- Delivery robots would increase in number
According to CNN tech, in 2018 robots will finally take to the streets.A number of companies have developed robots that cruise the halls of hotels and hospitals, crack down on crime in malls, or just deliver a burrito a couple of blocks away.
These robots use a combination of GPS, sensors and cameras to navigate the world without taking out bystanders. They’re already facing a backlash. A security robot deployed by the SF SPCA to clear out homeless encampments around its property was reportedly knocked over and smeared with feces by angry locals. And San Francisco recently passed regulations to limit the number of delivery robots on the streets.
2) 5G Wireless Broadband launches;
AT&T and Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) began testing wireless 5G broadband in 2017, and in 2018, both companies say they’ll launch limited commercial availability for the new service. Unlike 4G and LTE, 5G will mainly be used for home internet connections at first, allowing the telecoms to provide multiple-gigabit speeds via wireless connections to homes. For context, 1 gigabit speeds are 15 times faster than the average home broadband connections in the U.S.
Not only are the speeds faster, but 5G offers less congestion for home internet connections as well (think of how slow it gets when you and your neighbors are all streaming movies on the same night) and has lower latency (it can send information very fast) than traditional cable internet connections. Verizon will bring 5G to Sacramento, California, and four other yet-to-be announced markets in 2018.
- In-home digital virtual assistants become more prevalent
Voice-enabled smart speakers like Amazon.com’s Echo, and Google’s Cortana are getting into more homes
These speakers can field questions about the weather, order online products, search the web, and even do things like order an Uber or have a pizza delivered. They can also be paired with other smart home products, like a thermostat, so users can control devices around the home using just their voice.
Alexa-fever has spread and most of the big technology players are working on their own voice assistants. Voice assistants have diversified into cars
The number Americans who have used these types of devices has spiked nearly 130% from 2016 to 2017, its presently gaining ground in affluent homes in Africa and Nigeria. All of which means that it’s likely we’ll see even more adoption of these voice-enabled smart speakers next year.
- 2018 would be judgement year for bitcoin – grow or die.
Why it may grow: Bitcoin’s massive price gains toward the end of 2017 got the attention of investors and the general public, and we’re likely to see more of the same in 2018. Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency that allows its owners to make purchases safely and anonymously, and as of this writing, the value of one bitcoin has jumped nearly 2,000% in 2017.
Bitcoin is now accepted by some retailers, like Home Depot and Overstock.com, and it’s likely that more retailers will jump on board next year, particularly if the value continues to rise.
Why we may see the end of Bitcoin: But bitcoin is still highly volatile, and its online exchanges (where you buy and sell bitcoin) are often the targets of hackers. All of this means we’re probably just as likely to see bitcoin’s value slide in
2018 as we are to see its price rise to new heights. Either way, expect to hear much more about the cryptocurrency in 20
- 2018 would be the year of smart cars;
Automakers and tech companies have been testing driver-less cars for years, but in 2018, there would be more head way made. Cars produced next year would have smart features like self-parking, voice assistance, cars that see, etc.
Google’s self-driving car project Waymo has recently announced that in a few months, it will launch a driver-less car taxi service in the city. That means Waymo’s vehicles will pick up people on-demand, drop them off at destinations, and drive themselves around town without a human in the driver’s seat.
That’s a big step forward for Waymo, and driver-less car tech as a whole, and it means the company is a few years ahead of its competition.
2018 would also witness more electric cars on the road. Nissan, Chevrolet and Tesla are aggressively improving on this technology to strip away the trust issues.
6)Underground mass transportation would be more popular – in high traffic big cities
At the very end of 2016, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that we was starting a new company that would attempt to help solve the well-known traffic problems in Los Angeles, California. And last year, Musk’s new Boring Company drilled a 500-foot long tunnel to test out a new underground system of moving passengers along high-speed tracks.
The company could potentially use two types of underground transportation, the first being a track system that could move more than a dozen passengers between cities at up to 150 mph. The other is Musk’s Hyperloop concept, which consists of pods that travel in a near-vacuum tube at up to 700 mph.
- Goodbye to Augmented reality headsets. Welcome to everyday VR for shopping, selfies & more
Augmented reality overlays digital images onto the real world, In 2017 There was a steady rise of virtual reality but strapping on a headset to look at games or 360-degree videos hasn’t been the hit many had hoped.
In 2018, Smartphones are including powerful AR technology in their devices so anyone with a fast enough device can try it out. For example, with Apple’s AR Kit, iOS apps can map out a room and use realistic, changing lighting to make their objects better blend in with a scene.
AR would change shopping and selfies in the next year. No bulky face-computer needed. Product manufacturers will create AR experiences with their packaging so that demonstration videos can appear when you look at the product on the shelf or celebrity spokespeople can magically stand in the aisle to pitch the product.
Virtual pop-up stores can be built to appear anywhere that crowds are gathered (in a stadium, a busy street corner, or even inside a subway).
Be the first to comment