Five Technology Trends to Look Out For in 2018

We keep hearing that technology is the future, but I disagree. If that is the case, the future is here already. With so much fascinating and innovative tech all around us, it is hard to keep up with everything going on. I have always been fascinated by science and technology. As a child, I actually dreamt of becoming an astronaut and exploring space. Even though I'm not an astronaut today, I still enjoy keeping up with new scientific and technological advances. I was recently watching the launch of Elon Musk's Space X and it blew me away by how majestic the earth looked while the Tesla car with a dummy driver was cruising in space.

Here are what I believe are technology trends we should keep an eye out for. 

1) Artificial Intelligence(AI)
Machines demonstrating intelligence. In some ways, people already actively use artificial intelligence. How many of you have used Amazon's Echo or Google Home? Even the iPhone X's facial recognition feature has to do with Artificial Intelligence. For instance, for Amazon Echo's Alexa to respond back to your question, it has to interact with a communication cloud which ends up increasing the response time.

In order to keep up with rivals Google and Apple(who have already produced their own AI hardware and AI chips), Amazon is trying to design its own custom artificial intelligence chips. The new Amazon Echo is touted to be even faster.

Samsung also announced that it plans to add AI to all of its devices and appliances by 2020. It plans to get rid of its "Smart Home", "Smart View" and combine it all into one "Smart Things" App which will be connected to all your Samsung Devices. The tech company also plans simplify all of its products using a single-cloud approach which will include connectivity, cloud, and intelligence.

2) Augmented Reality (AR)
According to Google, "hundreds of millions" of Android phones will be capable of AR(Augmented Reality) over the next few years. Google is betting on the fact that as AR becomes more common and even a "daily habit" for some, monetization opportunities will arise. Not only has Google released the ARCore developer's Kit, but Apple has as well, by releasing the ARKit. This encourages app develops to build Augmented Reality apps, which in turn will be used when Android and iPhones are capable of AR.

Even Microsoft joins in by building its HoloLens. It is a headset that allows users to interact with digital images which will "overlay" on the real world. Microsoft is calling this "mixed reality".  For now, Microsoft is working on building a specific AI chip for the HoloLens(2nd Generation).

3) Revolutionary Vehicles 
Companies such as Tesla, Volkswagon, Nissan , BMW and others have all come up with electric vehicles. Most of the companies uses lithium-ion batteries instead of oil. This will help to reduce the usage of fossil fuels, though the cars are quite pricey for now. However, since countries like China are pushing for more cars to run on alternative fuel, this will lead to more companies building different electric or hybrid vehicles and the price will eventually go down sooner or later.

Gogoro Smartscooter electric vehicle, which has been tagged by Forbes as 'The Tesla of Scooters', is a popular vehicle working to replace polluting scooters across Asia. Gogoro has installed battery swapping stations all around cities in Asia, starting from Taipei. You put old battery in and a new one pops out for you, freeing you from having to recharge anything yourself.

4) Healthcare Tech 
There are a number of digital health technology in the market such as fitness trackers, mobile health apps etc. One reason healthcare technology is growing exponentially is because people nowadays tend to be more concerned about their health and want to be better informed about it.

Most of you have heard of FitBit, but have you heard of the Internet of medical things(IoMT) ? It is basically an infrastructure of medical devices and software applications which are connected to healthcare IT systems. For instance, you go for a walk and your FitBit calculates the amount of steps you walked, that data is then shared with a doctor and feedback is sent to your phone.

One of the leaders of healthcare tech is Noteworth. Noteworth is a health platform which allows health organizations to prescribe virtual care to their patients(also known as telehealth/telecare). It also works to help doctors collect and access the patient's health data. This platform also works to improve the care the patient receives. It also strives to cut costs and better engage their patients. There is also a visualized patient-generated health data in continuous Noteworth Reports which can be monitored at anytime.

5) Wearable Technology
Wearable tech such as smartwatches, activity trackers, fitness trackers etc are already widely available in the market. However, most of the current technology available is only to wear on your wrist(Fitbit, Apple Watch etc) or on your eyes (Google Glass, Virtual Reality headset etc). In the future, much of the technology will be integrated in our clothes, body, even running shoes.

