Connect with us

Politics

How IoT Will Change Everyday Life By 2030? – ReadWrite

Published

on

How IoT Will Change Everyday Life By 2030? - ReadWrite


With the start of every new decade, one can’t help but wonder what the world will look like at the end of it. If we can skip the major COVID year (can we) what will 2030 be like? Human technological advancement used to take generations if not centuries up until the Renaissance era. Even then, it took several hundred years for the Industrial Revolution to start shaping the world as a precursor to how we know it today.

When assembly lines emerged, better commercial goods could be manufactured faster and more efficiently. This is arguably where modern capitalism really began to take hold.

Since then we have had several more Industrial Revolutions, such as the use of robotics, automation, computers, and the internet. Each of these technologies has not just revolutionized industrial manufacturing but has incrementally affected our way of life.

It is no accident that complex consumer products like automobiles, home electronics, and gadgets continue to not only get cheaper but also safer. And with the Digital Age, the incremental impact technology has had on everyday life has increased in both frequency and effect.

How IoT May Transform the World By 2030?

IoT technology, despite the security challenges that accompany it, promises to be the next great catalytic force. The concept of IoT has evolved far beyond the drawing board and is already seeing widespread application across a range of industries as well as everyday activities. From farming to manufacturing to local law and order, there seems to be no shortage of IoT possibilities.

The concept of a “smart home” is no longer a far-fetched idea, but well within the realm of possibility given advancements in voice-controlled virtual assistants and IoT networks. This blog will try to paint a picture of what life in 2030 could look like while attempting to remain grounded on the present-day trajectories the technology is taking. Read on to find out more about specific aspects of everyday life we can expect to change by the end of this decade, including:

1.     Smarter Homes and Offices

2.     Smarter and More Efficient Cities

3.     Improved Manufacturing on an Industrial Scale

4.     Safer, Smarter, and Better Automobiles

Let’s examine what the future could look like based on the direction IoT tech is taking at the time of this blog. However, before we begin, there is one important disclaimer. Please note that these are not predictions or guaranteed changes. They are at best cautious extrapolations but based as close to current tech as possible to avoid big leaps of faith. Let’s begin.

Smarter Homes and Offices

The more successful certain technology is, the more impactful it will be in the more obvious areas of your life. Take the internet itself. When it first emerged, it was almost a novelty. Most people didn’t think it would go on to transform the everyday consumer’s life the way it has.

But by 2020, we have seen massive investment in infrastructure as well as advancements in residential and commercial internet tech. This has put providers like Charter in a position to offer internet services to the vast majority of the US. Today, the internet pervades nearly every aspect of our lives, from work to entertainment to study to social interactions. In other words, the changes are apparent in two very obvious areas in our lives: at home and at the office.

IoT in The Workplace

The same principle can, in theory, apply to IoT. IoT devices are already appearing in homes and offices. Sensors already control things like security doors, attendance registers, fire alarms, sprinklers, and even heating and lighting in offices. Other devices like security cameras, motion detectors, and HVAC systems also depend on sensors in the current day.

How difficult could it really be to transition all the sensors and devices in an office building into a central network? At least from a layman’s perspective, it doesn’t seem like a big leap. Sounds too outlandishly futuristic for you? Cisco, a world leader in networking technology, already offers smart building solutions revolving around:

  • Prioritizing building security.
  • Offering better customer interactions.
  • Supplementing occupant health and safety.
  • Seamlessly improve building efficiency.

The smart office of 2030 will revolve around these principles. While we can’t speak for architectural design in 2030, we can certainly bank on office buildings or workplaces being safer, healthier, more efficient, and much more secure.

Efficient Smart Homes

The future smart home follows more or less the same principle. However, smart home IoT technology currently significant faces compatibility problems, mostly since different devices communicate in different languages determined by their manufacturer.

So while your Google Assistant may be able to control devices operating over Wi-Fi, it may not be able to do the same for devices that communicate in ZigBee, Bluetooth, or Z-Wave.

