2010 Trends – A Roadmap for the Future: The trends map has 16 lines
representing everything from society & culture to news & media.
There are also 5 time zones representing 2010-2050, so everything that
falls outside the central zone (zone 1) is obviously a prediction. The
key mega trends on the map are: Ageing; Power shift Eastwards;
Globalisation; Localisation; Digitalisation; Personalisation;
Volatility; Individualism; Environmental change; Sustainability; Debt;
and Urbanisation. Some of the predictions include: All televised sport
becomes short-format; Epidemic of new disorders caused by uncensored use
of digital devices; Turkey, Iran and Mexico become key powers; Online
communities gather offline to start physical communities; The robot
population surpasses the human population; Brain holidays;
Communications free resorts; People attending online funerals; and The
appearance of laboratory grown meat in supermarkets.
https://goo.gl/tZsUsT
See the roadmap at 2010 Trends - Roadmap
http://toptrends.nowandnext.com/2009/12/30/2010-trends-a-roadmap-for-the-future/
Showing posts with label technologies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label technologies. Show all posts
Tuesday, 27 June 2017
Friday, 12 February 2016
India’s digital transformation
The country can only derive the digital dividend of faster growth, more jobs and better services by expanding affordable Internet access to all/
There is little doubt that China has stolen a march on India when it comes to leveraging the Internet. Of the top 20 Internet companies in the world, 13 are American, five are Chinese, with one each for Japan and the United Kingdom. Alibaba, China’s largest e-commerce company, has a market capitalisation that is 25 times higher than that of Flipkart, the largest e-commerce company in India.
Why did India, which has had the remarkable achievement of being the largest exporter of information technology services and skilled manpower among developing countries, fall behind China in digitally transforming its economy? Is it now making a comeback? The World Bank’s recently released World Development Report (WDR) ‘Digital Dividends’ provides some answers.
The WDR finds that digital technologies have spread rapidly throughout much of the world, but their digital dividends — the broader development benefits from using these technologies — have lagged behind. In many instances digital technologies have boosted growth, expanded opportunities, and improved service delivery. Yet their aggregate impact has fallen short and is unevenly distributed.
The report argues that for digital technologies to confer their full benefit on society, it is vital to close the digital divide, especially in Internet access. But greater digital adoption will not be enough. To get the most out of the digital revolution, countries also need to work on its “analogue complements” — by strengthening regulations that ensure competition among businesses, by adapting workers’ skills to the demands of the new economy, and by ensuring that government institutions and others are accountable.
Read the center page article
There is little doubt that China has stolen a march on India when it comes to leveraging the Internet. Of the top 20 Internet companies in the world, 13 are American, five are Chinese, with one each for Japan and the United Kingdom. Alibaba, China’s largest e-commerce company, has a market capitalisation that is 25 times higher than that of Flipkart, the largest e-commerce company in India.
Why did India, which has had the remarkable achievement of being the largest exporter of information technology services and skilled manpower among developing countries, fall behind China in digitally transforming its economy? Is it now making a comeback? The World Bank’s recently released World Development Report (WDR) ‘Digital Dividends’ provides some answers.
The WDR finds that digital technologies have spread rapidly throughout much of the world, but their digital dividends — the broader development benefits from using these technologies — have lagged behind. In many instances digital technologies have boosted growth, expanded opportunities, and improved service delivery. Yet their aggregate impact has fallen short and is unevenly distributed.
The report argues that for digital technologies to confer their full benefit on society, it is vital to close the digital divide, especially in Internet access. But greater digital adoption will not be enough. To get the most out of the digital revolution, countries also need to work on its “analogue complements” — by strengthening regulations that ensure competition among businesses, by adapting workers’ skills to the demands of the new economy, and by ensuring that government institutions and others are accountable.
Read the center page article
Tuesday, 9 February 2016
The World Wide Mind
In 15 years time, technology could enable a mind to search for, or “Google” for, the answer to any question, information about which, or the solution, is available in connected minds across the world.
Mind reading and thought control could be creepy topics. On the one hand, they conjure up images of black magic where adepts can look into a victim’s mind and then hurt him or otherwise control his behaviour without his knowledge, and on the other hand, we remember Pink Floyd and their defiant call to evade thought control in the classroom. Even Uri Geller’s celebrated demonstrations of bending spoons by thought, in the 1970s, was viewed very suspiciously by the scientific community. In fact this whole business of reading and controlling the mind is seen as being based on superstitions and beyond the reach of the science and technology that is taught in our schools.
