Emerging Technology

Virtual Reality

requires powerful graphics processing capabilities and large main memory in order to use.

media streaming

home networking and internet connection are often not fast enough for smooth media streaming.

self driving cars

sensors, mobile broadband communication and powerful processing are all required for self driving cars.

smart watches

wearable device that provides similar functionality to a smartphone such as accessing messages, email, phone calls and even games.

smart speakers

devices like amazon Echo that allows us to automate our home by speaking to a device to turn on the tv, music system, central heating etc.

self driving cars

vehicles that can drive without human intervention. These can reduce accidents and congestion to save lives and reducing commuting time. it also allows disabled people to get around easily.

ADVANTAGES (for us)

  • convenience since we can access services and perform tasks much more quickly and conveniently such as controlling thermostat and lights through voice commamds.
  • accessibility since people with disabilities can get around easier and can perform tasks and access services that would otherwise be inaccessible for them.

DISADVANTAGES (for us)

  • cost since it can be very costly for individuals to keep up. An example is game consoles releasing an updated version to allow the adoption of VR
  • over-reliance since people are becoming very dependent, if they were to lose these things then they would struggle to manage. For example, if people lose access to their smartphones then they become extremely agitated or stressed.

Augmented Reality

superimposing a computer image on real world view. THis could allow for targeted advertising in the real world for example.

Internet of things

time consuming tasks can be limited through IoT devices eg. smart sensors can be used to monitor the temp in a warehouse to avoid spoilage.

3D printing

simplifying the manufacturing of parts and products by simply printing them out from a design. can be used in architecture for creating scale models of designs.

ADVANTAGES (for business)

  • productivity which makes the task quicker and easier to complete and save the business money. eg contactless payments.
  • many of these deices are designed to reduce human errors. Could be used for tracking temps in warehouse if accidentally set too high

DISADVANTAGES (for business)

  • keeping up with technology can be very expensive (initial costs are high)
  • staff training required additional costs since the staff require training to use the equiptment