All of these languages being used for various devices makes the language barrier an obstacle in terms of how quickly smart homes can become the norm, instead of the exception. But given that much of this technology is very new, and currently does not have a definitive set of industry standards or regulations, this is to be expected.

As industries begin to capitalize on a market with no clear leaders, various governments will inevitably come up with regulations and standards. This, in turn, will usually improve device compatibility and integration in the average smart home. In any case, smart homes will follow similar principles as smart workplaces, including:

  • Improved home security.
  • Better in-home experience.
  • Optimizing health and safety.
  • Improved energy consumption and efficiency.

Smarter and More Efficient Cities

It is generally accepted (or even expected) that smart homes and smart workplaces will dominate the landscape by 2030. By that rationale, limiting the impact of IoT just to these two places seems a bit shortsighted. Urban areas such as large city centers and towns are usually densely populated.

That means they will most likely have a large number of offices and homes. If offices and homes can become smarter through IoT, the same concept can be applied on a more macro scale. In other words, IoT can usher in the age of the smart city.

IoT Applications in Cities

Consider any modern developed city in the US today. Local governments today have several responsibilities, including law and order, traffic regulation, waste management, energy supplies, pollution control, and much more. Many cities already use technology in strategic areas to help make these responsibilities more manageable.

Take traffic cameras for example. These can monitor traffic all over the city, and many can even identify traffic violations and issue fines autonomously.

Law enforcement can also use these cameras (along with others) to be more proactive in preventing criminal activities. Traffic management also becomes much easier, making life a bit simpler for citizens trying to commute to and from work.

Governments such as those in Hong Kong and China actually use advanced facial recognition tech in addition to sensors around cities to actively monitor citizens (although that seems a bit too Orwellian for most people’s tastes). Regardless, a smart city is not as far in the future as it was at the start of the last decade.

Smart Cities of the Future

But what will a smart city look like in 2030? Let’s take three present-day examples of local governments using IoT as a baseline. Barcelona uses IoT tech to improve parking availability. This helped by heavily reducing both fossil fuel emissions as well as traffic congestion.

Ultimately, traffic saw improved movement in busy parts of the city. Tel Aviv, Israel uses IoT to manage the use of its reserved fast lanes in busy areas. This helps with easing traffic jams and gridlocks for the entire city. It also earns the city revenue in terms of fines on violations.

San Diego, California was one of the first urban hubs to begin using IoT to reduce the city’s energy costs, namely by using smart-LED lampposts. These posts only light up when traffic or pedestrians are nearby, saving the city hundreds of thousands in public energy costs.

A smart city by the end of 2030 will probably incorporate all of these aspects. Almost certainly, they will add new ones too. In any case, we should expect smart cities by 2030 to at least offer:

  • Dramatically reduced street crime rates.
  • Smooth traffic flow with minimal blocks or congestion.
  • Improved waste management capabilities at lowered costs.
  • Significantly smaller energy consumption footprints.
  • Improved city life in terms of healthcare and essential services.
  • Sustainable living with smarter management of clean energy and water.

Obviously, the scale to which IoT spreads in a city will depend heavily on that city’s government. Remember, strong democracies empower local governments to deliver visible and long-lasting results in their constituencies. But the decision to adopt new technologies will ultimately depend on elected officials instead of bureaucrats.

Improved Manufacturing on an Industrial Scale

True revolutionary technologies don’t just change our everyday lives. They also have a significant transformational impact on existing processes that deliver everyday consumer goods. In other words, IoT won’t just result in an improved standard of living. It will also cause an improvement in the industrial processes that create consumer goods to improve our standard of living.

The manufacturing industry, in particular, stands to benefit the most from adopting IoT. The technology has promising applications for strategic use on the assembly line and other key processes. In fact, some of the biggest names in large-scale manufacturing have already started to board the IoT bandwagon. This is paving the way for others to follow suit.

