Methodology
How we score readiness
Every capability gets a 0–100 Technology Readiness Score built from six weighted dimensions. The model is deliberately simple so you can argue with it.
These are editorial assessments
FutureReady scores are indicative editorial judgements made by people reading public evidence — product documentation, regulatory filings, independent testing and hands-on use. They are not measurements, not peer-reviewed, and not a substitute for your own evaluation. Where we mark a capability as a seed assessment, it has not been independently verified at all.
The six dimensions
Each dimension is scored 0–100, then combined using the weights below.
Technical capability
25%Does the underlying technology fundamentally work, even in ideal conditions?
Reliability
20%Does it work repeatably in messy real-world conditions, without babysitting?
Accessibility
15%Can an ordinary person actually obtain it and use it without specialist skill?
Affordability
15%Is the total cost realistic for the person or business who wants the outcome?
Autonomy
10%How much of the task completes end-to-end without human intervention?
Regulatory & practical availability
15%Is it legal, supported and purchasable in most major markets today?
Status bands
- Not Yet0–27
Largely unsolved. Demos exist, useful everyday outcomes do not.
- Experimental28–49
Real progress in labs, pilots or early hardware. Not something to rely on.
- Works With Limitations50–69
Genuinely usable, but with caveats, supervision or narrow conditions.
- Ready Now70–84
Works well for most people today, if you buy the right thing and set it up.
- Mainstream85–100
Widely available, affordable and boring in the best possible way.
What the score is not
It is not a safety rating, a purchase recommendation, or a prediction of when something will arrive. A high score means the outcome is achievable today for a typical person or business in a major market — not that every product claiming it works.
It is also global-average by design. Regulatory availability in particular varies enormously by country, and a capability that is Ready Now in one market may be unavailable in yours.
Review cadence
Each capability carries a last-reviewed date. Fast-moving areas are revisited more often. If you think a score is wrong, use the “Score seem wrong?” control on any capability page — informed disagreement is the point of publishing the model.
Read more about who we are on the About page.