Cloud computing and 5G will have most crucial impact in 2023, which will be followed by Metaverse, Electric Vehicles (EVs) and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).
This was revealed in a study titled — The Impact of Technology in 2023 and Beyond: an IEEE Global Study — done by the IEEE, world’s largest technical professional organizations dedicated to advancing technology for humanity.
In terms of percentage, cloud computing will have 40% global impact followed by 37% by metaverse, 35% by EVs and 33% IIoT.
The future trends study is based on the survey involving global technology leaders from the US, UK, China, India, and Brazil. Over 350 chief technology officers, chief information officers and IT directors responded to the survey.
Connectivity with 5G and 6G
Considering the number of satellites that has increased in the recent years, 2023 will see new perspective of connectivity, since 5G is pointed out as one of the most important areas of technology.
“Space satellites to bring mobile connectivity to remote areas will be a game-changer because they enable leapfrogging off the need to build very expensive terrestrial infrastructure. They’re also the ultimate virtual private network – ‘VPN’ – for extra-jurisdictional content access,” said Eleanor Watson, IEEE Senior Member.
Because of its fast and high data throughput, 5G will impact vehicle connectivity and automation in 2023, 97% of survey respondents agree.
Respondents also said that 5G will benefit these areas the most in the next year:
- (56%) remote learning and education
- (54%) telemedicine, including remote surgery, health record transmissions
- (51%) entertainment, sports and live event streaming
- (49%) personal and professional day-to-day communications
- (29%) transportation and traffic control
- (25%) manufacturing/assembly
- (23%) carbon footprint reduction and energy efficiency
“6G will primarily be the subject of research and experimentation in 2023, but look for mainstream adoption in the next five years,” said Bala Prasad Peddigari, IEEE Senior Member, IEEE Computer Society, IEEE Robotics and Automation Society.
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Metaverse for Sustainability
Currently in its nascent stages, the metaverse can be described as an immersive digital network of 3D interactive worlds.
Global technologists surveyed said the following innovations will be very important for advancing the development of the metaverse in 2023:
- (71%) 5G and ubiquitous connectivity
- (58%) virtual reality (VR) headsets
- (58%) augmented reality (AR) glasses
Technologies that foster sustainability are growing in importance. A strong majority (94%) of those surveyed agree that they have prioritized sustainability goals for 2023 and beyond, and any technologies their company implements are required to be energy-efficient and help shrink their carbon footprint.
“Metaverse-related technology will be a major contributor to reducing carbon emissions because it allows technologists and engineers to perform simulations in cyberspace, rather than relying on real-world demonstrations that run on traditional energy,” stated Daozhuang Lin, IEEE Senior Member, IEEE Consumer Technology Society.
Metaverse-related technologies are also expected to be deployed in various ways: 91% of respondents agree, to bring employees together for corporate training across offices, conferences and hybrid meetings, their company is actively adopting metaverse technology strategies in 2023.
In addition, over three-quarters (76%) of global technologists say 26%-75% of interactions with colleagues, customers and management at their company will be conducted virtually in 2023.
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EV adoption
Electric vehicles and battery-operated technology has only recently gained popularity, however adoption has been a little slower.
Developed countries like the US, UK and Europe are aggressively working on their EV charging infrastructure planning and encouraging local mobility.
“Fully electric, shared on-demand driverless vehicles will have a positive impact on society in 2023 because they will give underserved and diverse communities access to fast and reliable mobility,” said Bilin Aksun-Guvenc, IEEE Member.
Transportation accounts for almost one-fourth of global greenhouse gas emissions. Transition to electric vehicles (EVs) from internal combustion engines is the need of the hour.
Many mobility companies are adopting more sustainable and environment friendly ways to cut down carbon footprint. Automakers are developing infrastructures and investing in electric arm for their product line and are encouraging government agencies to buildout EV charging infrastructures.
IEEE Member Kyrie Baker points out that simultaneous charging of a large number of EVs can exacerbate peak electricity demand and strain existing infrastructure.
“Smart charging strategies and ways to coordinate EV charging can help mitigate some of the issues with power line and transformer overloading,” Baker said.
Cybersecurity Concerns
Data is touted to be the new oil, and everyone is surrounded by advanced devices that record data, which include personal data like medical records, location, financial transactions, etc. Personaldata has the potential to get misused and manipulated.
And since data is valuable and devices will collect data, cybersecurity remains the main point of concern for many, which is why it is one of the top three issues, of the technology leaders’ concern in 2023, as compared to 2022.
They point out the vulnerability quotient as (51%) cloud vulnerability (up from 35% in 2022, (46%) the mobile and hybrid workforce, including employees using their own devices (up from 39% in 2022), and (43%) data center vulnerability (up from 27% in 2022).
Two innovations supporting cybersecurity, are blockchain and homomorphic encryption.
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IEEE Senior Member Bhaskar Krishnamachari explains that compromised IoT devices, which can include medical devices and wearables, can alter data before it is sent to intended recipients, and the devices can also be compromised to illicitly send data to unauthorized recipients.
“Because blockchain protocols have the ability to log transactions and data in a tamper-proof ledger, and to create a secure audit trail, they can play a role in securing these communications between IoT devices and the outside world.
Blockchain technologies can help make sure that the data that is being sent is valid and uncorrupted by any malicious party, and sent to all intended recipients without any censorship, forgery or reordering,” Krishnamachari said.
While homomorphic encryption can require lots of computing power, it has a few big upsides.
For one thing, according to Kayne McGladrey, IEEE Senior Member, it allows companies in highly regulated industries, such as finance or healthcare, to store data on a public cloud.
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“As the data remains encrypted in all phases, even a data breach of a third party will not provide a threat actor with access to encrypted data,” McGladrey said.
“Homomorphic encryption,” Krishnamachari continued, “ensures that the computer provider cannot in any way view the raw data that are being processed on their servers. This technology is likely to be particularly useful in domains or industries where there is a need to process privacy-sensitive data.
For example, in domains like healthcare it may be used to protect patient health data and electronic medical records that are processed in order to study the efficacy of new treatments or improve healthcare delivery.”
