Trends Identified
On AR in the enterprise
Greg Sullivan, Director of Communications, mixed reality, Microsoft. On AR in the enterprise: This past year one of the things that’s become clear is that the commercial space has seen the value of HoloLens, and AR/VR/XR in general, in a range of deployments in some very interesting ways. There is a value in taking the digital world and the physical world and bringing them together in meaningful ways. We’re just starting to see people getting a handle on what they can do with the technology–things like remotely assisting someone or laying out physical objects in a digital space. In the next 12 months we expect to continue to realize the commercial value of the HoloLens. We fully expect to see more [enterprise] customers take advantage of HoloLens to achieve more.
2019
The biggest tech trends of 2019, according to top experts
Fast Company
On cities realizing the opportunity of micromobility
Miles Clements, partner, Accel. On cities realizing the opportunity of micromobility: 2018 may well have been the year of the scooter, but their impact on cities and archaic urban infrastructure is just beginning to make a dent. Revenue share agreements with high-growth startups like Bird and Lime provide cities with income streams they’ve never before had exposure to. As municipalities invest those dollars into infrastructure improvement and new commuter options, an ecosystem of tools will emerge for urban planning, transit mapping, and ease of navigation around the modern urban environment.
2019
The biggest tech trends of 2019, according to top experts
Fast Company
On consumer adoption of AR glasses in 2019
Avi Greengart, research director of consumer devices, globaldata.On consumer adoption of AR glasses in 2019: I don’t think we get there next year. The idea that you’ll slip on a pair of glasses and all of a sudden you’re Iron Man is something you’re more likely to see in Marvel’s Infinity War: Endgame than in your local Best Buy. That said, I am hopeful that some of those scenarios are still coming but they may still be a few years out. We have companies like Vuzix and Microsoft that are working on those things for the enterprise, but also companies like Apple, which is already building AR experiences into pretty much every iOS device today.
2019
The biggest tech trends of 2019, according to top experts
Fast Company
On consumer experiences
Dave Welsh, Growth Equity leader, KKR. On consumer experiences: Moving beyond commerce, consumers are looking for more than material goods–experiences are the next opportunity for startups. Consumers have more disposable income today, leading to the desire to not just go somewhere, but to experience it like a local or to have a curated tour providing an extra level of depth and fun. This is the next frontier beyond Airbnb, Uber, and Lyft
2019
The biggest tech trends of 2019, according to top experts
Fast Company
On drones in 2019
Scott Parazynski, CEO, fluidity (and former astronaut).On drones in 2019: Drones will continue to pop up in amazing new applications in 2019, with ever greater sensor capabilities and advances in pilot-guided automation. We believe that advances in human-machine interfaces in particular will dramatically reduce the training time and cognitive workload for drone pilots, allowing for much wider adoption for enterprise applications in dynamic, unscripted environments. While still a niche market, we see substantial growth in the public safety realm–fire, search and rescue, police and security–as well as DoD and security applications.
2019
The biggest tech trends of 2019, according to top experts
Fast Company
On how cities with losing Amazon HQ2 bids may still profit
Steve Case, CEO, revolution (and cofounder of AOL).On how cities with losing Amazon HQ2 bids may still profit: It would have been great if Amazon chose an unexpected location between the coasts, but I believe the bid for HQ2 has the potential to deliver significant benefits starting in 2019 for the cities that participated, but didn’t take home the prize. The search for Amazon’s second headquarters drove collaboration between universities, economic development groups, civic leaders, and startup ecosystem builders. Those efforts could likely prove catalytic for these cities, helping to build the next thriving startup community that might–just might–launch the next Amazon. Next year, look for cities to repurpose what they built to lure Amazon to help their own cities rise.
2019
The biggest tech trends of 2019, according to top experts
Fast Company
On laying the groundwork for flying cars
Carl Esposito, President of Electronic Solutions, Honeywell Aerospace. On laying the groundwork for flying cars: The work being done over the next 12 months will be crucial to making the vision for urban air mobility a reality. We’ve seen a lot of innovative and motivated companies come to the table with concept aircraft and business models that sketch out a future where you and I get to commute from point-to-point with ease and convenience in our “flying cars.” But before we cross that threshold, we need to map out the regulations, infrastructure, and relationships that make the skies above our urban environments as safe and efficient as the routes we travel today. A lot of that foundation will be set in 2019.
2019
The biggest tech trends of 2019, according to top experts
Fast Company
On new user controls for AR/VR experiences
Timoni West, director of XR research, UNITY Technologies.On new user controls for AR/VR experiences: Controllers are still the name of the game in XR over the next two or three years. It still feels really awkward when people interact with digital objects [using old modalities] like we see with the current HoloLens, although this may change when we see the new HoloLens, possibly in 2019. A button press is still a button press. Computers can’t actually read our minds. What we need to see is more body level stuff. It’s very exciting to think about transmodality in input methods–combining things like eye tracking, voice recognition, hand gestures, finger bone tracking–then you’re getting somewhere close to magic. You’re getting closer to that feeling of Harry Potter casting a spell. But even then you’re going to have to do a lot of calibration to make it all work together.
2019
The biggest tech trends of 2019, according to top experts
Fast Company
On opportunities in ethical technology
Matt Hartman, partner, betaworks ventures. On opportunities in ethical technology: This past year we saw consumers and employees of the big tech companies begin to push back against the ways those companies are using our data, building AI, manipulating our behavior, and who they are choosing to do business with–like certain government agencies. Society is just beginning to demand ethical consideration along with technological advancement. I think we’ll see this movement toward humane technology gives rise to new business models that are not built on harvesting our attention. Some of those, like subscriptions or tipping platforms exist today, and I’m eager to see what new innovations emerge as startups look to align their business models with their users’ need to be in control of how their data is used and how their time is spent.
2019
The biggest tech trends of 2019, according to top experts
Fast Company
On phones and 5G
Avi Greengart, research director of consumer devices, globaldata. On phones and 5G: We’ll see some new form factors including folding phones and phones where instead of a notch you’ll see a hole punched off in the corner. The big question now though is around 5G . . . Whether or not we’ll see some of the the big promises of 5G in 2019 is still a big open question. Low latency mobile gaming is something I’m convinced we’ll see; it’s just whether it will be next year or the year after. Whether we’ll all be driving around staring at holograms inside 5G cars, I’m skeptical about that in the short term, but in the long term that’s something I’m sure we’ll see. I don’t expect a 5G iPhone next year.
2019
The biggest tech trends of 2019, according to top experts
Fast Company