We are now in the middle of the 4th Industrial Revolution and technology trends are changing more rapidly than ever before. Businesses and individuals who do not follow some of the big tech trends run the risk of being left behind. Recognizing the core trends will allow individuals and companies to plan and exploit opportunities to the max. We share with you in this article the seven inevitable developments that everyone should get ready for by 2020.
Blockchain
Blockchain is a technology phenomenon discussed extensively this year and yet if you discuss it in a non-tech-savvy business; you are still likely to get blank looks. However, 2020 could be the year when that changes. Blockchain is a distributed ledger used to document transactions but secured because of its decentralized and authenticated nature.
Several analysts began arguing during 2019 that the technology was over-hyped and maybe not as effective as first thought. Increased investment by giants likes FedEx, IBM, Walmart and Mastercard during 2019, however, is likely to start showing real-world results, and if they manage to prove their case, smaller players may quickly adapt in an increased proportion.
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is among the most revolutionary technological developments of our time. Most companies have begun to explore how they can use AI to enhance their user experience and streamline their company.
This might intensify through 2020, and humans can become increasingly used to playing alongside, the design and delivery of our AI-based systems will prove to be a costly option to most companies. However, many of the AI applications will continue to be produced by as-a-service platform providers that allow us to feed in our data and pay for the algorithms or resources as per our use.
We will see wider adoption during 2020 and an increasing pool of providers likely to start providing more tailor-made applications and services for specific or specialized tasks. This will ensure that no business will be left with any reasons for not using AI.
Autonomous Driving
While we are still not at the point when we can hope to ride regularly in, or even see, autonomous vehicles in 2020, it certainly continues to generate considerable excitement. Tesla Chief Elon Musk has already said that he expects his company to create a truly complete driverless car by this year and the number of cars capable of operating with a lower degree of autonomy – such as automatic braking and lane changing – will become an extremely common spectacle.
Other in-car systems that are not directly connected to driving, such as security and entertainment features, will also become more automated and rely on data capture and analytics. Google’s sister-company Waymo has just finished an autonomous taxi trial in California, where over 6200 people were transported during the first month. Of course, it will not just be vehicles – trucking and shipping are becoming more automated and throughout 2020, advancements in this sector are likely to persist to dominate the news.
5G Data Networks
The fifth generation of wireless internet access will provide us with extremely fast download and upload speeds and more secure connections. While 5 G mobile internet networks became available in 2019, they were quite limited and expensive to operate in urban environments or major cities. The year 2020 is expected to be the one where 5G starts operating, with data-plans that are more competitive as well as much expanded coverage, so everyone can join the fun.
Ridiculously fast data services cannot just give us the chance to stream high-quality movies, music and tv shows on the move. The significantly increase in speeds would make digital networks more accessible. Enterprises need to understand the market benefits of having insanely fast and secure access to the Internet. The expanded bandwidth would allow more data collection and storage by computers, robots, and autonomous vehicles than ever before, contributing to developments in the Internet of Things (IoT) and smart machinery sector.
Predictive Medicine
Technological advances in healthcare are at an incredible rate now. Our ability to track information from smart devices like smartwatches can give us the ability to detect and manage health problems in humans well before they show any signs. We shall see much more personalized strategies when it comes to healthcare. It is also referred to as precise medication that helps doctors to prescribe medications more precisely and administer procedures, thanks to a data-driven understanding of how beneficial they are likely to be for a particular procedure.
Albeit not a new concept, thanks to recent technological breakthroughs, particularly in the fields of genomics and AI, it gives us a better understanding of how the bodies of different individuals are better or even worse suited to battle diseases, as well as how they are likely to react to specific types of medication or treatment. All through 2020, we will see innovative and predictive healthcare technologies and the implementation of more personalized and treatment options to ensure better results for individual patients.
Extended Reality
Extended Reality (XR) is an umbrella term that covers many new and emerging technology trends used to create digital environments that are more realistic. This applies more explicitly to the interactive, augmented, and mixed reality. Such innovations have been around for some years now but it largely confines to the entertainment world.
With Procus PRO and Vive headsets offering the latest innovative technology in videogames, and smartphone apps such as camera filters and Go-style Pokemon games being the most obvious examples of AR’s. When companies get to grips with the abundance of interesting opportunities offered by both the latest XR forms, all of this is expected to change from 2020.
Digital and augmented reality for simulation and recreation will become widespread, as well as introducing new opportunities to interact with users.
Computer vision
In digital space, “vision” implies devices that are capable of identifying visual images, locations, events, or individuals–those captured by a camera or sensor. This mechanism allows your phone camera to identify which part of the image it captures is a face, and powers applications like Google Image Search.
An important factor to ponder over is how autonomous cars “think” and work their way through risk. Manufacturing plants will use computer vision cameras to look for faulty products or mechanical failures, and surveillance cameras will alert to anything out of the ordinary, with no 24/7 supervision needed.
Computer vision also provides for facial recognition, of which we will get to know more in 2020. In the scenario of Apple’s Face ID, we have seen how effective the system is in restricting access to our smartphones, and how it is used by airports to provide a seamless passenger ride.
Conclusion
Technological progress is now at a faster rate than seasonal technology trends forecasts can seem out-of-date before they even go live as a post or article published. When technology evolves, it makes for greater change and progress; allowing the rate of change to increase, until it finally becomes cumulative.
So, these are some of the technological trends listed by us. Feel free to share some of yours in the comment box if you find it interesting apart those listed above.
