There have been many technological advances in recent years that have shaped how people live their daily lives. Just a decade ago the idea of driver-less electric cars and digital currencies seemed like something straight out of a movie. With the rapidly evolving pace of social, economic, and technological changes we are starting to see some of these ideas come to life. These technological changes open the door for many businesses to become profitable if they can spot and adapt quickly enough. Here is a list of the top 7 upcoming trends in technology:
Connectivity
Technology is already all around us, and in the near future, everything in our lives will become connected. Our work life and home life will become connected and even our environment will start to change. Everything will begin to converge into one connected experience from our music moving with us from our homes to our phones and then into our cars all without stopping to virtual assistants like Siri and Cortana guiding us through our day. This will all be possible with the combination of mobility, smart products, and the cloud.
Personal Mobility
People will eventually become mobile and the way transportation works will be altered. Instead of owning a car, you will be able to order one to pick you up and take you to your destination. Self-driving cars that are fully electric are already being tested. Tesla predicts that by 2020 there will be a car that is fully autonomous and passengers will be able to get in, fall asleep, and wake up at their destination. Computers and touch-screens in cars will become smarter and more personalized allowing users to have different operating systems as well as a wide range of apps.
3D Printing
The market for 3D printing is growing faster and faster. Shipments of 3D printers worldwide are expected to increase 98 percent in 2015. As the demand for 3D printing devices continues to grow the prices for these devices will decrease. Expect 3D printers to be more widely used in different industries such as biomedical and consumer applications. Businesses will find that 3D printing is a cost-effective solution that can improve designs and streamline prototyping. There is also a bigger variety of materials becoming available for printing, from different types of wax or plastic, ceramics, to metals like steel, brass, bronze, silver, gold, and platinum.
Increased Use of Drones
Drones, also called unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), are becoming a hot topic when it comes to trends in technology. Drones have a unique ability to perform certain tasks that humans cannot and can also be put into situations where human lives might be at risk. Some people do argue that drones pose a potential privacy threat because of their aerial capabilities and high-definition cameras. Drones are already being used across the country; UAVs guide students around MIT campus, they assisted in the Colorado flooding rescue efforts, and they were also used by the U.S. Coast Guard to make drug busts. Earlier in the year, Amazon revealed that they plan to have a drone delivery service in which they aim to deliver packages within 30 minutes. In order for drones to take off, the privacy issue needs to be addressed.
Smart Everything
More and more products will become “smart” in the future. Products like Google Glass and the Apple Watch are some of the first wearable technologies coming out and the variety of products will only increase. Smart products will be intelligent, connected to other devices, and also have the ability to sense, process, report, and take action. The Apple Watch has the ability to show your heart rate as well as make payments through Apple Pay. There won’t just be smart watches and clothing, but also buildings and homes as well as cities.
Cloud Computing
Cloud and mobile computing will continue to become one and there will be continued growth of major global cloud data centers. With more devices becoming connected to the internet, there will be more applications that are available on the cloud. Many businesses that are looking to innovate might begin to adopt a hybrid cloud solution that allows them to use a mix of on and off-premises software solutions for business processes, and give organizations the ability to achieve the performance of on-premises solutions, yet also the management convenience of the cloud business model. On top of this, businesses that use a number of Java applications are using vFunction (https://vfunction.com/) to help accelerate their journey to cloud-native architecture. As the cloud continues to be adopted, more developers will begin to develop for the cloud. However, with the adoption of the cloud in daily lives, especially in businesses, it becomes prudent to think about cloud data security. Cloud data security can help businesses to avoid suffering from a disaster during cyberattacks. However, for ensuring the safety of data in the cloud data centers, businesses might need to consider vulnerability management services. Such services provide regular threat reporting, reduce IT risks, and offer security and protection against a threat to business data.
The “Zero Concept”
As more products become more advanced and integrated with smart technology we will start to see companies trying to innovate products to become as close to perfect as possible. The future will be focused on autonomous cars that produce zero emissions, have zero accidents, and zero fatalities. Copenhagen, Denmark wants to become the first carbon neutral capital of the world by replacing coal with biomass, adding more wind and solar electricity to the grid, upgrading energy-guzzling buildings, and by luring residents onto bikes and public transit.
We are already seeing many of these trends beginning to start gaining traction and with the pace that technology is evolving at, we may start to see these trends become standard faster than we think. Soon autonomous fully electric cars may be the norm as well as drones that deliver packages to your doorstep shortly after you order them.
As technology continues to expand and become part of everything we do, it is important to stay ahead of the curve. If you are interested in learning more about the field of technology, please visit Eastern Michigan University’s College of Technology. Eastern Michigan University is located in Ypsilanti, Michigan 35 miles west of Detroit. EMU is comprised of seven colleges, including the College of Education and College of Technology, and enrolls more than 23,000 students.
We would love to hear what you think about the upcoming trends in technology or if you have any trends that you think will emerge in the near future, so leave us a comment below!