Trends Identified
Nanosensors and the Internet of Nanothings
The Internet of Things (IoT), built from inexpensive microsensors and microprocessors paired with tiny power supplies and wireless antennas, is rapidly expanding the online universe from computers and mobile gadgets to ordinary pieces of the physical world: thermostats, cars, door locks, even pet trackers. New IoT devices are announced almost daily, and analysts expected to up to 30 billion of them to be online by 2020. The explosion of connected items, especially those monitored and controlled by artificial intelligence systems, can endow ordinary things with amazing capabilities—a house that unlocks the front door when it recognizes its owner arriving home from work, for example, or an implanted heart monitor that calls the doctor if the organ shows signs of failing. But the real Big Bang in the online universe may lie just ahead. Scientists have started shrinking sensors from millimeters or microns in size to the nanometer scale, small enough to circulate within living bodies and to mix directly into construction materials. This is a crucial first step toward an Internet of Nano Things (IoNT) that could take medicine, energy efficiency, and many other sectors to a whole new dimension. Some of the most advanced nanosensors to date have been crafted by using the tools of synthetic biology to modify single-celled organisms, such as bacteria. The goal here is to fashion simple biocomputers that use DNA and proteins to recognize specific chemical targets, store a few bits of information, and then report their status by changing color or emitting some other easily detectable signal. Synlogic, a start-up in Cambridge, Mass., is working to commercialize computationally enabled strains of probiotic bacteria to treat rare metabolic disorders. Beyond medicine, such cellular nanosensors could find many uses in agriculture and drug manufacturing. Many nanosensors have also been made from non-biological materials, such as carbon nanotubes, that can both sense and signal, acting as wireless nanoantennas. Because they are so small, nanosensors can collect information from millions of different points. External devices can then integrate the data to generate incredibly detailed maps showing the slightest changes in light, vibration, electrical currents, magnetic fields, chemical concentrations and other environmental conditions. The transition from smart nanosensors to the IoNT seems inevitable, but big challenges will have to be met. One technical hurdle is to integrate all the components needed for a self-powered nanodevice to detect a change and transmit a signal to the web. Other obstacles include thorny issues of privacy and safety. Any nanodevices introduced into the body, deliberately or inadvertently, could be toxic or provoke immune reactions. The technology could also enable unwelcome surveillance. Initial applications might be able to avoid the most vexing issues by embedding nanosensors in simpler, less risky organisms such as plants and non-infectious microorganisms used in industrial processing. When it arrives, the IoNT could provide much more detailed, inexpensive, and up-to-date pictures of our cities, homes, factories—even our bodies. Today traffic lights, wearables or surveillance cameras are getting connected to the Internet. Next up: billions of nanosensors harvesting huge amounts of real-time information and beaming it up to the cloud.
2016
Top 10 Emerging Technologies of 2016
World Economic Forum (WEF)
Internet of things
The Internet of Things, which uses networks of sensors and devices to collect data and optimize processes
2019
Tech for good
McKinsey
Environmentally safe and energy saving processing and re-use of household waste to generate secondary raw materials
The introduction of environmentally friendly and energy efficient systems offering integrated and extensive processing of raw materials to divide minerals into end products with the maximum quantity of mineral components will allow for substantial improvements in the effective ness of mineral processing and a reduction in the volume of waste production. It will be possible to develop new affordable sources of raw minerals which, in turn, will lead to cheaper processing, changes in the geography of exporting and importing nations, and growth in competition on the market. There is expected to be a fall in capital expenditure and water consumption by 15–20% and expenditure on reagents and energy to process minerals by 30–50%; the productivity of processing and enrichment facilities will increase by 10–40% and the level of useful component extraction will increase significantly.
2016
Russia 2030: science and technology foresight
Russia, Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation
Environmentally safe and energy saving systems for integrated and deep processing of minerals
The introduction of environmentally safe and resource-efficient processing and recycling of communal waste generating secondary raw materials and end products will dramatically reduce the use of sites for the dumping of solid household waste, which will lead, on the one hand, to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions on a global scale and, on the other hand, the replacement of a portion of traditional fuels. The waste processing and recycling market will grow actively, and correspondingly there is expected to be growth in the market for construction materials made from secondary raw materials.
