“The technology you use impress no one, the experience you create it with it is everything.” (Sean Gerety)
Technology and innovation are two things which when one is observing, they tend to get boring because well there isn’t usually much to observe except for those occasional pangs of brilliance which occur once in a blue moon.
The only true way to understand the phenomenon of Technology and innovation is by thinking back to the innovations that were made tens of years ago and observe how they are going to make breakthrough in the coming years.
1. Big Data gets to work
We have a hunch that you have already gotten tired of hearing about big data at almost every technical forum but the truth is, Big Data is here to stay. In 2010, Search Giant Google’s Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt gave a figure of five Exabyte. Schmidt said that this is the amount of data the world generates every two days. Come, 2014, this amount has doubled and will increase exponentially as wearable devices become common and information gathering would increase all the more.
It is being speculated that next year big technology firms like Intel and IBM would start integrating this immense amount of data into powerful decision-making tools.
2. Artificial intelligence
All this huge amount of data is not only revolutionizing how computers are operating but there are people working on importing these characteristics of human thinking into silicon chips. Artificial Intelligence is no longer a thing of the past. There have been many breakthroughs in this field in the past two years. A computer programmer named Eugene Groostman was able to beat the Turing Test. Beating the Turing Test means that a human was fooled into believing that he was talking to some other human when in actuality he was communicating with a man-designed program.
3. Robots with us
In the year 2015, changes have been expected in the robotics department. Many manufacturers are currently working in introducing robots which will work in close proximity with humans in the same workspace. Companies like Rethink Robots and Universal Robots are currently striving to put this innovation forward.
4. Nanotech and material sciences
2014 was the year of medicinal breakthroughs as nanocages were formed which were able to deliver cancer-killing medicine at a molecular level and effectively (in theory) eliminate cancer from the human body. Another breakthrough was the discovery of meta-materials which deformed to hide objects from human touch. In the following year, we can expect new breakthroughs in nanotechnology which would then be integrated with present day applications.
5. Batteries and no more wires
The next major breakthrough is in terms of battery manufacturers. Most gadget manufacturers have come to the conclusion that in order to deal with the limitations of present-day batteries, they need to manufacture bigger batteries which have bigger storage capacity. Another way around it is to reduce the electricity consumption by creating efficient components.
Reports have been coming in about various companies and institutes working on creating different batteries which would be cheap and hold more power. Earlier in 2014, we got the report that the National Institute of Standards and Technology was working on creating a battery developed on alternative components which included a sodium-based complex metal hydride. Similarly there have been reports about companies working on solid-state battery technology.
As we wait for batteries to grow and advance, we also await the trend of wireless charging. There have been reports coming in that Intel has formulated a charging mechanism which utilizes magnetic resonance technology.
6. Flexible displays
Curved screens have finally stopped being a dream in the pipeline. As LG’s curved HDTV, Samsung’s Gearfit and a flexible HDTV (went on sale in August 2014 in Korea) people soon began realizing the endless potential that flexible screens have. There is hope that in the year 2015 there could be the manufacturing of customer grade flexible display.
Reports have come in, that, currently Intel is striving towards shrinking components and giving them wireless display through their WiDi technology which would allow the components to work in concert with flexible screens. Corning (the company behind the manufacturing of the standard Gorilla Glass) has also unveiled that they have a strong and flexible glass ready to ship out.
Conclusion
As the New Year dawns upon us, we hope and pray that the innovations of this year make striding breakthroughs. The future of technology is quite promising and we believe some extraordinary discoveries will come forward in the next year.
“Computer technology is so built into our lives that it’s part of the surround of every artist.” (Steven Levy)
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