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Smart homes, Virtual Reality and more: Top 5 technology trends of 2017

  • The year 2017 would give a further push to the emerging technologies that we saw in 2016.
  • Building on these technologies, the New Year looks quite promising. 
Tech trends 2017

The year started with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg introducing the world to Jarvis, the AI assistant from the movie Iron Man. It's not just Facebook, but Google and others are also looking to get the best from some of the emerging technologies that we saw last year. We've seen companies, from big to small, churning out VR headsets while AR took the gaming segment by storm. Moreover, some of the emerging technologies we saw last year seem intertwined in a way that will help blur the line between real and virtual.

 

Let's take a quick look at 5 trends that would work in tandem to dominate the technology space in 2017. 

 

Smart Home

Imagine entering your home on a sunny day and instructing your AC to turn on even before you step in. Turning on lights, geyser and so on with the tap of a button. That's your smart Home for 2017. Internet of Things (IoT) and Smart Homes could become the game changers in the year 2017. The deeper penetration of smartphones, higher adoption of mobile data, push for 4G services, could all work in tandem to make this possible. 

 

This isn't something new and we've already seem smart home appliances like a smart fridge, an intelligent washing machine, smarter security for home with sensors, cameras, monitors and so on. The year 2016 was better than 2015 in terms of demand for these products, and the shipments are expected to significantly increase in 2017.

 

Companies like Siemens, Schneider have been giving Smart Homes a push. But, awareness and cost are said to be some of the major hindrances. However, the startup space in India has players offering affordable smart homes. For instance, Bangalore-based Inoho offers a smart home kit starting at Rs 12,000.

 

"The difference between a 2016 and 2017 is a voice based control for the home. Historically, the smart home was controlled only through the smartphone, so the consumer needed to go through the phone and through the app. Then with Siri, the consumer did not need the app, just the phone was good (for limited use cases). With Alexa, you don't need to have the phone in your hand, so it offers a better consumer experience. Google home is a sign that the voice ecosystem will evolve and not just remain an on-off effort, as now, we have multiple players trying to develop a solution. In a sense, solving for voice in smarthome is similar to solving for the last mile connectivity in logistics, Deepankar Garg, co-founder Inoho tells us.

 

Tech trends 2017

VR Headsets & AR

Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality took the centrestage in 2016. We saw the Oculus Rift with other gaming solutions, and the affordable Day Dream headset from Google too. Giving a further push to VR were phone makers who started churning out branded VR headsets accompanying their phones.

 

We also saw launch events using a VR headset. Now, with a dozen VR headsets ready to enter the markets in 2017, it is one segment that is definitely something to watch out for.

 

On the other hand, Augmented Reality took a leap in 2016 with the Pokemon Go. With this, the mobile experience using AR is likely to expand further in 2017. Don't be surprised to see brands jump onto the technology.

 

Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality definitely make it to the list of technologies to watch out for in 2017. 

 

AI and machine learning

Before we begin, let's understand the difference between these two words that are often believed to be interchangeable. Artificial Intelligence or AI means the intelligence that makes the machine smarter while machine learning is the enabler to support AI. For instance, machine learning for a AI-based idea would help the machine get smarter by accessing data and self-learning.

 

These two aspects played a key role in 2016, and the role will widen in 2017. Companies like Google, Apple and others have been implementing machine learning and AI to make their products smarter and intelligent, be it search, cloud computing or digital assistants. With the narrowing gap between the real and digital world, expect our gadgets, homes and lives to get a smarter.

 

 

Tech trends 2017

3D Printing

3D Printing has been around for a while. It has been hitting headlines for helping medical practitioners build prototype tools to companies looking to implement 3D printed parts in order to cut costs.

 

But, the technology hasn't gone mainstream. Apart from awareness, high prices are said to be the hindrances. This may change in 2017 as many expect a drop in 3D printer prices in 2017.

 

Big data

While cloud computing got a major boost in 2016, it is expected grow further in 2017. Don't be surprised to see more companies moving onto cloud, including SMBs. Cloud-based data analysis could see a further push next year as companies would be looking to reduce costs and increase flexibility at their data centres.

 

"On big data: the concept is still at an experimental stage. The idea would receive a fillip once industry goes in for state of the art technologies such as industrial internet of things. Industry would shed its reluctance of the technology, but not in large measure. The process would be slow. However, of all sectors, healthcare would prove to be the most promising for an emerging technology like big data. With the emergence of increasingly sophisticated sensors, data collection would reach unprecedented levels, offering new insights into areas as diverse as treatment of diseases to environmental conservation. For third world countries such as India, the technology offers the scope to cut down on medical expenses and further universalisation of healthcare to people who are outside its ambit," Muqbil Ahmar, a technology evangelist tells us. 

 

There are several other trends to watch out for such as digital payments - owing to demonetisation and mobile wallet options available - may see an increase by manifold this year. Edge-to edge displays, more reliance on digital assistants, social channels being used as news source could be a few other trends to watch out for. 

 

The emerging technologies are intertwined and incorporating AI and machine learning for better predictive analysis is also expected to get a further push. Adding to this, the year 2017 looks promising at tightening cloud security.

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