Our main interactions with technology in the future will take place away from mobile phones, according to the CEO of leading app development firm Apadmi.
Nick Black’s Trafford-based company ranks within the top 10 app developers globally and works with world-renowned companies such as the BBC, The X Factor, The Guardian, BT, Skyscanner, EE and AstraZeneca.
He sees a future where tech is seamlessly integrated into everyday items such as shoes.
‘Apadmi boss on the emerging tech that is to disrupt the status quo’
“In the near future, it’s possible that all the key items in your life will connect and work seamlessly together,” he told BusinessCloud.
“Just think about your morning commute to work: the alarm on your phone could be connected to your toaster and coffee machine, so that when you wake up your breakfast could be ready when you get downstairs.
“Imagine if your car could also keep track of the time you get out of bed and de-ice the windscreen for you, put on the heated seats and work out the fastest route for you to get into work.
“When you’re in the car, any urgent messages could be read aloud to you and then you could respond by voice control and reply before you get into the office. The possibilities are endless, and extremely exciting.
“The Internet of Things will play a huge role in how we interact with technology in the future. When these connected devices are then able to collect and analyse Big Data, this is where we’ll see the real value in tech like artificial intelligence to identify patterns and enhance our experiences.
“This is where mainstream adoption will take place. It will most likely take place outside of a mobile phone, and the interactions with technology will occur through everyday items such as trackers in your shoes.”
The big tech companies are desperate to win the race to provide customers’ connected homes. Samsung SmartThings, for example, is a system which can track usage of and manage your TV, music, thermostat, lights, movements and garage door.
However it does allow some products from other brands to be connected – and it is that universality which could prove the biggest challenge to Black’s vision.
“Knitting all of this together, so that everyday items can integrate seamlessly with each other, will require a huge global collaboration effort between manufacturers, telecoms organisations and designers alike,” he added.
Black believes that over the next 12 months, AI and augmented reality will come to the fore as a diverse range of sectors investigate how this emerging tech can disrupt the status quo.
“There’s no doubt that AI will play a significant role in technology development over the next five to 10 years,” confirmed Black. “We’re already seeing ‘bots’ and other intelligent systems being utilised to help reduce the amount of time employees have to spend on administrative tasks and customer service.
“This task automation process is something that is only going to grow over time. And in the future, it’s likely that AI technology will enable us humans to focus more of our time on greater innovation and creativity.
“The adoption of virtual reality has not been as strong as initially predicted. The cost of good quality hardware, and a lack of investment on the software side, has meant that there’s currently not as many uses for VR in the public domain as first anticipated, [although we are seeing it in] the training and education sector such as the training of medical staff across the world.
“It may be that the commercial success of this technology lies in this enterprise business model, rather than as a consumer technology.
“In comparison, augmented reality looks to have far stronger advantages within the retail sector. Customers can use the hardware and devices they already own to utilise the AR technology – this will then enable them to view and test products in the real world before they buy them.
“AR currently appears to have a far wider reach compared to VR.”