A lot of money is being invested in the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence but that doesn't mean some businesses don't see those two as being a bit overhyped. Various IoT markets show great promise, but behind all the promise is the challenge of the delivery matching expectations. Certain IoT markets are perceived to be more important than others, according to the new annual survey of 1,500 telecommunications industry professionals conducted by Telecoms Intelligence.

Consumers have spent a considerable chunk of change on smart audio devices, but it's nothing compared to what's coming. Revenue from smart audio devices like Amazon Echo and Google Home will reach $2.5 billion this year, according to a new forecast from Juniper Research. However, that number will rise to more than $10 billion by 2022, growing 33% a year along the way.

Robots are starting to get a workout, at least in some educational circles. An AI-powered robot in China recently passed the national medical licensing exam, the first known robot to have done so. The robot was designed to capture and analyze patient information and scored well above the required mark on its test.

Marketers are looking to artificial intelligence in a big way. AI is the leading technology that marketers expect to grow the most over the next two years, based on a new, large study. Marketers e

Worldwide spending on the Internet of Things is moving from the billions to more than $1 trillion. IoT spending this year will hit $674 billion and then grow 14% a year to pass $1 trillion in three years, according to the new forecast from International Data Corporation (IDC). By 2021, IoT spending is forecast to reach $1.1 trillion.

Consumers are finding plenty of devices to interact with in their homes these days. Despite the proliferation of devices ranging from smart speakers and virtual reality headsets, the smart VT still is the most used interface in the home for video viewing, based on a new study. The home entertainment device market is consolidating around the smart TV, according to the study by Parks Associates.

The machines are coming, and more businesses plan to tap them in hopes of improving customer experiences. Customer experience improvements are part of the digital transformations underway in many businesses and machine-based technologies are a key part of those intended improvements, based on a new study. The majority (60%) of companies rate improving customer experience when implementing a digital transformation strategy as 'very important.' In North America, it's even higher (76%), according to the study.

It may be slow in coming, but money from virtual and augmented reality is on the way. In the short term, consumer VR leads, but augmented reality is on track to eventually blow by it. Consumer VR will grow from $1.6 billion last year to $11.5 billion in 2021, according to a new VR and AR revenue forecast by Artillry Intelligence. Meanwhile, consumer augmented reality is projected to grow from $975 million last year to $15.8 billion within four years.

Headphones used to be relatively simple. Though varying by size or type, headphones essentially were used by consumers to listen to music. That was before they were smart. Smart headphones link to the intelligence from a smartphone, pushing that headphone market into the billions of dollars, based on a new report by Tractica.