Artificial intelligence is becoming a very interesting topic to be discussed, anticipated and feared for its role in the future. It will have great advances especially in its applications in robotics and autonomous vehicles. Intelligent robots with greater autonomy and new skills, more objects connected in companies, homes and public spaces, and new products more efficient, lightweight, durable and adapted to each genetic profile, are some technological novelties that will be a reality this year.
Technology
We will see smarter, faster robots, with more autonomy and, above all, with new skills. The scientific director of Digital Technologies of Eurecat, María Eugenia Fuenmayor, predicted that this 2018 will be marked from the technological point of view by the possibilities that have opened the advances in artificial intelligence, the rise of data analytics and the increase of objects connected to the Internet, as well as the new capabilities of collaborative robotics and the projection of autonomous vehicles. The data reveal a disheartening truth about current growth. There has been a marked decline in the capacity of traditional production levers – capital and labor – to boost economic growth.
However, this is simply the vision that figures give us. Artificial intelligence (AI) is an industrial factor introducing new sources of growth, transform how work is done and reinforce the role of people in driving economic growth. It is a really revolution.
Accenture’s study of the impact of Artificial Intelligence in 12 developed economies reveals that AI could double annual rates of economic growth in 2035, changing the nature of work and establishing a new relationship between man and machine. It is anticipated that the impact of AI on business will increase work productivity by up to 40% and allow people to make more efficient use of their time.
Robots and smart vehicles
We will see smarter, faster, more autonomous robots and, above all, with new skills in areas other than manufacturing or domestic, such as agriculture, medicine, security or transport. As for autonomous vehicles and smart drones, this will be the year we will begin to see them travel through streets and fly in public spaces, since they have approved and updated regulations for use that will allow it. The next time you find something in the soup it may well be a drone.
According to the figures, they have proliferated in such a way that they will deal with the flies one on one. Here are some data to get an idea of its evolution: in United States there are already 3,000 specialized companies that offer all kinds of services with unmanned gadgets by 3,700 registered pilots. While, according to the calculations of the European Commission, drones will generate 150,000 jobs in the EU until 2050. It is the fashion profession, one of the most attractive occupations on the labor scene, according to the sources of the young sector.
These vehicles of autonomous guidance can be quadrocopters, hexacopters and so on -according to the number of propellers-, helicopters or also terrestrial and even aquatic, although it is necessary to recognize that when we think of a drone we tend to imagine it in the sky. To cite just one case of an aquatic vehicle, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is working on a prototype capable of entering a city’s water facilities and detecting leaks, even moving against the current.
In the case of industrial applications, the factories will increase their capabilities with collaborative robotics, drones will diversify their civil applications and artificial intelligence will become more accessible in everyday devices thanks to the progressive deployment of the Internet of Things. Many researchers predict that some of the axes that will drive the technologies in 2018 will be energy efficient products, lighter, more durable, healthier, smarter, more personalized and more reliable.
Not only the axes, the quantum computing, brain-computer interfaces, intelligent robots and the Internet of Things are in the “phase of increasing initial expectation”, while “deep learning”, “machine learning”, the “blockchain” and the autonomous vehicles are located within the “peak of maximum expectation.”
Efficient and renewable materials
Renewables and energy efficiency are “on the rise” and materials such as graphene will begin to be “tamed” on an industrial scale, while “computing will allow us to know a little more about the human brain and how to diagnose and treat mental illnesses.” In the field of biotechnology, personalized nutrition will be increasingly relevant, the development of foods designed for the elderly and for the improvement of cognitive development, as well as research on the nominal microbiol, health and nutrition.
Omic technologies
In this regard, omic technologies “are already a reality” to design products adapted to each genetic profile and to segments of the population such as people with obesity problems or intolerance or women in of breastfeeding and those over 65. Many observatories of technological trends predict that by 2030 it will be more than likely to develop products according to the microbiol of each person or be able to prescribe diets based on each profile of bio markers to avoid developing any type of disease. In fact, globalization and changes in social and food habits “will provoke” an increase in the demand for personalized food adapted to the profile of the consumer and their needs, more elaborated, easier to consume, with defined nutritional values and a higher protein content.
We can take an example for this year the development of spherical metallic powder for its application in 3D manufacturing processes, and the thermal projection of materials for surface coatings, a process that “can to obtain optimal surfaces to greatly extend the life of the components “, with application in the repair of parts for the aeronautical industry.
In the environmental field, the growing role of the circular economy will continue, through the valorisation of industrial waste and the regeneration of contaminated soils and water. We hope this article can provide useful insight for you in understanding the ongoing industrial revolution (again and again) this year.