Technological innovations: Entertainment, education, monetary transactions all set to turn smarter this year
The world is getting increasingly influenced by technology and how people interact with it in their day-to-day lives. All the same, technology itself keeps changing, evolving and throwing up ever-newer possibilities. As we turn the corner on another year, the tech landscape too will shift gears, taking us even closer to a more interactive, personalised, mobile and connected future. Here are a few key trends in technology that are likely to make an impact or break new ground in 2013:
 |
| With mobile phones more widespread than banking, mobile payment is the next big payment method in India. |
Multitude of screens
It is curious to note that despite many industry watchers predicting the end of certain media types — the latest 'favourite' being the PC — they have continued to coexist and add to our overall experience. The year 2013 will likely establish the presence and utility of multiple screens in our lives, including TVs, PCs, tablets and, of course, phones. What technology companies will aim is to resolve the problems caused by fragmentation and the lack of common standards. Internet companies will come up with cool and innovative mobile-first experiences that will wow consumers with their simple, open, compelling and feature-rich applications.
Computing will get 'more ubiquitous'
No, you are right: just saying 'ubiquitous' is enough to convey the idea of how pervasive computing is getting. But while the concept of ubiquitous computing — also called the Internet of Things — has been around for some time, we are still not there — not quite. The coming year will possibly see more devices getting connected to each other through internet protocol (IP) than any other time in history.
World of Massive Open Online Courses (Moocs)
It's never been easier to take a course online. A new model of online courses open to people all over the globe via the internet has quickly gained ground and support among global universities in recent months. Moocs is a new generation of online education, freely accessible on the internet and geared towards very large student numbers. The buzz began last fall in the US when more than 1,60,000 students in more than 190 countries signed up to take a free artificial intelligence course taught by Stanford research professor Sebastian Thrun. Moocs are built on efficiency of scale, making a world-class professor or university accessible to thousands of students at once. The enthusiasm for Moocs reflects excitement about the potential economic benefits that could be unlocked by bringing higher education to people around the world. From free courses to partial or entire online degrees, one can't help but wonder about the future landscape of higher education in 2013!
Quantum computing to take more strides
The ability to harness the quantum state of subatomic particles to carry out high-speed computation got a fillip in 2012, thanks to the year's Nobel Prize in Physics. Serge Feroche and David Wineland jointly received it for their work on quantum systems. No one is saying that a quantum computer will jump off the lab in 2013, but scientists will put their best foot forward to come up with more breakthroughs. The implications of quantum computing are huge and its arrival will radically alter conventional models of computation. For example, the security of e-commerce systems is predicated on the use of public-key cryptography to make secure web transactions. Public-key cryptography is based on the crucial assumption that it will (always) be computationally hard to factorise very large integers into their prime constituents. However, if practical quantum computers can be built, then quantum algorithms already exist that will massively reduce the time to factorise large numbers. In other words, the whole e-commerce edifice will have to be redesigned.
3D technologies will rule the roost
With three dimensions in their whole new 'avatars', the world of cinema, television, video games and mobiles will continue to become more interactive and immersive throughout the coming year. A significant addition to the repertoire will be 3D printing that, even though conceptualised three decades ago, is only now beginning to find commercial success. For instance, the prices of 3D printers have dropped to as low as $500 in the US. The fascinating idea of 3D printing — that physical objects can be rapidly fabricated from digital files — will leave its imprint on a whole new set of folks in 2013.
Augmented reality will get a boost:
If 3D is here, can augmented reality (AR) be far behind? AR, which is about overlaying digital information on the real world, will see more widespread adoption because of the rising power of mobile devices (computing and sensors), wearable computing, gesture recognition and higher bandwidth. Mix it with social media applications and reality becomes so much more exciting — and augmented.
Homes, smart homes:
Technologies such as gesture control, voice command and facial recognition are finding ample uses in smart home applications through devices such as mobiles, laptops, tablets and even televisions. A truly smart home would have a mechanism to integrate as many devices as possible and enable the inhabitants to control those devices from wherever they are. Smart homes have been there a while, but emerging markets such as India will see greater adoption in 2013.
The mobile wallet:
A more local trend will emerge with the plethora of technologies for mobile payments that are now available in the Indian market. Many mobile payment solutions allow the users to load their mobile phones with cash of various denominations, at retail touch points, and then use this virtual money to top up any prepaid mobile recharge, pay postpaid mobile bills, utility bills such as electricity and gas and purchase airline, bus and movie tickets.
With the RBI removing the cap — earlier limited to Rs 50,000 — on mobile transactions, m-commerce companies are now optimistic regarding their growth in India. In a country like ours where mobile phones are more widespread and accessible than traditional financial systems — like a nearby bank where you have an account — mobile payment is the next big alternative payment method. All these tech trends will make a significant impact on the lives of millions around the globe or pave the way for more breakthroughs. And going by the way things are converging, most of these and other existing technologies will get further integrated with each other in a growing web of connectedness. To push John Donne's famous line a tad further, not just man, but no device will be an island.