With the New Year already underway, there’s a lot of speculation around as to what the most popular trends are going to be in the technology community. So here are 7 tips as to what we might expect to see. For a change, we thought we’d throw in a little more consumer than usual … more to come for corporate tech in our upcoming SlideShare presentation.
#1: Wearable Technology
So called “Smartwear” is already in in existence in the professional sports world, and we’ll see it exploding onto the commercial scene in a big way in 2014. It’s already around in limited ways – take Nike for example, whereby you can pair up your Nike Running Shoes with your iPod, set targets, monitor targets, set your running music choice, monitor your performance, and share with others via your laptop. We’re talking about other items of smart apparel too such as:
- The LED Mood Sweater
– the LEDs wired into the garment change color to fit your need - Signal Vest – Monitors heartbeat, blood pressure and manages perspiration and body odor
- Smart Wristband – Monitors calorie and nutrition intake, stress levels, sleep, and exercise
Of course, we have all heard of Google Glass by now and this is due for release this year too. However, saying that, speculation surrounds the potential privacy issues around the project, especially given that it’s rumored to be able to take a photo with the wink of an eye.
#2: Local Information Explosion
Taking into account events such as location tracking, big data, and smart wearables, we’re likely to see an explosion of the availability of live information regarding people, places and things happening in any localized area, so says the CEO of SocialRadar, Michael Chasen.
By integrating services such as Twitter with its “Nearby” feature, and Apple with its “iBeacon” feature, you’ll be able to tell who is tweeting down the street from you and who is buying something in the store across the road. You can walk into a pub or bar and know who’s around you and how you’re connected to them. Big Brother goes social!
#3: 3D Printing
In 2013, 3D printing remained on the edges of mainstream activity, but with some of the larger players, notably HP, launching their own products in 2014, it is expected that this will lead to a greater uptake of industrial 3-D printing by many more businesses. The new breed of industrial printers produce better 3-D images, less expensive and faster, and it is expected that more businesses will at least prototype the new technology, leading to an even larger uptake possible in 2015.
The benefits of 3D to manufacturers is plain. Not only can they make cheap prototypes before going into production, but this means that any initial issues with the product can be ironed out without costing a fortune. Add to this how it could be used to visualize architectural designs, and even smart homes and cities, and 3D printing is definitely something we’ll be seeing a lot more of in the future. This is especially true as prices are dropping swiftly, making the technology accessible to a much wider market.
#4: The Internet of Things
The Internet of things (IoT) is going to be one of the fastest-growing phenomenon as an industry over the next few years. While it will take some time to impact on people’s private lives, industry will flock to take advantage of the IoT as soon as they possible can; especially in view of the immense power, and in return cost savings, that IoT technology can make available.
According to Business Insider, the IoT market will be “massive”. At the moment, there are around 1.9bn devices in use and this is predicted to rise to 9bn by 2018. This “will be roughly equal to the number of smartphones, smart TVs, tablets, wearable computers, and PCs combined”.
Smart homes are already becoming more popular and it’s likely that we could see every aspects of our lives capable of being controlled via technology.
Image Credits
By Tedeytan (Flickr) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
By Eva Wolf (http://airwolf3d.com) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
By Welleman (Own work) [CC-BY-2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5), GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons
By Original work: Microsoft This work: FleetCommand (Original work: Windows XP This work: Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
By Libron (Own work) [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons
By ??? [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GPL (http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons
William Thompson
William Thompson is the Marketing Manager at Power Admin, a server monitoring software business in the Kansas City area. You can find him on Google+ and Twitter. William has been a professional in website design, digital marketing and 3D/graphic design for over 20 years.