IoT in Automotive Manufacturing

The parallel use of automation and robotics is not new to manufacturing, particularly in the automotive industry. When making complex products like the modern-day automobile, vehicle manufacturers rely on the synergy offered by machines and humans. Many automotive assembly lines are a hybrid of human workers as well as purpose-built automated machines.

All working towards a shared goal: a complete automobile rolling off the line. This speeds up the manufacturing/assembly process considerably. At the same time, it ensures consistently high quality (in keeping with stricter consumer protection laws). Now consider industries that have introduced IoT technology into the mix.

Harley-Davidson and IoT-Supported Processes

Harley-Davidson is an almost permanent part of American culture. It has done an excellent job of encapsulating the free-spiritedness and individualism of the country. All in a beautiful piece of machinery that is an icon of our culture. Up until recently, the company’s York-based motorcycle plant followed the same 1970s-style assembly operation it had for years.

But with a high-tech manufacturing systems update, courtesy of Cisco, the plant has transformed immensely. Using a network of sensors at specific points on the assembly line operation, Harley-Davidson has stepped up. It can now pinpoint and remove bottlenecks as soon as they arise.

The Cisco plant has even restructured certain operations to navigate around persistent obstacles and bottlenecks. The bottom line result? The plant can now roll out 1 model out of its 1,700 variations every 6 hours. The previous timeline was 21 days from the date of order.

Automobile Manufacturers of Tomorrow

What does this tell us about the future of industrial manufacturing by 2030? We can only extrapolate since nobody can speak for sure. But since most manufacturers are hell-bent on minimizing production costs, we can reasonably hope to see:

  • Dramatic improvements in manufacturing processes and production capacities.
  • Restructuring of assembly lines to create better products in less time.
  • Easy identification and removal of manufacturing roadblocks and bottlenecks.
  • Cheaper and better-quality products as a direct result of improved production processes.

Safer, Smarter, and Better Automobiles

The automobile is without doubt one of humankind’s greatest achievements. Henry Ford can safely be credited with developing the world’s first assembly line. This propelled automobiles from expensive novelty to a much cheaper and viable product. Over the years, the automobile industry has seen many entries and exits. Some of the early movers like Mercedes and BMW are still leading manufacturers today. Others like Lagonda and BRM couldn’t adapt to the increasing complexity and varying global demand.

Tesla offers several examples of electric vehicles that have proven to be commercially viable. It is also exactly the kind of technology needed to drive down road emissions to near-zero levels over the coming years. And that’s just one purpose for manufacturing these vehicles.

The Problem With Conventional Vehicles

Conventional automobiles run on fossil fuels. Who doesn’t love the roar of a V8 or V10 engine revving up to the redline! Generations have been captivated by the thrill and speed performance vehicles offer, as well as the exciting driving experience. But the environmental impact they have in terms of carbon emissions is a big problem. There is also the fact that road accidents are the single biggest cause of global fatalities as per the WHO. It is obvious that even many current automobiles are far from perfect.

Over the decades since Ford’s Model T, automobiles have continued to get safer and more fuel-efficient. But they haven’t been able to make transformational headway in terms of road safety and carbon emissions. That is, of course, until present-day electric vehicles arrived on the scene.

Electric vehicles had the reputation of being unreliable, short-ranged, and difficult to maintain. In other words, they were considered less viable than those powered by internal-combustion engines. However, as the fossil fuel crisis grew rapidly over recent years, manufacturers correctly anticipated the need to shift to sustainable alternatives.

Improved Road and Passenger Safety

Thanks to the vast range of sensors as well as computers with the ability to learn and adapt, things are changing quickly. We are seeing vehicles that should belong in science fiction books. From autopilot modes to automatic braking to obstacle radars, they have it all.

The modern vehicle isn’t just environment friendly, but much safer and more reliable. Modern sensors can accomplish a range of feats, from identifying when a driver is asleep to alerting occupants if the car is drifting off the lane to even detecting potential collisions before they occur. This is a direct impact of the use of IoT in modern vehicles, and it promises to only go upwards.

