Top 6 Technology Trends That Transformed Daily Lives

What is something that you have seen but your children find difficult to relate to? What is something that you hear your dad or mom talking about but you cannot imagine how they could live without today’s enhanced and improved version of it? This happens because we progress in leaps and bounds and so does technology. One decade there is a phone with the click-clack of qwerty keyboards and the next decade, we have phones with inbuilt keywords that are as silent as the lights of your room. This article explores the wave of latest technology trends that are here to stay and change our lives every day. 

Digital twinning

A concept that was coined in 2002 but is now gaining more momentum is the digital twin concept. Digital twins are virtual counterparts of any thing, process, or service. Let’s take an example. There is an innovator just like you, with a manufacturing factory that supplies his products. However, that factory is not up to the standards when it comes to efficiency and cost-effectiveness. 

What can he do? Just blindly implement measures and hope that things fall in place? A much better alternative would be to make a virtual copy of his processes. Those virtual copies can be analyzed through the data and learnings of modern business models. And voila, soon he will know which way he can go to fix his factory. These digital copies are called digital twins. 

Digital twins can help you understand the problem and try out different solutions. The best solution can then be turned into a physical solution, making sure that money and manufacturing resources are saved in the search for the best solution. 

Ubiquitous computing

The word ubiquitous means being present everywhere. That is exactly the end mission of ubiquitous computing. Ubiquitous computing is the vision in AI and IoT to build smart devices that can interact and exchange data with other devices in the vicinity. This trend in the upcoming technology trends list has the best example in home automation. 

Let’s talk about the devices we have in our vicinity. When we go anywhere, a smartwatch is seen in most of our hands. When it comes to exercise, Fitbits are the best appliances that can track your activity as well as play music through your earphones. Most homes have an Alexa or Google Assistant to help the residents with their daily reminders, booking appointments and more. There are smart TVs, smart ACs and even smart lamps that can be connected to one single source – your smartphone. This environment where every device is connected and without additional interference can exchange data exhibits ubiquitous computing. Thus, this trend aims to have an expanded network of most devices connecting seamlessly in the future.

Extended reality

Extended reality (ER) is the term that covers augmented reality, virtual reality, mixed reality and all other immersive learning experiences. You might have seen all the hullabaloo about virtual reality, metaverse. You would have seen people with their VR sets playing games in the most realistic immersive environment. These learning experiences are one of the major technology trends in India and abroad.   

Extended reality came up a few years back in the gaming industry, mostly. Now, though, we are slowly moving towards ER in every sector like business, education and more. Therapists and mental healthcare professionals are recreating situations through ER to help their patients. Home decor companies are using ER to give their customers a live demonstration of what their newly decorated rooms look like.  

Stacked technology

The pandemic that hit us has exposed flaws in our online architecture. Industries have taken a long, hard look at the technical architecture they have in place. With different stakeholders moving to an online environment, every sector now has to ensure that their technology architecture is in place. It has to be in place to ensure data privacy and security.

Now, the current technology trends for these organizations include obtaining the best technology stack to shift online. Let’s go step by step. With most organizations going online, we need a software interface for the audience. For this software platform, developers use different tech stacks. Tech stacks consist of backend and frontend which can be broken down into different tools and programming languages. 

Let’s take an example – You would like to create a website which can be scaled up when the audience increases. What would you use as a foundation tech stack for this website? You would use the MEAN tech stack (and no, I am not talking about the adjective). You would be using MongoDB for database purposes and for server purposes, Node.js. For the frontend, you would add a sprinkle of Express.js web framework. To top off, you would use the Angular.js web framework to make your website dynamic. 

In a nutshell, think of your website or app as a Burger. You have to have the buns which are the frontend and the backend. You have to have the deliciousness in the middle which in this case would be the database shaped patty and the server shaped lettuce. And there you have it, a tasty website that everyone can enjoy. 

New energy solutions

Would you believe me if I told you that new energy technology is on the block? It’s not electricity but it’s magnet technology. Magnetic energy is one of the latest technology trends in the energy industry. An example would be the superconducting electromagnets present in the Japanese Maglev trains. The fastest bullet train in the world uses electromagnetic technology and magnetic repulsion to run in Japan.

Another instance is that researchers are now working on a magnetic pill that can attach itself to cancerous particles inside the body. These pills will be able to transmit all the information that any healthcare professional would want to know. You would get all the data without any interference to your normal bodily functions. 

Solutions in the plastic industry 

We are all aware of how big a menace plastic is to Mother Earth. However, technology helps to eliminate plastic pollution. How? Companies like MacRebur have found ways to melt down technology and with additives mixed in, use it to build roads. Ecobrick’s creative solution calls for stuffing plastic bottles with single use plastics thrown away, so much so that it acts like a brick. The stuffing makes the bottles hard. Hence, people use them for building entire living structures like schools, buildings and so on. Alternative solutions like Technical Centre of Finland’s multi-layer polymer serve as alternatives to plastic packaging.

If you want to contribute to #PausethePlastic, participate in our Innovator of the Month challenge. You can submit projects till 22nd March. On top of contributing to save the world, you can get cool, exciting prizes as well.

If you want your kids to enhance their creativity and help them succeed in this increasingly digital world, we would love to help you out. The Avishkaar Robotics Starter Kit is your child’s entry into the fascinating world of building robots. Gift your child a lifetime of learning with the Electronics & IoT Microdegree, the best course for studying smart machines.  Go ahead and take a look at more such kits at https://shop.avishkaar.cc/. Join our fabulous community of young, innovative Avishkaaris on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/letsavishkaar and https://www.instagram.com/avishkaaredu/.  

If you want to learn about more futuristic technologies and trends, keep an eye out for Part 2 in our blog.