Trends Identified

Virtual reality
Virtual reality (VR) abolishes logistical limitations and makes anything possible. In a computer-generated simulation of a three-dimensional image or environment, viewers can use special equipment to interact with the simulation in realistic ways. The gaming and entertainment industries are obvious proving grounds for VR. However, VR has the potential to transform many other industries as well, especially in the realm of experiential training where workers can be put into hazardous, difficult, or cost-prohibitive situations without the intense risks associated with these activities in the real world.
2017
The Essential Eight - Your guide to the emerging technologies revolutionizing business now
PWC
Virtual Reality
(Definition) Virtual space creation technology which re-create real or virtual object in 3D. (Application) The technology can provide cultural spaces in a remote area by re-creating various virtual forms in a real space, for example, theme parks, museums and concert halls.
2015
KISTEP 10 Emerging Technologies 2015
South Korea, Korea Institute of S&T Evaluation and Planning (KISTEP)
Virtual Databases
Networks will undergo continual evolution of form not just scale. For example, incremental development of the ‘semantic web’ will occur, enabling machines to recognise, identify, capture, manipulate and interpret data with minimal or no human intervention. The semantic web, and associated technologies, will effectively create an integrated data store, with an unprecedented level of access that can be exploited by reasoning techniques to provide more sophisticated forms of analysis. The exploitation of these techniques may expose hitherto unseen patterns, interactions and associations, with potentially wide-ranging, unforeseen and unpredictable consequences. Sophisticated data-mining tools will include automatic data reduction/filtering along with automated algorithmic analysis to enable faster access to relevant information. Virtual Knowledge Bases will store knowledge extracted from traditional documents or messages within large meta-data (database) structures, and in logical formats that intelligent software can interpret. Virtual Knowledge Bases will provide: improved searching and alerts to stored information; the ability to answer questions across the whole knowledge store in near natural language form; and automated situation reports on demand and in response to events to enhance situational awareness.
2010
Global strategic trends - out to 2040
UK, Ministry of Defence
Virtual cash, virtual weapons
Digitization of currency will create a clash among nation-states, corporations, civilians, and bad actors.
2018
Top Policy Trends of 2018
PWC
Virtual and augmented reality
Virtual and augmented reality, an artificial environment created with software and hardware that, in the case of augmented reality, provides the ability to overlay digital information into real-world settings
2019
Tech for good
McKinsey
Virtual and augmented reality
Computer-generated simulation of a three-dimensional image overlaid to the physical world (AR) or a complete environment (VR).
2017
Innovation for the Earth - Harnessing technological breakthroughs for people and the planet
PWC
Video games are the new social media
At over 2.3 billion, Facebook has by far more users than any social media platform worldwide (Twitter, by comparison, has about 325 million). That’s why, despite its increasingly tattered reputation, Facebook continues to be popular with advertisers in search of eyeballs. At the same time, Facebook has a problem with young people, with only about half of all high-school aged kids being active on the platform. If young people are not using Facebook now, what makes anyone believe that they’ll log on when they get older? They most likely won't, and a big reason why is video games. Thanks partly to the rousing success of “Fortnite,” Amazon-owned Twitch and other platforms like it are creating communities that young people prize far more than Facebook, whether they are watching their favorite gamers or facing off with their friends or with others across the globe. These types of immersive experiences dwarf anything Facebook offers this group, calling into question whether the company can sustain its advertising prowess in the years to come as the younger generation becomes a highly sought-after consumer demographic. Underscoring this dynamic is Netflix, which said in its most recent shareholder letter that it competes more with “Fortnite” than it does HBO. Skeptics will scoff at that, pointing out (correctly) even the biggest phenomenon fade at some point. However, the next huge game is just around the corner, and when it arrives, Netflix, along with social media, will have to worry about it cannibalizing users too. All this is good news for gaming companies, including Tencent, whose subsidiary, Epic Games, published “Fortnite,” Electronic Arts and Activision.
2019
Three Big Tech Trends For 2019
Forbes
Vertical agriculture
Example of Organizationsactive in the area: Green Skies Vertical Farms (US), Aero Farms (US), Neo Farms (Germany), Urban Crop Solutions (Belgium)
2018
Table of disruptive technologies
Imperial College London
Value-driven Application Management Services
Moving beyond labor arbitrage in Applications Management Services (AMS) With 65 percent of all IT service dollars spent on maintaining existing technology,1 companies everywhere have been hard pressed to invest more in technology improvements needed by the business. In an effort to trim maintenance costs, many organizations entered into AMS contracts.
2010
Depth perception A dozen technology trends shaping business and IT in 2010
Deloitte
Vacuum-tube transport
Example of Organizationsactive in the area: The Boring Company/Elon Musk (US), China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (China).
2018
Table of disruptive technologies
Imperial College London