The E-Vehicles Of The Near Future

Automotive tech and IoT continue to advance at a fast pace. We wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect vehicles by the end of 2030 to have:

  • True autonomous driving without requiring a human’s input.
  • Improved vehicle capabilities with IoT transmitting performance data to manufacturers.
  • Wireless performance and safety upgrades that can be “downloaded” to the vehicle.
  • Sophisticated road safety systems that minimize the risks of collisions, injuries, and fatalities.

IoT continues to make its presence felt across our lives. We can reasonably hope for major changes in the coming years. The technology may well have a transformative effect similar to the internet or AI in everyday use.

 Image Credit: mali maeder; pexels; thank you!

Harry Miller

Harry Miller has an honors degree in Finance and Accounting, but prefers to spend his time chasing his passions. From IoT to FinTech to AI and other emerging technologies, he reads, writes, and breathes tech.

Politics

Fintech Kennek raises $12.5M seed round to digitize lending

Published

on

Google eyed for $2 billion Anthropic deal after major Amazon play


London-based fintech startup Kennek has raised $12.5 million in seed funding to expand its lending operating system.

According to an Oct. 10 tech.eu report, the round was led by HV Capital and included participation from Dutch Founders Fund, AlbionVC, FFVC, Plug & Play Ventures, and Syndicate One. Kennek offers software-as-a-service tools to help non-bank lenders streamline their operations using open banking, open finance, and payments.

The platform aims to automate time-consuming manual tasks and consolidate fragmented data to simplify lending. Xavier De Pauw, founder of Kennek said:

“Until kennek, lenders had to devote countless hours to menial operational tasks and deal with jumbled and hard-coded data – which makes every other part of lending a headache. As former lenders ourselves, we lived and breathed these frustrations, and built kennek to make them a thing of the past.”

The company said the latest funding round was oversubscribed and closed quickly despite the challenging fundraising environment. The new capital will be used to expand Kennek’s engineering team and strengthen its market position in the UK while exploring expansion into other European markets. Barbod Namini, Partner at lead investor HV Capital, commented on the investment:

“Kennek has developed an ambitious and genuinely unique proposition which we think can be the foundation of the entire alternative lending space. […] It is a complicated market and a solution that brings together all information and stakeholders onto a single platform is highly compelling for both lenders & the ecosystem as a whole.”

The fintech lending space has grown rapidly in recent years, but many lenders still rely on legacy systems and manual processes that limit efficiency and scalability. Kennek aims to leverage open banking and data integration to provide lenders with a more streamlined, automated lending experience.

The seed funding will allow the London-based startup to continue developing its platform and expanding its team to meet demand from non-bank lenders looking to digitize operations. Kennek’s focus on the UK and Europe also comes amid rising adoption of open banking and open finance in the regions.

Featured Image Credit: Photo from Kennek.io; Thank you!

Radek Zielinski

Radek Zielinski is an experienced technology and financial journalist with a passion for cybersecurity and futurology.

Continue Reading

Politics

Fortune 500’s race for generative AI breakthroughs

Published

on

Deanna Ritchie


As excitement around generative AI grows, Fortune 500 companies, including Goldman Sachs, are carefully examining the possible applications of this technology. A recent survey of U.S. executives indicated that 60% believe generative AI will substantially impact their businesses in the long term. However, they anticipate a one to two-year timeframe before implementing their initial solutions. This optimism stems from the potential of generative AI to revolutionize various aspects of businesses, from enhancing customer experiences to optimizing internal processes. In the short term, companies will likely focus on pilot projects and experimentation, gradually integrating generative AI into their operations as they witness its positive influence on efficiency and profitability.

Goldman Sachs’ Cautious Approach to Implementing Generative AI

In a recent interview, Goldman Sachs CIO Marco Argenti revealed that the firm has not yet implemented any generative AI use cases. Instead, the company focuses on experimentation and setting high standards before adopting the technology. Argenti recognized the desire for outcomes in areas like developer and operational efficiency but emphasized ensuring precision before putting experimental AI use cases into production.