But strangely enough, today, there is a bioinformatics company, Emotiv, that sells commercial mind reading equipment starting at $350 and the OpenBCI initiative (where BCI stands for Brain Computer Interface) manufactures equipment that allow students to build thought-controlled robots!
What kind of volte face in the technology community can turn a superstition into consumer product?
Read the post
Mind reading and thought control could be creepy topics. On the one hand, they conjure up images of black magic where adepts can look into a victim’s mind and then hurt him or otherwise control his behaviour without his knowledge, and on the other hand, we remember Pink Floyd and their defiant call to evade thought control in the classroom. Even Uri Geller’s celebrated demonstrations of bending spoons by thought, in the 1970s, was viewed very suspiciously by the scientific community. In fact this whole business of reading and controlling the mind is seen as being based on superstitions and beyond the reach of the science and technology that is taught in our schools.
But strangely enough, today, there is a bioinformatics company, Emotiv, that sells commercial mind reading equipment starting at $350 and the OpenBCI initiative (where BCI stands for Brain Computer Interface) manufactures equipment that allow students to build thought-controlled robots!
What kind of volte face in the technology community can turn a superstition into consumer product?
Read the post
Friday, 5 February 2016
Here are some bizarre futuristic technologies that we can expect by 2030
Futurist Ray Kurzweil predicts that in our lifetime, we will experience 20,000 years of progress, based on how fast technology advances and affects human life. Experts say that in the next 20 years alone, we will experience more changes than in all of human history.
Anti-Aging Treatments (Extension of Human Life)
Digital Contact Lens
Implanted Mobile Device
Exoskeletons
Pillows to Share Dreams
Artificial Intelligent Personal Assistants
Augmented Reality
3D-Printed Liver Transplants
Read the post
Anti-Aging Treatments (Extension of Human Life)
Digital Contact Lens
Implanted Mobile Device
Exoskeletons
Pillows to Share Dreams
Artificial Intelligent Personal Assistants
Augmented Reality
3D-Printed Liver Transplants
Read the post
Thursday, 28 January 2016
Digital Oilfields: Redefining Pipeline Operations
While oil and gas pipeline operators are investing heavily in new technologies for better control, inspection and maintenance of assets, an increasing number of devices are linked to the industrial internet, the global network connecting people, data and machines. These trends foreshadow the future for the pipeline industry.
Read the full findings and analysys
Read the full findings and analysys
Wearable Technology and Customer Service: 10 Innovative Examples
Remember watching cartoons and movies as a kid and seeing all of those awesome tech devices and wishing you could have one (or two, or all of them)? Well, the future is now, as wearables are becoming more mainstream and technology advancements are made every day. And, consumers are paying attention, as PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) reported in their Consumer Intelligence Series, The Wearable Future report: 53% of millennials and 54% of early wearables adopters say they are excited about the future of wearable tech, including the potential benefits of improved safety, healthier living, and simplicity and ease of use. PwC also found that 72% of people find it very important for wearable technology to improve customer service, and 76% of busy parents want wearable tech to make shopping a more pleasant, efficient experience. Similarly, 50% of millennials say they would be strongly motivated to don a wearable if it “has apps/features that reward those who frequently use it.”
The capabilities of wearables are just beginning to emerge for retail, enterprise, and consumers. While their sales are not expected to compete with those for smartphones and tablets for some time, their impact on technology is far greater. As Multichannel Merchant points out, wearables “will become the interface between body, apps, data, and last not but not least, services. This creates the opportunity especially for local retailers.” Wearables have the ability to collect personal information such as biometric data, location data, spending data, and more. Scott Bauer, PwC’s U.S. retail and consumer practice partner and omnichannel leader imagines wearable technology will “shift retail conventions as retails will be able to connect the dots between pre-store and in-store behavior, and reach a new level of interconnected retail. How consumers pay for purchases and interact with the retailer while in store is expected to be radically redefined by wearable technology and retailers cannot afford to ignore the impact it could have on their bottom line.”
