever before," says Aurelien Simon, Head of Immersive, Digital Catapult. Just as importantly, however, there will also be increased buy-in from the creative industries in terms of immersive content production: "We've seen huge strides in creative content over 2017 and I expect this push for quality over quantity to continue next year. Big production studios are likely to increase their interest and presence in the VR space, while VR games production looks to take a step forward with hotly anticipated games like Doom and Fallout 4 released in VR." Trisa Thompson, Chief Responsibility Officer at Dell Technologies also believes that we'll be donning our AR headsets in 2018 as the technology becomes ubiquitous and increasingly integrates with our daily routines. But over the next year, VR and AR will cogently bring world issues into our personal reality. Time, money, and geography will no longer be inhibitors to experiencing a different environment, community or perspective."

There is no doubt that 2016 was a breakthrough year for some of the technologies we have been watching. AI, VR, AR, Chatbots, self-driving cars all took significant leaps forward in terms of their practical applications and adoption, taking many by surprise. It is definitely true to say that the robots are no longer coming- they are here, and they are taking jobs. Rates of innovation and adoption will not slow down in 2017, so we've pulled together the key emerging technology trends to watch and plan for. One thing is for certain in 2017, whether you work in strategy, risk management, operations, start-ups, R&D or marketing, you need to be abreast of the potential of disruptive digital technologies which are no longer purely the realm of the CIO or CTO.

That company, the'secretive' Magic Leap has yet to showcase any of the Mixed Reality platform it is working on, but in the meantime Microsoft has opened up it's MR platform for developers and we expect to see some fruit in 2017. Self teaching Robots have been one of the breakthroughs of 2016 as we have seen more examples of bot to bot communication in which one machine shares its learning with another, and deep learning based networks which robots can tap into and teach themselves.