No one could’ve predicted the start to this new decade would be, in simple terms, hectic. Covid-19 has impacted our lives in many ways and it has also impacted the tech industry. One thing this pandemic has done is to increase our use of technology to help us through the trying times. These technologies will help us learn more about Covid while also helping us move forward. 2021 is a year of promise for technology and today we’re going to go over five major trends heading into this new year.
Artificial Intelligence aka. AI is without a doubt a big part of our everyday lives and it continues to grow throughout the tech industry. AI allows us to use computer learning to detect patterns by collecting data from how often you use your phone to how many people visit a store. Data such as human traffic is very important right now because it shows us just how humans are operating and with the help of AI we can help to slow down the pandemic.
Robots, Drones and Vehicle Automation are things that are currently on the rise and for good reason. These three things help us in more ways than one such as factory work, healthcare and data collection. Robots aren’t exactly what you’d imagine from a terminator movie, but in fact something that is extremely useful. Robots can assist with healthcare officials who aren’t able to be with a patient 24/7 or elderly people who live all by themselves. We can also use them in factories to help build machines such as cars, airplanes, boats etc.
Drones give us a bird’s eye view, which is vital in these conditions we currently live in. We can monitor large groups or even provide therapy to people who need it. We have seen companies such as amazon make strides to using drones for deliveries. Vehicle Automation is something that is becoming very popular amongst car makers as we aim for more self driving cars. It can be used to help drivers stay in their lane, make hard turns or get into tight parking spots.
Cloud services are something that we use everyday without even knowing it and it’s incredibly vital to our current lifestyles. An example of a cloud service would be iCloud, Google drive etc, that allow you to store data on a virtual device without the need of big clunky equipment. The use of cloud services allows you to work virtually, from anywhere with all your data being stored there. A popular cloud-based service used during the pandemic was zoom, which allowed teachers and jobs to communicate virtually.
Advancements in internet speeds may seem like it would just give you faster load times and would probably sound gimmicky, but 5G will open the doors for many companies and machines to get more done that much quicker. AI, as discussed above, is something that serves to benefit from these faster speeds. Computer algorithms can process things much faster which would lead to quicker results which benefits everyone. Automation is becoming a big deal and with quicker internet speeds, production will only serve to increase.
Virtual Reality isn’t just something you can use for playing awesome video games, but something you can use to assist on just about anything. We have seen the use of VR in the medical field, where doctors can simulate an operation before they operate to yield better results. VR essentially simulates any situation you want and allows you to move about and look around. We have seen VR used to train people by simulating the environment they’re going to work in and the potential it has right now is amazing. The potential these technologies possess, makes it wonderful to look forward to the year 2021.