According to Argenti, striking the right balance between driving innovation and maintaining accuracy is crucial for successfully integrating generative AI within the firm. Goldman Sachs intends to continue exploring this emerging technology’s potential benefits and applications while diligently assessing risks to ensure it meets the company’s stringent quality standards.

One possible application for Goldman Sachs is in software development, where the company has observed a 20-40% productivity increase during its trials. The goal is for 1,000 developers to utilize generative AI tools by year’s end. However, Argenti emphasized that a well-defined expectation of return on investment is necessary before fully integrating generative AI into production.

To achieve this, the company plans to implement a systematic and strategic approach to adopting generative AI, ensuring that it complements and enhances the skills of its developers. Additionally, Goldman Sachs intends to evaluate the long-term impact of generative AI on their software development processes and the overall quality of the applications being developed.

Goldman Sachs’ approach to AI implementation goes beyond merely executing models. The firm has created a platform encompassing technical, legal, and compliance assessments to filter out improper content and keep track of all interactions. This comprehensive system ensures seamless integration of artificial intelligence in operations while adhering to regulatory standards and maintaining client confidentiality. Moreover, the platform continuously improves and adapts its algorithms, allowing Goldman Sachs to stay at the forefront of technology and offer its clients the most efficient and secure services.

Featured Image Credit: Photo by Google DeepMind; Pexels; Thank you!

Deanna Ritchie

Managing Editor at ReadWrite

Deanna is the Managing Editor at ReadWrite. Previously she worked as the Editor in Chief for Startup Grind and has over 20+ years of experience in content management and content development.

Continue Reading

Politics

UK seizes web3 opportunity simplifying crypto regulations

Published

on

Deanna Ritchie


As Web3 companies increasingly consider leaving the United States due to regulatory ambiguity, the United Kingdom must simplify its cryptocurrency regulations to attract these businesses. The conservative think tank Policy Exchange recently released a report detailing ten suggestions for improving Web3 regulation in the country. Among the recommendations are reducing liability for token holders in decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) and encouraging the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to adopt alternative Know Your Customer (KYC) methodologies, such as digital identities and blockchain analytics tools. These suggestions aim to position the UK as a hub for Web3 innovation and attract blockchain-based businesses looking for a more conducive regulatory environment.

Streamlining Cryptocurrency Regulations for Innovation

To make it easier for emerging Web3 companies to navigate existing legal frameworks and contribute to the UK’s digital economy growth, the government must streamline cryptocurrency regulations and adopt forward-looking approaches. By making the regulatory landscape clear and straightforward, the UK can create an environment that fosters innovation, growth, and competitiveness in the global fintech industry.

The Policy Exchange report also recommends not weakening self-hosted wallets or treating proof-of-stake (PoS) services as financial services. This approach aims to protect the fundamental principles of decentralization and user autonomy while strongly emphasizing security and regulatory compliance. By doing so, the UK can nurture an environment that encourages innovation and the continued growth of blockchain technology.

Despite recent strict measures by UK authorities, such as His Majesty’s Treasury and the FCA, toward the digital assets sector, the proposed changes in the Policy Exchange report strive to make the UK a more attractive location for Web3 enterprises. By adopting these suggestions, the UK can demonstrate its commitment to fostering innovation in the rapidly evolving blockchain and cryptocurrency industries while ensuring a robust and transparent regulatory environment.

The ongoing uncertainty surrounding cryptocurrency regulations in various countries has prompted Web3 companies to explore alternative jurisdictions with more precise legal frameworks. As the United States grapples with regulatory ambiguity, the United Kingdom can position itself as a hub for Web3 innovation by simplifying and streamlining its cryptocurrency regulations.

Featured Image Credit: Photo by Jonathan Borba; Pexels; Thank you!

Deanna Ritchie

Managing Editor at ReadWrite

Deanna is the Managing Editor at ReadWrite. Previously she worked as the Editor in Chief for Startup Grind and has over 20+ years of experience in content management and content development.

Continue Reading

Copyright © 2021 Seminole Press.