But, wearables will not just impact retail and its customer service. We have found companies that already are utilizing wearables to impact the enterprise, as well as those that are piloting wearable programs to impact customer service, customer satisfaction, and the customer experience. These innovative examples (and possible examples) of wearable tech in customer service are inspiring, and we share them below so that you can get inspired, too. The possibilities for wearables are potentially limitless, and it’s just as exciting now as it was when we were watching those cartoons and shows all those years ago.
Read the full post
The capabilities of wearables are just beginning to emerge for retail, enterprise, and consumers. While their sales are not expected to compete with those for smartphones and tablets for some time, their impact on technology is far greater. As Multichannel Merchant points out, wearables “will become the interface between body, apps, data, and last not but not least, services. This creates the opportunity especially for local retailers.” Wearables have the ability to collect personal information such as biometric data, location data, spending data, and more. Scott Bauer, PwC’s U.S. retail and consumer practice partner and omnichannel leader imagines wearable technology will “shift retail conventions as retails will be able to connect the dots between pre-store and in-store behavior, and reach a new level of interconnected retail. How consumers pay for purchases and interact with the retailer while in store is expected to be radically redefined by wearable technology and retailers cannot afford to ignore the impact it could have on their bottom line.”
But, wearables will not just impact retail and its customer service. We have found companies that already are utilizing wearables to impact the enterprise, as well as those that are piloting wearable programs to impact customer service, customer satisfaction, and the customer experience. These innovative examples (and possible examples) of wearable tech in customer service are inspiring, and we share them below so that you can get inspired, too. The possibilities for wearables are potentially limitless, and it’s just as exciting now as it was when we were watching those cartoons and shows all those years ago.
Read the full post
Preservationists race to capture cultural monuments with 3D images
In March 2001, the Taliban blew up the Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan, two of the tallest Buddha sculptures in the world. This horrific attack on an important and beautiful example of the patrimony of central Asia shocked the world. It also forever changed the landscape of cultural preservation, archaeology and global heritage.
Even back then, we had some of the 3D scanning technologies that could have allowed us to digitally document and preserve the Buddhas. We did not yet anticipate the scale of destruction that would leave hundreds of global heritage sites damaged or obliterated in the 15 years since that event.
The loss of this cultural heritage has spurred teams of researchers and nonprofit organizations to race to make 3D scans, architectural plans and detailed photographic records of heritage sites around the world, knowing they could be destroyed at any time. Advances in 3D scanning technologies, drone use and even tourists' online posting of images are giving preservationists a new set of tools to prevent the permanent loss of cultural artifacts.
Read the post
Even back then, we had some of the 3D scanning technologies that could have allowed us to digitally document and preserve the Buddhas. We did not yet anticipate the scale of destruction that would leave hundreds of global heritage sites damaged or obliterated in the 15 years since that event.
The loss of this cultural heritage has spurred teams of researchers and nonprofit organizations to race to make 3D scans, architectural plans and detailed photographic records of heritage sites around the world, knowing they could be destroyed at any time. Advances in 3D scanning technologies, drone use and even tourists' online posting of images are giving preservationists a new set of tools to prevent the permanent loss of cultural artifacts.
Read the post
Wednesday, 27 January 2016
8 Economic Barriers Responsible for India’s Gender Digital Divide
The mobile phone is one of the most widely used information and communication technologies in the developing world. For instance, in India, as of December 2013, there were more than 900 million mobile phone subscribers (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, 2014). However, in the male-dominated Indian society with 940 females per 1,000 males, only 30% of mobile phone owners were female, which indicates the presence of a gender digital divide in the country.
In Inequalities creating economic barriers to owning mobile phones in India Factors responsible for the gender digital divide, Devendra Potnis, assistant professor at the University of Tennessee, investigated the factors responsible for the inability of 245 female slum-dwellers in India, who earn around $2 a day, to own a mobile phone. More than 90% of the respondents experienced more than two economic barriers discussed below, which prevented them from owning some of the least expensive mobile phones worth $15 or so on installments of $1 a month.
In Inequalities creating economic barriers to owning mobile phones in India Factors responsible for the gender digital divide, Devendra Potnis, assistant professor at the University of Tennessee, investigated the factors responsible for the inability of 245 female slum-dwellers in India, who earn around $2 a day, to own a mobile phone. More than 90% of the respondents experienced more than two economic barriers discussed below, which prevented them from owning some of the least expensive mobile phones worth $15 or so on installments of $1 a month.
