Predicting the future is easier said than done, yet it’s an interesting exercise to research and look for information that could hint what might be the hot tech advances impacting the tech industry and our personal lives. As we step in the new year, we have already witnessed a lot of tech disruption in 2016, be it 3D printing, wearables, mobile technology, VR or self-driven cars. Year 2017 seems more promising.

Here are my Top 6 Tech predictions for the year 2017

Growth in AR & VR technologies for ‘creation experiences’ & enhanced ownership

As far as new, exciting and engaging consumer technology is concerned, Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) were quite the buzz last year. 2017 can turn up to be an early yet sensationally productive year for the VR and AR industries. It is expected that VR and AR experiences will exceed present content consumptions and gaming experiences to interactive consumer experiences through touch, feel and other senses, improved health care facilities in terms of consultation and services to a steep transition from traditional to high budget VR/AR Movies. We also hope to see ‘more creation experiences’ in terms of VR and AR technology. More applications like Oculus’ Quill or Medium, Google’s TiltBrush and environmental creation apps like Mindshow or High Fidelity will be created by the developers to let the user create awesome content.

Back in 2016, consumers were inspired to adopt AR experiences on their smart phones through the App-based game Pokemon Go. A research work has revealed that AR is expected to grow from 515 million in 2016 to 5.7 Billion by 2021. By weaving AR into mobile apps, companies this year will offer more personalized and enhanced ownership and shopping experiences to the customer. This will have a direct impact on the sales and popularity of VR & AR devices that utilize high-resolution mobile devices.

IoT will be more than just sensors, it will include robotics, automation and much more

Hype around the IoT (Internet of Things) dominated the 2016 predictions, the actual IoT services and solutions are yet to be evolved beyond meager B2B or automotive projects. IoT is the utilization of Internet to connect daily use stand-alone items like cars, refrigerator, ovens, and billions of other devices to be controlled remotely, thereby enhancing the operationality and performance.To consider how far the IoT could take us, consider Mark Zuckerberg’s very own JARVIS assistant. Based on a functionality of human butler, JARVIS takes care of all the things a butler is capable of doing. He plays music based on his own or his wife Priscilla's preference, control his home appliances, run face recognition to identify the person at the door, etc.

It is expected that by the end of year 2017, robotics and machine learning with combine with IoT which will further pave the way for growth of industrial IoT and omni-channel IoT solutions. CIOs of technology companies will shift their focus on creating more structured IoT approaches for creating the business insights at various organizational levels, and, further, bridging the gap between the virtual as well as the physical worlds. Given the adequate opportunity, it is expected that an exclusive array of simple IoT solutions will focus on conventional business like small-scale manufacturing and agriculture to create an big impact in the year 2017.

Artificial Learning, Artificial Learning & Artificial Learning

It’s almost everywhere.

And it is almost certain that AI (Artificial Intelligence) and Deep learning would be immensely impacting the tech market of 2017. However, it is not easily comprehended that where exactly the substantial benefits will occur.

I believe that Natural language processing is one of the key areas that is expected to benefit the most. It is used to analyze the audio, recognize the spoken words by analyzing the audio and responding to it. If deep learning’s practical applications are applied to automated language and audio translation service, people will be able to speak different languages and communicate with each other using their native mother tongue.

Machine Vision that includes image recognition and processing, will be assisting everything from populating the social media photos to autonomous driving in connected vehicles. But, the approach remains experimental, and it’ll be interesting to see how effectively it can be deployed.

Besides, the AI-driven chatbots are likely to get significant popularity in 2017 and beyond. From tech support agents and customer care executives, through personal assistants that are available 24x7 and can move from one device to another. Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered messaging app and other automated assistance systems are likely to take the center stage. We have seen a similar attempt from Google through its Google Assistant in Google Allo and latest Pixel series smartphone. With it’s Smart Replies (generic responses that pop up above the keyboard and text field), identical application are expected in near future. Undoubtedly, AI is the technology of the future and always will be.

Intelligent apps

Intelligent apps, that comprise Virtual Personal Assistants or VPAs can transform the modern day workplaces by making the day-to-day tasks easier (prioritizing emails) and employees more productive (showcasing vital interactions & content). The speed at which intelligent apps are developed and deployed, it is expected that these applications are workable for much wider range of the organizations. According to Gartner, by the year 2017-2018, around 200 major international companies will exploit Intelligent apps and make a complete use of big data and the analytics tools to render improved and effective customer service. Keeping in mind the competitive nature of majority of industries, intelligent applications can offer robust competitive advantage and example for rest to follow the hot pursuit.        

Just Walk Out Technology

All of us have probably spent few months of our life waiting to get billed at the checkout queues. Well, this is about to get changed, thanks to Amazon Go. The customers are required to walk in, pick up anything they like and simply walk out, without waiting at the checkout queues.

They call it “Just Walk Out Technology’ and it uses a mix of sensors, deep learning and the AI to track the items which are purchased by the customers. You’ll be charged from your Amazon account and will receive the receipt for the same. The store is located in Seattle and is currently running on testing phase as it is open only for the Amazon employees.

Company claims that the store ‘will open to public in early 2017’. As it offers ease for shopping and convenient check out facility, people are expected to flock together in large numbers.

“Why Blockchain”? to “What new to do Blockchain”?

In year 2016, Blockchain technology has assisted multiple sectors to carry out an innovative ways to perform the digital transactions. Known by many as the technology underpinning the bitcoin digital currency, Blockchain holds the assurance of revolutionizing the operating models of financial institutions and various industries. From banks looking to accelerate the cross-country transactions, governments looking to manage land records, equity trading to retail supply management, the Blockchain technology was effectively used. The technology enables entrusted and secured transactions and has completely dissolved the role of middlemen. It is anticipated that Blockchain technology will rule and capture all major markets, powering everything from everyday transactions, identity verifications to major stock exchanges of the World. In 2017, I am expecting a speedy incline in smart modules, contracts and listening services, Blockchain will further gain momentum.

How did you like the article? What are your views about my Tech Predictions 2017, feel free to discuss in the comments section below.