The 5 Biggest Technology Trends In 2021 Everyone Must Get Ready For Now – Forbes

It might seem strange to be making predictions about 2021, when it’s far from certain how the remainder of 2020 is going to play out. No-one foresaw the world-changing events associated with this year, but one thing is clear: tech has been affected just as much as every other part of our lives.

Another thing that is clear is that today’s most important technology trends will play a big part in helping us cope with and adapt to the many challenges facing us. From the shift in order to working from home to new rules about how we meet and interact in public spaces, tech trends will be the driving force within managing the particular change.

In many ways, Covid-19 will act as a catalyst for a whole host of changes that were already on the cards anyway, thanks to our increasingly online and digital life. Things will just happen more quickly now, along with necessity (long acknowledged as the mother of invention) as the driving force. And should it be the case that – as particular US presidents have predicted – Covid-19 “magically disappears” – the particular changes it has brought about will not, as we will have learned to do a lot associated with things more efficiently and safely.  

Here’s my overview of how the major tech trend that I identified in my the majority of recent book Tech Trends in Practice , are likely to play away during the next year. Some will play their part in helping all of us to recover “normality” (whatever that will means), while some of them will make it easier for us in order to understand plus navigate the changed reality.

1 . Artificial Intelligence (AI)

AI is undoubtedly one of the biggest tech trends at the moment, and during 2021 it will become an even more valuable tool for helping us to interpret and understand the world around all of us. The volume of data we are collecting on healthcare, infection rates, and the success associated with measures we take to prevent the spread of infection will continue to increase. This means that machine learning algorithms will become better informed and increasingly sophisticated in the solutions they uncover for all of us.  

From computer vision systems monitoring the capacity of public areas to analyzing the particular interactions uncovered through contact tracing initiatives, self-learning algorithms will spot connections and insights that would go unnoticed by manual human analysis. They will help us predict demand for services through hospitals and other healthcare providers, and allow administrators in order to make better decisions regarding when plus where to deploy resources.

For business, the challenge will be to realize the changing patterns of customer behavior. More human activity will take place online – from shopping and socializing in order to virtual working environments, meetings, and recruitment. During 2021 we can expect the tools we use to analyze these behavioral shifts to turn out to be more sophisticated plus increasingly fit the budget and infrastructure requirements of a lot more and more organizations.

2. Robotics, Drones, and Vehicle Automation

As the quantity of passengers using general public transport fluctuates from week to 7 days, depending on local conditions, initiatives around self-driving vehicles will continue at an increasing pace. Driving efficiency across open public transport networks will be a priority for service providers as well as civic authorities, where reducing human being labor costs will help balance the uncertainty close to customer demand.

In recent years all of us have seen the emergence of robots in the particular care plus assisted living sectors, and these will end up increasingly important, particularly whenever it comes to interacting with members of society who are most vulnerable to contamination, such because the elderly. Rather than entirely replacing the human interaction with caregivers that is so important to many, we may expect robotic devices to be used to provide new channels of communication, such as access to 24/7 in-home assist, as nicely as to simply offer companionship in times when it may not become safe in order to be sending nursing staff into homes. Additionally, companies finding themselves with premises that, whilst empty, still require maintenance and upkeep, will turn to robotics companies for services such as cleaning and security. This activity has currently led to soaring stock prices for enterprises involved in supplying robots.

Drones will certainly be used to deliver vital medicine plus, equipped with computer vision methods, used to monitor footfall in public areas in order to identify places where there is an increased risk of viral transmission.

3. The As-A-Service Revolution

“As-a-service” – the provision of services that we need to live and work through cloud-based, on-demand platforms – is the key that has put the other tech trends we talk about today in reach of anybody. It’s the reason why AI and robotics are a possibility for just about any business or organization, regardless of their size or budget. Thanks to cloud offerings from businesses like Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and an ever-growing horde of startups and spinoffs, innovators within all fields can deploy cutting-edge technology with little upfront investment in tools, equipment or even specialized people.

As the ongoing pandemic rages around the world, we have clearly observed that companies that rely on cloud to provide scalable solutions as-a-service are usually prospering. Take Zoom, for example , which offers quickly become a household name thanks in order to the speed with which it was able to add servers plus increase its coverage and quality associated with service. This was due to its cloud-based nature and its partnerships with its own providers, that were able to rapidly increase capability to meet demand. In 2021 and beyond, this will be going to become increasingly essential and more possibilities will open up for everyone.  

4. 5G and enhanced connectivity

Faster and much more reliable internet doesn’t simply mean we can load webpages more quickly and spend less time waiting for videos to launch on Youtube. Each successive advance in mobile connectivity from 3G onwards provides unlocked new use cases for the internet. 3-G made web browsing plus data-driven solutions useful upon mobile devices, 4G resulted in the particular growth of streaming video and music platforms since bandwidths improved, and 5G, likewise, may open a lot more doors in terms of what is usually possible.

5G means that providers relying on advanced technologies like augmented reality and virtual reality (discussed below) as well because cloud-based gaming platforms like Google’s Stadia or NVidia’s GeForce Right now become a viable proposition, anywhere at any time. They also threaten to create cable plus fiber-based systems redundant, with their need for us to be tethered to a particular location.

In short, 5G and other advanced, high-speed networks make all of the other styles we discuss here available anywhere, any time. Complex machine learning applications relying upon real-time entry to Big Data sources can end up being conducted within the field, via automation. A great example is Norwegian fishery operator Salmar that will uses a 5G network in order to automate the care plus feeding associated with its fish . Image recognition algorithms are utilized to detect which fish are over or under-feeding, and automatically dispense food and medicine needed to keep them healthy. Initiatives like this will become increasingly important during 2021, where businesses look to increase automation across their workforces.

5. Extended Reality (XR) – Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR/MR).

These terms cover technology that uses glasses or headsets to project computer-generated imagery directly into the user’s field of vision. When it is superimposed more than what the user is viewing in the real world, it will be AR. And when it is used in order to place the user into an entirely computer generated environment, it really is VR.

During next year we can again expect to see these, in conjunction with the other trends discussed here, assisting within tackling challenges posed by the current world situation. Largely this will involve allowing us to avoid potentially dangerous situations where there could be a risk of viral transmission. For example, medical examinations and diagnosis can progressively be carried out remotely. A solution available to opticians allows eye tests to be able to be transported out entirely in VR, as high-definition cameras give a clear image of the patient’s eye. An AR tool then allows the customer to browse the particular range associated with glasses on offer and observe what they look like on their own face without having to leave their home.  

We will also see an increase in the use of VR and AR tools within education. This will reduce the need for all of us to work inside crowded classroom conditions – if not totally, then at least throughout areas and through times when it truly is known that tranny rates are high.

And as more data on the conditions and manner in which viral transmitting takes place becomes available, KVADRATMETER tools will be used to give out real-time warnings when we move through areas where the infection is known to have spread. Even simple steps like reminding us all to wash our hands whenever we touch a door handle in a public space or issuing an alert when a device senses that we possess touched our own face without washing the hands, can help to save lives and stop us spreading illness around the real-word environments we inhabit and move through.

Read more about these key trends : including plenty of real-world examples – within my new books,   Tech Trends used: The 25 Technologies That Are Driving The 4th Industrial Revolution   and  The particular Intelligence Trend: Transforming Your Business With AI .