Companies such as Samsung, Qualcomm, and E Ink are working to create smart patches which will work to be a health gadget which will be able to monitor your body and notify you if it sees any warning signs. It may also be able to directly deliver medication to patients while reminding patients when is the next time they have to take the next dosage and change their Smart Patch.

Under Armour has built a new shoe technology it refers to as HOVR. It is supposed to be a smart running shoe which comes with in-built sensors to track your distance, pace, stride, and steps. The sensors are Bluetooth powered and are located in the thickest part of the mid-sole. To access the data stored by the smart running shoes, you have to download Under Armour's Map My Run app. The shoe will be able to store your data and you will be able to sync it when you have Wi-Fi connection.

Sony is also working to create a device known as 'Xperia Ear Open.' It allows you to listen to music while being aware of your surroundings at the same time. This device is made in a way so that you will be able to tune in and tune out simultaneously.  For instance, you can listen to music on this device will having a conversation with someone. The music will work like background music in a way. However, this means that you will still be able to hear people having conversations around you, because the device is designed in such a way that it is 'open'.

Innovation

Ben Franklin: He was a very creative person. He liked to invent different things to make people's lives easier. And he wouldn't stop trying to find a solution until he found a solution. He was determined to invent new things.  He tried to achieve perfection.

I found this article of something that happened on my birthday from WIRED.com.


Sept. 11, 1998: Starr Report Showcases Net’s Speed

By David Kravets September 11, 2009
12:00 am
Categories: 20th century, Communication, Computers and IT



1998: Sept. 11 is a black day in American history, on at least two counts … this is the other one. Exactly three years before the attacks in New York and Washington, Congress releases the contents of the infamous Starr report on the internet, which leads to the impeachment of a U.S. president.



It’s a significant event, not only in the life of Bill Clinton but also for the unprecedented blending of the media and internet in government transparency.



For the first time, if you didn’t have the net, you were missing history — in this case, the salacious details of the 42nd president’s sexual escapades with 22-year-old White House intern Monica Lewinsky. A lot people missed it. When Congress released the 445-page Starr report, the word blogosphere had yet to be coined and Twitter was still a sound made by birds.



Three months later, the scathing account of executive sexual prowess led to President Clinton’s impeachment. (Clinton was acquitted of all charges, perjury and obstruction of justice, in a Senate trial.)



Formally called the Referral From Independent Counsel Kenneth W. Starr in Conformity with the Requirement of Title 28, United States Code, Section 595(c), the report’s online debut provided the American public with its first unfiltered access to a current, yet historical, document. (Well, it was almost instant. Government servers kept crashing after the public was required to download the 445-page document in one file.) News outlets scrambled to publish it in pieces.



Equally, the report’s release underscored the power of the internet that was on its way to giving birth to a frenzy of venture funding that included millions invested, or wasted, on the absurd dream of bringing smell to what we once called the World Wide Web.



But as the internet bubble was gurgling, web traffic almost doubled from the previous day when the Starr report was released. According to J.D. Lasica, a social media critic, CNN.com was the first news outlet to post the report, only hours after its being hosted on government servers.



CNN was scoring an as-yet-unheard of 300,000 clicks a minute. MSNBC tallied nearly 2 million hits — a one-day record — and about 20 million people read the report within two days.



While presenting monster technical difficulties for government, web surfers and the media, the report’s online release shed light on what the mainstream media would never publish: the details of Clinton’s sexual escapades in the White House that led to the first perjury and obstruction charges against a sitting U.S. president since the 19th century.



Traditional media, meanwhile, danced around the lurid details. The Washington Post, for example, simply ran the transcript of Starr’s report without discussing any of the specifics. It did provide an editor’s note: “Some of the language in these documents is sexually explicit.” Countless other news outlets issued similar warnings.



Today, with the enormous influence of the internet, mainstream media might be more inclined to tell all. Yet, it’s doubtful that even now we would find the word “cigar” used in that context in a newspaper headline or a TV video stream.



Source: OIC



Top Photo: This Official White House photo taken Nov. 17, 1995, from page 3179 of Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr’s report on President Clinton, showing President Clinton and Monica Lewinsky at the White House.