Technologies that will Dominate in 2022.
When I wake up in the morning, I first reach for the switch to turn on the lights. Most of the time, I am unhappy with the bulb lights during those waking-up hours. Even though one of my bulbs begins lighting dimly and then starts brightening thereafter, it has not been the solution though.
What I wouldn’t want at that moment is a bulb that I can control at a certain brightness level. Maybe it is in the evening and I want to create a theatre environment, and probably a very dim light is what I want, I would then tap into my phone, and just the way I adjust the brightness of my screen brightness I would adjust the light of the bulb.
Smart Homes
In 2022, smart homes technologies will dominate the technology space and whatever I desire above is a reality elsewhere. From doors that you would speak at and they open to internet-connected door locks and robotic help, these technologies will continue gaining traction in 2022.
Technology takes time to mature. No wonder you would have heard of smart homes in 2021 yet the smart home’s technologies will continue to evolve in the next span of about 5 years before they can be fully integrated into all our lives.
One of the big challenges has been the selectiveness of the technologies used. For instance, there could be an internet-connected door lock running on IOS software. And within that home, there is an individual who has an android software device. The truth of the matter is that that person cannot unlock the door even if they had the password or right biometric identity due to software incompatibility.
But there is a development in the process that will see technologies unveiled that could work with the different software. Samsung, Amazon, Apple, and Google are working on a technology called Matter that would allow smart home devices to communicate with each other regardless of the software/phone brand or the virtual assistant.
So, watch out for a future virtual assistant such as Siri who would be able to talk to a Goggle Assistant or Amazon’s Alexa in regards to various tasks that need to be done. A good example would be A google assistant-controlled washing machine talking to an Apple assistant Robot letting it know that there are clothes that have been washed and need to be transferred to the drier.
Metaverse
Some of us have heard of Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and 3D. Metaverse now utilized all these three technologies. It is a network of 3D virtual worlds created on a social connection or platform.
Metaverse is where the internet is viewed as a single universal virtual world made possible by such technologies as virtual reality and augmented reality. It is a fact that we spend a huge chunk of our day expressing ourselves to the world through various forms such as quotes, pictures, and videos.
Metaverse now takes that to a notch higher where you can express yourself by an avatar. This means interacting in a virtual environment whereby you can dimensionalize your visual representation as you want it in real-time. It could mean shopping for clothes online or other things so that in your virtual form – avatar – you best express who you are.
So far, we have had millions of virtual reality headsets shipped globally which gives people a peek into the reality of AR and VR. The same is for virtual reality goggles which have found widespread use in the world of gaming.
The virtual reality goggles enable one to kind of walk into the world of the game and take the form of the gamer in the virtual context from whence one can play as though they were in the real game itself and hence exercise their explorations. This is poised to grow a bigger deal this year.
Health
This year, expect to see more and more uptake of health tech products. More people will buy wearables that help track their heart rates, movements, body temperatures to a level where the product can forewarn the wearer of a potentially chronic disease attack so that they can seek treatment in advance.
One such product is the Oura Ring developed by Oura which tracks various aspects of the wearer, more so temperature to accurately predict one’s menstruation cycle for women. The only concern from health experts is the aspect of the data collected being used to misdiagnose patients.
Electric cars
This has been a darling to many people across the globe. Locally, having an electric car elevates one to a different class of their own. Infrastructure-wise it is very expensive. A factor that has hampered the rapid transition of major automobiles into the electric space. Underdeveloped infrastructure has also meant a lower uptake of electric cars by consumers on the other hand.
America has embarked on an ambitious goal where they want to have half of all their cars electric by the year 2030. Tesla Motors has had a head start in this space and has developed the required infrastructure, charging stations majorly as well as advancing in the electric car technology research.
Toyota anticipates having their electric Toyota Prado Tx by 2023. The Ford Motor Company also intends to have their ranger pickup electric by 2023. Mercedes is not intending to be left behind as they look forward to having their Mercedes EQE that is electric go on sale this year.
New research is beginning to spark interest in electric cars such as sodium-ion batteries. As demand for electric cars is expected to rise exponentially, so is the technology that powers them and the smart features therein as we move towards self-driven cars. No wonder Mukesh Ambani invested in Faradion because he knows where the future is headed.
Where are we in this whole race as a nation? Are we the bystanders who stand, watch and see things happen or the guys who melt in the racing car tacks to make a win? As a country, we have a role to play in this technological race, and we better brace ourselves for that.
