Wearables, virtual reality and 'connected' cars: Tech trends to watch in 2017

CTV News Channel: Tech trends for 2017 Future Today Institute CEO Amy Webb explains the significance of artificial intelligence in the ever-evolving technology sector.

Artificial intelligence, virtual reality, wearables and "connected" cars: Welcome to the world of technology in 2017. CTVNews.ca explains what trends to watch for in the coming year, and how they will reshape the way we live, work and play.

Artificial intelligence

One broad field that will impact all areas of technology – and our lives – is artificial intelligence, says Amy Webb, founder and CEO of Future Today Institute.

“We’re standing on the precipice of an entirely new kind of technology that’s actually been around for a while,” Webb told CTV News Channel. “So it feels like AI is suddenly brand new when in effect, it’s something we’ve been thinking about for 200 years.”

Webb says people should look at AI not as a single new technology but as “new layer of infrastructure” that will be integrated into all aspects of our lives, “whether you’re a schoolteacher or a librarian or a taxi driver or a surgeon.”

Webb explains that AI is a branch of computer science in which computers are programmed to do all things humans are capable of doing. In a way, artificial intelligence already touches many aspects of our wired lives, such as when your television suggests a show you might like, or online shopping websites tailor a product menu based on your personalized data.

AI won’t “debut” in a dramatic way, says Webb, but it will underlie a lot of our daily tasks, “so you’ll go to a doctor’s appointment and the doctor will be assisted by artificial intelligence, you’ll get into a car and without realizing it, you yourself, as you drive around Toronto or Ottawa, will be assisted by artificially intelligent software tools and programs.”

Webb said it’s not as though the world will “wake on January. 1, 2017 and suddenly the world will look different. Instead we’ll start to see this rapid ascension over the next 12 months, where AI becomes more part and parcel with our daily lives.”

Virtual and augmented reality

Next year will be big for virtual reality and augmented reality, says CTV technology analyst Carmi Levy. Once out of reach for most consumers, virtual reality has received a makeover, with big-name companies such as Samsung, Google and Sony developing more affordable, consumer-ready VR technology that can be integrated into work life and personal time.

“Consumers are finally starting to get hardware in their hands,” says Levy, adding that manufacturers are “hoping that once consumers get that taste, that they’ll want more.”

Levy says we’re likely see in 2017 whether the public embraces virtual reality technology like they have with smartphones. But, Levy said he wouldn’t be surprised to see more industry use in 2017, namely government, military and education institutions experimenting with virtual reality.

The first breakout use for virtual reality will be games, Levy suggests, as that industry often pushes “the boundaries of an existing technology and then other uses follow suit.”

Popular Nintendo gaming app Pokemon Go, for instance, has done wonders for virtual reality’s “close cousin” -- augmented reality, and sent developers racing back to the lab to create create even more games intended to piggyback off the success of Pokemon Go.

Wearables

Like virtual reality, the technology for wearables has had to “mature to the point that it is affordable and usable day-to-day,” Levy said. “And so, early versions of wearables were expensive and not very easy to use and quite frankly they caused more problems than they solved.”

Today, the technology is smaller and the battery life has improved, “so it integrates into the things that you wear so like a hat, jacket, your shoes, your glasses,” Levy said.

Big in 2017, says Levy, will be clothing with “sensors embedded in them.

“For example, a smart shirt that tracks our pulse and temperature and helps us achieve greater levels of fitness,” Levy said.

Companies such as Nike and Lenovo have either already unveiled or launched their versions of “smart” shoes with embedded sensors that can collect fitness data such as heart rate and calories burned.

“Those wearables, in many cases, don’t even need displays of their own, because they communicate wirelessly via Bluetooth to your smartphone and everything feeds into the health app on your phone,” Levy said.

In March, Italian shoe company Vibram announced its smart shoe prototype, which is able to convert energy from walking or running to charge a wireless device such as a smartphone.

Wearables in 2017 will also hit that “magic” price point, Levy said, where consumers will be able to justify the purchase.

“Once that shirt is no longer $500, but it’s maybe $100, it’s at the price point that the average consumer would consider buying one to try it out.”

Drones

According to Future Today Institute’s “Tech Trends for 2017” report, drone delivery will begin to make its entrance into the commercial world. In November, the world’s first pizza drone delivery happened in New Zealand. Fast food giant Domino’s said it used an unmanned aerial vehicle to deliver two pizzas to a customer’s doorstep.

The report noted that, toward the end of 2016, U.S.-based Zipline brought its drone delivery system to Rwanda, where it delivered blood supplies. UPS, Amazon and DHL have also all started testing their own drone fleets.

Microdrones, are another tool that Future Today Institute suggests will likely be built and tested “for widespread use” in 2017. Microdrones would “navigate through tiny spaces to investigate collapsed buildings or areas with hazardous materials. They could also serve as an important “reconnaissance” tool for military purposes.

Autos: connected, electric and autonomous

Large tech companies such as Apple and Google are diving into the car technology market, says Levy, and there will be noticeable changes to the auto industry in 2017 as a result.

“For companies like Apple and Google, there are only so many smartphones that they can sell … so if the smartphone market isn’t growing, we’ve got to find other markets to drive future growth,” Levy said. “And the more autonomous you can make a car, the more technology you can stuff in there, the more opportunities you have as a manufacturer to generate revenue off of them.”

The Future Today report stated that “we are in transition – the last years of human driving,” as technology being introduced now will allow vehicles to park, change lanes, and summon themselves.

“I think we’re going to see an accelerated shift from internal combustion engines to alternative fuel vehicles,” Levy said, noting the Chevy Bolt – the first mass market electric car with range of over 300 kilometres in one charge – was unveiled this year. In 2017, the Bolt will go head-to-head on the market with the Tesla Model 3, an electric car model that is more affordable than Tesla’s previous vehicles.

Said Levy: “Tesla has essentially had the market to itself for years, but Tesla only sells at the upper end of the market.

For now, most of its cars are well into the six-figures. And so Chevy’s offering is really the first mainstream alternative that the average consumer may consider buying.”

He added that it will “be interesting to see if the consumers begin to bite.”