Five Technologies To Keep An Eye On In 2021
COVID-19 has changed how we live and work forever. 2020 has presented challenges that will shape the next decade. But, technology change continues to accelerate.
We’ve made a prediction for the 5 technologies which will see big advances in 2021.
Social Distancing & Contact Tracing Technologies
Businesses returning to work will need to design for the wellbeing of their customers and employees. Minimising employee interactions will limit exposure, and limit any potential spread of the virus.
Employee expectations will also change. Contactless everything will be the new expectation.
Some of the technologies being rolled out in workplaces will include:
Bluetooth contact tracing
Remote collaboration
Employee density management
Real-time employee notifications
Intelligent seating algorithms
Digital ID & Health Passports
A clear defence in the fight against COVID-19 will be the development of a vaccine. It’s likely that international travel into some countries will require immunisation similar to the Yellow Fever vaccine.
Digital identities are made for this type of credential. They deliver trust and convenience whilst enabling contactless identity transactions.
Passport tokenisation, Digital identity, and Digital health passports will go a long way towards getting everyone travelling again.
The two mobile operating systems and wallets are the key players to watch here.
Digital Twins
Digital twins are virtual replicas of physical devices that data scientists and IT pros can use to run simulations before actual devices are built and deployed. They are also changing how technologies such as IoT, AI and analytics are optimized. — NetworkWorld
Digital Twins allow us to model physical systems and ask hypothetical questions.
How would farm irrigation perform with increased water pressure?
How would the postal system handle a sustained increase in online sales?
With increasing adoption of ML, IoT, and 5G, we see this becoming an increasingly important skill.
5G
5G is the newest mobile network technology. Like 4G before it, 5G has the potential to make our lives more intelligent, more reliable, and more efficient.
Mainstream adoption by Apple and Google devices will accelerate the rollout of 5G networks worldwide in 2021. But 5G will also have flow-on benefits for technologies such as IoT and edge computing.
Sensor Tech & Mobility
2021 will see an advance in the application of sensor technology. iPhone 12 recently brought lidar to mobile devices and is already showing exciting promise.
Companies like Tesla continue to advance their image processing, 3D sensing and autonomous driving capabilities.
Like 5G, Sensing technologies will also aid technologies such as IoT which will consume the improved data provided.
New opportunities will arise from increased sensor data. Combined with emerging needs such as workplace social distancing there will be an increasing demand for deep analysis & insights.
We’re excited to see what 2021 brings.