IEEE, a technical professional association, announced 12
top consumer electronics trends in 2012, as defined by leading IEEE technical
experts in the industry.
IEEE and its experts will be discussing these trends at
CES 2012.
1. Powering Connections: The concept of a
fully connected society will shift the way people work, think and live. If the
technology can be connected, it will be. Ubiquitous, nonstop connectivity is
what is next, predicts Henry Samueli, IEEE Fellow, chief technology officer at
Broadcom, and a keynote speaker at
the 2012 IEEE International Conference on Consumer Electronics (ICCE), co-located with CES. According to Samueli, that means
improving global business operations with real time cloud-based data sharing,
and seamlessly accessing information and entertainment in our homes and cars.
Advances in miniaturized sensors will further enhance this connected world as
we are able to monitor our health and our environment in real time, opening up
endless new opportunities for innovative new healthcare models.
2. A Tipping Point for Video Entertainment on the Web:
Streaming web-based video on televisions has steadily gained popularity with
consumers, but in 2012, the U.S. will reach a tipping point when users will
extend beyond the tech-savvy and early adopters of Wi-Fi enabled TVs, says
Richard Doherty, IEEE Senior Member. The upswing can be credited to widespread
availability of video capable devices. Doherty predicts that by the end of
2012, nearly 50 percent of U.S. households and 35 percent of Canadian
households will watch Internet video on full-sized TV screens (24-inch TVs or
larger) from embedded IP video capable devices or add-ons such as videogame
consoles, Blu-ray players or net media players.
3. Patient Monitoring Technology Moves Into the Home:
Advanced health monitoring technology will finally be available for use in
homes and not just clinics and hospitals, says IEEE Fellow Stuart Lipoff. These
new devices will allow consumers to take charge of their health care, finding
ways to streamline their care to reduce costs. New patient monitoring systems,
now only in hospitals, will be battery-powered and portable enough to be
carried like a cellphone. These devices will monitor and communicate vital
signs to a patient’s doctor, saving patients from making time-consuming and
costly trips to the hospital.
4. Convergence of Home Networking Technologies: The
number of networked devices consumers own is growing exponentially, including
mobile phones and tablets. At the same time, says IEEE Associate Member Oleg
Logvinov, consumers expect their content to be easily accessible and secure
across all those devices. As a result, we will begin to see a new breed of
simple, plug-and-play devices capable of finding all available network
connections as soon as they are turned on, and the networks themselves will
become smarter so that the right quality of service is delivered on every
connection for the least amount of energy. According to Logvinov, these
innovations are possible because we are seeing new technologies in the
semiconductor industry that integrate many different networking technologies
into a single chip in a cost-effective way.
5. Advancing Long Term Storage with Ceramic: Digital
files can’t last forever. Family photos, music and other archived information
have a limited lifespan on today’s storage devices. However, IEEE Senior Member
Tom Coughlin says we will see new advancements in hard drive technologies in
2012. Storage devices that etch data in ceramic will make it possible for
stored information to last up to 1,000 years.
6. Consumerization of IT Continues Relentlessly: Nahum
Gershon, IEEE Senior Member, says in-home technology’s influence on business
technology decisions will continue to build in 2012. According to Dr. Gershon,
who will be presenting at the 2012 International Conference on Consumer
Electronics (ICCE), the consumerization of IT will drive companies to provide
more access to social media networks and applications, as well as issue more
mobile devices like tablet computers to their increasingly tech-savvy
employees. A recent example is the increasing use of video chat applications
such as Skype to connect business professionals working in different regions,
says Gershon. In 2012, he predicts that people will begin using tablets and
smartphones with geo-location applications to inform colleagues where they are
working.
7. Consumer Electronics as a Service: In 2012,
electronics manufacturers will more widely pair their devices with services,
applications and content provided to consumers via a remote server online (i.e.
the Cloud). Apps for the Apple iPhone and Android phones are well-known
current examples, but IEEE Fellow Stuart Lipoff predicts there will be more
devices such as Apple TV and Internet-connected TVs drawing on content and
services like email, calendars or address books that are maintained on remote
servers. According to Lipoff, consumers will see more inexpensive devices with
longer battery life because taxing hardware functions such as storage and
computing power will be leveraged in the cloud rather than in the device.
8. Smartphone Hacking to Increase in 2012: John McCanny,
IEEE Fellow, predicts that mobile security will be a rapidly increasing issue, due to
convergence in mobile architectures, mobile phones becoming the dominant web
platform and the expanding number of mobile users. In fact, 2012 will see a rapid growth in mobile malware given
consumers’ increasing preference for accessing the Internet from mobile devices
such as smartphones and tablets. Businesses
will also be vulnerable as more professionals demand access to corporate
networks from personal devices, increasing the risks of cyber attacks and cyber espionage.
9. Natural Disasters Raise Global Consumer Electronics
Prices: The electronic industry is feeling the impact of natural disasters, as
major flooding in Thailand has disrupted manufacturing facilities, leading to a
short supply of hard disk drives (HDDs), a key component for everything from
DVRs to videogame consoles to laptops. According to Tom Coughlin, IEEE Senior
Member, the ramifications of that shortage will more clearly surface in 2012
and production costs will surge in the short term. In the fourth quarter of
2011 alone, there was a shortfall of 60-70 million drives vs. anticipated
demand. In 2012, there will be a total shortfall of 120-150 million units vs.
demand according to a study conducted by data storage consulting firm Coughlin
Associates.
10. Private Companies, Not the Military, Will Drive Major
Technology Innovations: Radar, satellites, GPS, the Internet military research
has been the driving force behind some of the most important technology
innovations in history. That will be much less the case going forward, predicts
IEEE Senior Member Nahum Gershon. Private companies will start to play an even
larger role in developing cutting-edge technology and products that will change
the way individuals and business think and operate.
11. Vehicles That Aid Drivers’ Awareness of Surroundings:
Consumers will begin to see more vehicles that can monitor their surroundings
and warn drivers of traffic signs, pedestrians, other vehicles and lane
departures, says IEEE Senior Member Alberto Broggi, who rode in a driverless
car from Italy to China in 2010. More cars will apply advanced sensors to
enable vehicles to detect and warn drivers of any immediate stops or dangers in
the way of the vehicle, which can significantly decrease the likelihood of vehicle
accidents.
12. Automated Metadata Generation Makes Personal Content
More Useful and Available: Information about information may sound redundant,
but enabling devices to automatically aggregate and generate data such as
location and timestamp can significantly improve how consumers manage and
protect their personal photos, videos and music. In 2012, IEEE Senior Member
Tom Coughlin says we will see new devices such as cameras that will
automatically generate metadata information for all photos and videos from the
device.
By Telecomlead.com Team
editor@telecomlead.com