2016
Russia 2030: science and technology foresight
Russia, Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation
Drugs based on living cells
The introduction of medicines based on living cells (autologous, donor, primary, cultivated, differentiated and modified) will form a basis for cell therapy and tissue engineering for transplanting stem cells into certain parts of the body, as well as equivalents engineered on the basis of stem cells, which could be able to restore the structure and functions of damaged tissues and organs. Technologies to obtain stem cells from patient tissues will make it possible to make treatment materials within a matter of hours. The techniques used to selectively cultivate and differentiate this type of cell will allow for rapid and effective treatments for various pathologies. A new and fundamental property of these technologies is the complete compatibility of the stem cells taken from the patient’s own differentiated tissues with the patient’s body. In this regard, it is possible to rule out infections: the cells have reduced (compared with embryonic) capabilities to differentiate into unwanted directions.
2016
Russia 2030: science and technology foresight
Russia, Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation
Remote monitoring systems including using satellite systems
The introduction of remote monitoring systems using satellite systems will ensure that qualitatively new information on the state of the land, land based installations, and natural and anthropogenic processes is available. These data will serve as the primary source to create up-to-date thematic maps. Aside from this, prospective remote surveying technologies and computer data processing technologies vastly exceed the capabilities of traditional cartography both in terms of content and the diversity of the methods used to present the data.
2016
Russia 2030: science and technology foresight
Russia, Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation
The Internet of Things (IoT) and how everyday devices are becoming more ‘smart’
The IoT – which encompasses smart, connected products like smart phones and smart watches –is a major contributing factor in this exponential increase in data. That’s because all these smart devices are constantly gathering data, connecting to other devices and sharing that data – all without human intervention (your Fitbit synching data to your phone, for instance). Pretty much anything can be made smart these days. Our cars are becoming increasingly connected; by 2020, a quarter of a billion cars will be hooked up to the Internet. For our homes, there are obvious smart products like TVs, and less obvious ones, like yoga mats that track your Downward Dog. And, of course, many of us have voice-enabled personal assistants like Alexa – another example of an IoT device. That’s already a lot of devices, but the IoT is just getting started. IHS has predicted there’ll be 75 billion connected devices by 2020.
2017
9 Technology Mega Trends That Will Change The World In 2018
Forbes
3D printing
The IoT and fine dining are increasingly crossing paths via 3D printing. Anything which can be liquidized, in theory, can form an ink which, layer by layer, amounts to a meal. And this has implications for customizing nutrients, liquidizing the unappealing. The process still takes a while — especially when cooling time is included. Moreover, the necessity of creating a cartridge for every different food group means additional costs and complexities. However, while to date 3D-printed food has found a foothold primarily in the more expensive restaurants, it is beginning to cross over into the mainstream.
2017
How we eat now: five disruptive food trends
EY
Voice Assistants Become a Service-Led Market
The key opportunity here is for voice assistant providers and their partners to use the platforms to deliver a range of digital services. This follows the somewhat lacklustre uptake of voice commerce, and will provide a firmer basis for monetisation of a rapidly growing platform; Juniper expects 93 million smart speakers to be in use by the end of 2019, providing a large base for the use of these products. We expect these to be used in 9% of households worldwide by the end of 2019, reaching over 40% in some developed markets. While these devices have been rapidly adopted, they have not become the payment and commerce gateways some had hoped for. Instead, we expect vendors to turn to services as a means of monetising the platforms and further differentiate between voice assistant ecosystems, locking people into hardware. The biggest name in the market so far has been Amazon, and following the recent explosion in Echo devices, we expect the company to further differentiate between Echo and Alexa devices. This means that their own version of the voice assistant will become more appealing; forcing other manufacturers to compete by offering hardware-linked services in other areas, such as premium music subscriptions and other types of service. We expect software providers to benefit the most from this, as speaker hardware vendors will seek out premium deals to drive hardware sales; allowing the software providers to upsell existing users more easily. We also expect Amazon’s hardware sales to increase further, as difference between Echo and Alexa becomes more apparent, driving up sales throughout the year. As a result, Juniper expects more granular speaker-based services to be offered, both by software providers and speaker makers. Gating off content in this way will increase ecosystem lock-in and encourage further spending from smart speaker users. Related Research: Smart Audio Devices: Strategies & Forecasts 2017-2022
2019
Top Tech trends 2019
Juniper Research
The global marketplace
The landscape of trade in goods and services has fundamentally changed since the Second World War, as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) shepherded in a more open and connected global economy. Today there are nearly 160 members of GATT’s successor, the World Trade Organization (WTO). From 1950– 2007 trade grew by an average of 6.2 percent per year.52 In 2011 the total value of world merchandise trade was estimated at USD$18.2 trillion.53 Developing countries achieved a share of over 50 percent of global trade in 2012.
2013
Now for the long term - The Report of the Oxford Martin Commission for Future Generations
Oxford Martin School