- Fluctuating low personal income
- Low personal savings
- Lack of financial support from husbands
- Cost of owning and maintaining a mobile phone
- Low household income
- Majority of financial dependents in family
- Unexpected and unforeseen family expenses
- Inherited debt
Tuesday, 19 January 2016
Internet of Things: A Survey on Enabling Technologies, Protocols, and Applications
This paper provides an overview of the Internet of
Things (IoT) with emphasis on enabling technologies, protocols,
and application issues. The IoT is enabled by the latest developments
in RFID, smart sensors, communication technologies, and
Internet protocols.
The basic premise is to have smart sensors collaborate directly without human involvement to deliver a new class of applications. The current revolution in Internet, mobile, and machine-to-machine (M2M) technologies can be seen as the first phase of the IoT. In the coming years, the IoT is expected to bridge diverse technologies to enable new applications by connecting physical objects together in support of intelligent decision making.
This paper starts by providing a horizontal overview of the IoT. Then, we give an overview of some technical details that pertain to the IoT enabling technologies, protocols, and applications. Compared to other survey papers in the field, our objective is to provide a more thorough summary of the most relevant protocols and application issues to enable researchers and application developers to get up to speed quickly on how the different protocols fit together to deliver desired functionalities without having to go through RFCs and the standards specifications.
We also provide an overview of some of the key IoT challenges presented in the recent literature and provide a summary of related research work. Moreover, we explore the relation between the IoT and other emerging technologies including big data analytics and cloud and fog computing.
We also present the need for better horizontal integration among IoT services. Finally, we present detailed service use-cases to illustrate how the different protocols presented in the paper fit together to deliver desired IoT services.
Download the Full paper
The basic premise is to have smart sensors collaborate directly without human involvement to deliver a new class of applications. The current revolution in Internet, mobile, and machine-to-machine (M2M) technologies can be seen as the first phase of the IoT. In the coming years, the IoT is expected to bridge diverse technologies to enable new applications by connecting physical objects together in support of intelligent decision making.
This paper starts by providing a horizontal overview of the IoT. Then, we give an overview of some technical details that pertain to the IoT enabling technologies, protocols, and applications. Compared to other survey papers in the field, our objective is to provide a more thorough summary of the most relevant protocols and application issues to enable researchers and application developers to get up to speed quickly on how the different protocols fit together to deliver desired functionalities without having to go through RFCs and the standards specifications.
We also provide an overview of some of the key IoT challenges presented in the recent literature and provide a summary of related research work. Moreover, we explore the relation between the IoT and other emerging technologies including big data analytics and cloud and fog computing.
We also present the need for better horizontal integration among IoT services. Finally, we present detailed service use-cases to illustrate how the different protocols presented in the paper fit together to deliver desired IoT services.
Download the Full paper
Wednesday, 21 January 2015
How cloud computing - and other new technology - could lead to the destruction of humanity
Back in 2000, technologist Bill Joy, one of the co-founders of Sun Microsystems, penned a feature for Wired magazine that caused a storm. Although Joy could boast a CV packed with technology breakthroughs, "Why the future doesn't need us" saw him cast as a neo-Luddite.
In it, he postulated that far from ushering in an age of comfort and leisure, new and advanced technology posed a potential threat to humanity. He cited nanotechnology with "uncontrolled replicators", genetic engineering, and robotics, to name just three, that separately or collectively posed a mortal threat to humanity if mis-used or mis-applied.
If Joy were writing the same article today, he would no doubt add cloud computing to the list of threats: networks of servers controlled by a small group of companies - which will only get smaller with consolidation - that will increasingly communicate with each other so that organisations can run applications across disparate clouds.
Read the full article
In it, he postulated that far from ushering in an age of comfort and leisure, new and advanced technology posed a potential threat to humanity. He cited nanotechnology with "uncontrolled replicators", genetic engineering, and robotics, to name just three, that separately or collectively posed a mortal threat to humanity if mis-used or mis-applied.
If Joy were writing the same article today, he would no doubt add cloud computing to the list of threats: networks of servers controlled by a small group of companies - which will only get smaller with consolidation - that will increasingly communicate with each other so that organisations can run applications across disparate clouds.
