Tuesday, March 13, 2018

Top 10 Technology Trends of 2018

2018 will show make us believe that machines are truly taking over. To help us of course! They will do all the tedious and boring mundane tasks leaving us to do the actual challenging work that only the human mind can achieve. This will be the year where each and every aspect of human life will be touched by technology. Here are the top 10 technology trends that I feel will dominate this year.


1)Deep Learning


The initial goal of Machine Learning(ML) was AI (Artificial Intelligence). This objective is being achieved, now that we are moving towards Deep Learning. As larger neutral networks are trained with increasing amount of data there is an increase in their performance. The earlier learning techniques used to result in a performance rise and then continue at the same level as the amount of data increases.
Some of the redefining applications include

  • Adding colours to Black and White images automatically
  • Instant visual translation
  • Automatic Sentence and text generation with all punctuations
There are many more applications as Deep Learning spreads and more and more tasks, not just the repetitive and mundane ones will start getting automated.

Some Applications where Deep Learning used
Amazon, Google, Tesla, Microsoft, Facebook and IBM are the major companies that have invested significantly in ML.

2) Bots (Robotics)


Another term that has gained popularity and is on almost everyone’s lips is Bots. We are already used to the basic ones that just provide scripted dialogue and information in FAQ format. The Bots are getting updated as we speak, with abilities that will make us doubt a life without their assistance. They will have the capacity of replying to human dialogue, they will improve with repeated usage through machine learning and also may be able to respond to human emotions.

Ideas2IT is a company that specialises in chatbots. Major companies like Amazon, Google and IBM have also ventured into this domain with Amazon Echo, Google Home smart speakers respectively from Amazon and Google and NLP/AI platform IBM Watson.

3)Augmented Reality (AR)/Virtual Reality (VR)


When digital information is integrated with a user’s environment it results in Augmented Reality. Using the existing environment, information is overlaid on top of it. The best example of AR from daily use is the GPS(Global Positioning System) in a Smartphone that shows the exact location of a person.

In Virtual Reality, the user is transposed to a totally new environment. It can be achieved by putting a VR headset over your eyes. Once this is done, be ready to get blown away by the kind of experience it will give to all your senses. It is a mind-blowing experience.
Companies working on this technology
Some of the major players in this are Snap, NVIDIA, Facebook, Google among many others.

4)Blockchain


There has been a significant rise in Cryptocurrencies the past year. This has lead to the world taking notice of the Blockchain as a technology whose application is not restricted to just the Bitcoin. Industry heavyweights have also taken notice of Blockchain technology and are investing heavily in its usage and adoption. If it will replace the client-server architecture for good is yet to be seen.


Companies working on blockchain
Some of the major companies in the Blockchain industry are Ethereum, Ripple, Coinbase, IOTA, and OmiseGo.

5)Internet Of Things (IoT) and BIoT(Blockchain IoT)



Internet of Things (IoT) has evolved in this past year with tremendous results. By adding sensors to everyday connected devices around the house, we are able to control them with just a voice command. But with the addition of Blockchain to IoT, it will tremendously reduce the chances of getting hacked. With BloT, companies will be able to track their remote warehouses for example with great ease and they will always have updated real-time information. Companies working on this technology:
IBM is the leader when it comes to the internet of things. The others in the race includeIntel, Google, Microsoft and Cisco. Ericson, Facebook and Qualcomm are also some of the major names in the race.

6)Smart cars/Assisted transport





Fully assisted transport as in a totally autonomous vehicle are still a distant reality, there is a significant rise in assistance in vehicles in the form of video recognition, assistance in parking, alerts for obstacles or lane discipline. As the use of Machine Learning and Deep Learning continues to grow in this industry, there will be some major leaps in assisted transport.


All major car manufacturing companies have entered into the smart car race including BMW, Tesla, Daimler, Tesla,Google GM and Toyota

7) 3D


The addition of the 3rd dimension has changed the dynamics of every industry that it has touched. From motion pictures to AR/VR and 3D printing, it is a revolution in itself. 3-D printing has proven to be a game changer in the world of Aerospace, Defence and Surgery. A team of plastic surgeons, back in 2014, achieved an extraordinary feat by restoring a 3-year-olds deformed skull to its original shape using a 3D printer.
The 3D printing market has only risen exponentially since then with companies like Stratasys and Optomec have partnerships and alliances in 3D printing in India.

8) Wearable Technologies


Wearable Technology is everywhere right from devices that are worn as accessories to the ones that are implanted. Micro-controllers have been embedded on to everything from clothing to jewellery. The most significant and common of all wearable devices are the smartwatches. Fitness bands are a close next in the list with as they are handy and provide a lot of information on your daily fitness activities. Smart shoes, smart clothes, smart jewellery all these may become very common in the years to come.

Apple, Adidas, Fitbit, Google, Garmin, Nike, Jawbone are few of the major vendors in wearable technology products.

9) Humanized Big Data




Big Data is nothing but an analysis of huge data sets to find certain patterns or trends that are connected to human behaviour. These patterns sometimes cannot be interpreted by people other than data-scientists to actually take some concrete actions based on them. This is where humanizing Big Data will come in wherein anyone will be able to access and apply the information resulting out of Big Data analysis. This will provide relevant and useful information which anyone is capable of interpreting that was previously only available to IT.
The major p[layers in Big Data are IBM, Microsoft, Google, VMWare, Palantir and PWC.


10) Everything on Demand


We are getting more and more impatient and the technological trend of “instant everything” is adding to it. Restaurants and retailers are already in the race for “who makes the quickest delivery”. There has been a significant rise in the 1-day delivery advertisements by e-commerce giants to attract and retain consumers. IT services are also improving the infrastructure to meet the demands of this quick delivery of goods.

This year holds a lot of promise in disruptive innovations. These are the trends that we should look out for as 2018 unfolds.
All major online learning sites like coursera, udemy provide courses in all these technologies.

If you thing there are other technologies which can be in the list of Top 10 trends of 2018 , Leave us a comment will review and update the list accordingly.
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