When the clock struck 12 in 2000, it was beyond one’s imagination that the fictional robot of Iron man or airborne robot prediction by Jetson of 1960’s TV show would become a reality. A ton has changed in the last two decades, especially between 2010 and 2020.
The astronomical rise of mobile usage, deep penetration of mobile apps (Tinder, Uber, Airbnb, and Instagram) in daily lives and personal assistants like- Siri and Alexa have made the world fit into our palms didn’t exist even a decade back.
The roaring 20’s baby has brought driverless vehicles, robots as the round the clock companion, gene editing, universal translator, and quantum computing to the table. The next decade expected to witness enormous changes in the tech trends, but it doesn’t mean these technologies are left behind. The technologies such as AI, AR, VR, autonomous vehicles, IoT, cloud computing, and robotics are at the cusp of maturity that will remain a game-changing trend in the next decade with new opportunities and benefits. Also, the new wave of tech trends is advancing and expanding at scale.
Here are the top 8 technology trends that stand at the intersection of innovation, usability, and human-centricity:
- Artificial intelligence
The machines have become smart with embedded intelligence and expected to surpass human intelligence leveraging machine learning, deep learning, and NLP technologies. The increased availability of these intelligent algorithms and tools on cloud or as open-source and the reduced price of ML chips will make nearly every device- intelligent, be it a kids’ toy.
With the rise of AI as a Service platform, the AI machines will work as cognitive collaborators to employees of various industry verticals, which in turn, increase the employee’s efficiency and outcome by manifolds.
- Chatbots and robots
The voice interfaces like- Alexa, Siri, and chatbots integration allow the people to communicate with the machine by typing or speaking the query. The chatbots packed with NLP capabilities work great in understanding the user’s context and respond by collecting the data and connecting the dots, which personalizes the interaction.
The robot will turn into cobots (Collaborative robots) with technology progress as the robots becoming more intelligent with continuous self-learning and able to accomplish the tasks without human intervention.
- Internet of things- Connecting the unconnected things!
With an impressive surge in the number of digital devices and smart objects, and the availability of 5G networks, everything can be connected and collect and transmit the data at the flick of a switch. Leveraging the capability of the technology to connect people, processes, and machines, places like- home, office, buildings, and cities are turning smarter where everything can connect, communicate, and act smartly.
- Augmented reality- a new immersive reality
Augmenting computer-generated multimedia, be it audio, video, and image on a real-world object enhances the reality and transmogrify the users with a composite view. This technology is adding a new dimension to every industry where it’s leveraged, and a marginal difference experienced in engaging, enthralling, and captivating the users.
In addition to augmented reality, virtual reality and mixed reality embraced to craft the digitally extended reality and deliver immersive experiences.
- Wearable to improve human performance
As a part of human augmentation, wearable technology leveraged to enhance human capabilities both cognitively and physically. Presently, wearables are available in various forms, such as a smartwatch, smart glass, smart shoes, smart belt, and pretty more. They are designed and embedded with sensors based on the use cases. For instance, in the mining industry, smart glass is provided to the employees to improve safety.
- Big data analytics
The devices, processes, and people in the organization are spilling petabytes of data. With technological advancements, organizing the enormously complex data stored in silos, and driving the insights out of it, is a task of a couple of seconds.
Now, the analytics tools are powered by AI technology to quickly make sense of the data and track the variations to make proactive decisions in a couple of seconds.
- Cloud computing
Big data is stored on several computers and accessed through the internet for easy and quick access. The edge computing takes cloud computing to a whole new level where content collection, information processing, and content distribution takes place right on the smart device (Robots, drones, autonomous vehicles, and operational systems).
It was explored for IoT systems to bring a certain level of autonomy through distributed and disconnected capabilities on these edge devices.
- Blockchain- the new kid on the block
Saying it’s impossible to put a dent in the system or processes’ security won’t be an overstatement with blockchain. The distributed ledger stores, authenticates, shares, and protects the records in a secure manner, which makes it impossible for the fraudsters to even access the data without having permission.
Now, the Blockchain technology used globally industry-wide to revolutionize the way transactions conducted and data stored.
The final words
At the beginning of 2020, the world has witnessed a slew of opportunities and challenges amidst an economic downturn and exponential tech growth. It seems to embrace new technology trends that help the industries to sail through the boat effortlessly and remain competitive in the market for the next decade. Don’t resist the change as jumping on the digital transformation bandwagon will make your business processes, operations, and offerings future-proof. All the best!