Read the full article
Saturday, 17 January 2015
10 Modern Forensic Science Technologies:
As technology infiltrates every aspect of our lives, it is no wonder that solving crimes has become almost futuristic in its advances. From retinal scanning to trace evidence chemistry, actual forensic technologies are so advanced at helping to solve crimes that they seem like something from a science fiction thriller.
With all this forensic technology, its no wonder that this field is one of the fastest growing in the U.S. Shows like CSI and NCIS have made most of the forensic science techniques used today common knowledge. You might think that virtually the whole gamut of forensic technology is old hat to today’s savvy viewer. In fact, there are a number of incredibly cool forensic technologies that you probably never knew existed.
1. Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS)
2. Alternative Light Photography
3. High-Speed Ballistics Photography
4. Video Spectral Comparator 2000
5. Digital Surveillance For Xbox (XFT Device)
6. 3D Forensic Facial Reconstruction
7. DNA Sequencer
8. Forensic Carbon-14 Dating
9. Magnetic Fingerprinting and Automated Fingerprint Identification (AFIS)
10. Link Analysis Software for Forensic Accountants
Full post
Friday, 16 January 2015
Tech doing good: 10 inspiring stories on TechRepublic in 2014
This year, TechRepublic published a lot of stories about companies that use technology to solve real problems. This includes stories about technology's positive effects on the conservation efforts, technological advancements in medicine, and the increasing awareness and education about women in STEM fields. Here are 10 stories we published this year that focused on businesses and organizations using technology for the good of the world.
1. How Jane Goodall Institute uses digital mapping to save chimp habitats in Africa, empower children in the US
2. PowerToFly connects women around the world to tech companies that need talent
3. Hack the gender: Womens hackathon aims to show young women a future in tech
4. Technologists and conservationists are teaming up to stop Africa's elephant crisis
5. How an Atlanta education startup is inspiring early learning in tech and coding
6. Significance Labs is building apps to improve the lives of low-income Americans
7. How recycled solar powered phones could save rainforests and change how the tech industry tackles climate change
8. With Ushahidi's global innovation engine, Africa has joined the tech revolution
9. Business as a force for good: How benefit corps are rewriting the rules of the corporate world
10. How social media rerouted over 400,000 pounds of food waste in a year
Read the full post
1. How Jane Goodall Institute uses digital mapping to save chimp habitats in Africa, empower children in the US
2. PowerToFly connects women around the world to tech companies that need talent
3. Hack the gender: Womens hackathon aims to show young women a future in tech
4. Technologists and conservationists are teaming up to stop Africa's elephant crisis
5. How an Atlanta education startup is inspiring early learning in tech and coding
6. Significance Labs is building apps to improve the lives of low-income Americans
7. How recycled solar powered phones could save rainforests and change how the tech industry tackles climate change
8. With Ushahidi's global innovation engine, Africa has joined the tech revolution
9. Business as a force for good: How benefit corps are rewriting the rules of the corporate world
10. How social media rerouted over 400,000 pounds of food waste in a year
Read the full post
Saturday, 4 January 2014
Redefining the digital divide
Access to the Internet has greatly expanded and the focus should now be on the willingness and ability of citizens to use it for productive purposes, according to a new report “Redefining the digital divide” published by The Economist Intelligence Unit. Current strategies for overcoming the digital divide do not necessarily address the underlying gaps such as affordability, usage and relevance of content, with country approaches varying significantly in terms of leadership, funding and technologies. The report, commissioned by Huawei, compares the strategies of Australia, France, India, Russia, the UK and the US. It includes a survey of 218 telecommunications industry executives and government policymakers.
The report’s key findings include:
Affordability remains a key obstacle to ICT adoption;
The urban/rural divide is a key concern, particularly the need for greater speeds outside major urban areas;
Policymakers and telecommunications executives are sharply divided on the key obstacles to solving the divide;
Funding is the biggest area of disagreement between the industry and policymakers; and
Competition is crucial but regulation is equally important.
Download the full report
The report’s key findings include:
Affordability remains a key obstacle to ICT adoption;
The urban/rural divide is a key concern, particularly the need for greater speeds outside major urban areas;
Policymakers and telecommunications executives are sharply divided on the key obstacles to solving the divide;
Funding is the biggest area of disagreement between the industry and policymakers; and
Competition is crucial but regulation is equally important.
Download the full report
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