With the technology era entering its midlife crisis, there is no better time to list the 10 most impressive, path-breaking and evidently shocking technologies to look forward to in 2019
1. Blockchain
As Wikipedia defines it, Blockchain is the growing list of records, linked using cryptography. A decentralized mechanism, Blockchain can be visualized as a copy of a single entity that is present throughout the world, and updated upon at a particular place, it spreads like wildfire. The inbuilt robustness, no single- point of failure and distributed control make the Blockchain advantageous. With a distributed system, the question of sharing documents is out of the book. Additionally, the system is transparent, visible to people in the access making it believable. To corrupt, it is to move an elephant across a room with your hands. Not going to happen, as it is a ledger. Some of the potential uses of the technology would be- bitcoin mining, banks, educational institutions, and investigation departments.
2. Augmented Reality
Augmented Reality overlays information on the existing environment. It is usually categorized into SLAM-Simultaneous Localization and Mapping, reality browsers and reality gaming. Reality browsers allow you to find the value of properties like houses. The best example of gaming is Pokemon Go- an interactive game that allows catching pokemon present in different locations. With an array of apps in the fray, AR is definitely improving its game. With the use cases have a wide spectrum, from retail, medicine, tourism, and entertainment, AR is definitely going to stay with us in 2019. Mobile phones, PCs, smart TVs, and smart glasses have incorporated AR in their hardware long ago- there is a potential for a better implementation. The AWE USA 2019- an expo and conference in AR and VR can give us a good insight into the recent developments.
3. Digital Twins
Having already spoken about Digital Twins in one of my previous articles- it is a digital counterpart to a physical system- be it hardware or human. To detect a product’s performance, enhancement- healthcare and medicine and of course IoT with its distributed systems, digital twins allow engineers to sit in their cabins and check the proceedings- which is a win-win situation in terms of governance, authorization, flow and flaw checking. There is always a necessity to check if your product is working well in the market, or how it is behaving after the buyer has purchased it. The Digital Twin just does that.
4. Smart Spaces
Smart spaces are defined as the places where humans and technology interact in a congenial ecosystem. Taking human-machine interaction to a whole new level, the smart cities are a mere extension to these. When you enter a library, you can find the book knocking towards your desk with the help of a conveyor belt. A minimalistic approach would be the key to the success of smart spaces. A refrigerator can knock the right amount of nutrients in your meal and deliver it in your bowl of choice. An AR system will emulate the temperature outside to find the ideal clothing to adorn. A humongous number of companies like Siemens and Microsoft are vying to find their market ownership in this field.
5. Artificial Intelligence
How can we forget this in the age of machines outnumbering and out learning humans? Artificial intelligence has taken the high road, and there is no turning back. One major challenge would be to find the right talent to take up and run the show. With colleges not really turning an eye towards this technology, the companies are trying their best to hire graduates, especially from India. Natural language processing, decision management, AI managed and optimized hardware will dominate 2019.
6. Autonomous things
How cool would it be to have completely automated cars, cycles, and drones? It might be arguable to call it a 2016 technology, but considering the number of cases issued against it, there is a long road to have it on board in every home and 2019 seems just the right time for it. A swarm of connected autonomous things- a mix of Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things, tons of data are going to be generated allowing cloud computing programs to be tremendously fast. Each of them portrays uses essential to mankind but with a tinge of the threat to be taken care of.
7. Quantum Computing
Quantum is a unit of energy. With particles existing in different discretized quanta, it is possible to perform multiple operations with the different permutations of each quantum- quantum entanglement that allows the energy states of the particles to be defined as a whole- not as an individual quantity. Leaps and bounds will jump the history of computing in terms of speed. Quantum computers will solve the biggest mysteries of today. The unit of memory is called qubit, instead of a bit. With classical cryptography taking a backseat, post-quantum cryptography might be a better career option. With IBM leading the race, let’s see what 2019 bit size is going to be!
8. Additive Manufacturing
Additive manufacturing, often called 3D printing is going on a roll in 2019. Digital design is used to produce a physical object by, scanning them in a computer-aided software. Innovations in direct metal printing make the process quicker and the bandwidth of the products which can be manufactured wider. With more and more medical devices like hearing aids, dental fixtures and hip replacements being printed, they are also venturing to educational institutions where students learn how to operate the software. Surely, it is a force to reckon.
9. Bioinformatics
When we move to biology integrated with computer science- Bioinformatics gives a lot of scope for 2019. With the Human Genome Project moving up ahead, with combined forces of quantum computing and data science, it will be one of the important career choices for the future.
10. Privacy and Cyberethics
We can expect better privacy and cyber ethics in the future. As proposed by Gartner, companies would have to pay 100% of compliances in case of mismanagement and crimes. Encountering more data every day we need, AI is desperately needed to manage the security, close the gateways wherever possible, and simulate instances of a threat to increase the response speed. Indeed the opportunities are high and the qualifications required for the same would become different with time. Engineers would have to equip themselves with new skills to tackle.
Author: Vijayalakshmi Swaminathan. This article was curated and submitted as a collaboration with Electronics Media.
