Embracing the Future: Anticipated Technology Trends in 2022

2021 witnessed a monumental shift as Facebook rebranded to Meta, signaling its leap into the virtual realm - the metaverse. Concurrently, Meta's Oculus division achieved a significant milestone by producing 10 million VR headsets, underscoring Meta's quiet attainment of pre-set goals.

Beyond Meta, Microsoft has long been invested in the VR market, recently bolstered by a $68.7 billion acquisition of game giant Activision Blizzard to deepen its foray into the virtual universe.

Leaked sources suggest Google is covertly developing an augmented reality headset with 300 employees onboard. Apple's CEO, Tim Cook, recognizes the metaverse as an “intriguing, potential field,” revealing the company's strategic investments in this burgeoning arena.

Extending beyond private enterprises, several cities are reportedly venturing into constructing metaverse urban spaces - where administrative procedures, cultural activities, and tourism are 'digitized' and conducted in the virtual realm. Pioneering this trend, Seoul, the capital of South Korea, has unveiled the smart metaverse city, indicating the explosive growth of the metaverse this year.

IoT, an acronym for the “Internet of Things,” signifies a vast network interconnecting physical devices worldwide through the internet. This entails billions of devices transmitting and exchanging information, data wirelessly, without human intervention. Connection can occur through wifi, broadband networks (3G, 4G), Bluetooth, ZigBee, infrared, and more, via devices such as smartphones, headphones, watches, and various others.

The Internet of Things will revolutionize our world in the future, whether at home, in cars, workplaces, or even on the streets. According to Statista's research, approximately 75 billion devices will be connected to IoT globally by 2025. IoT technology is a crucial step in transforming the world into a seamlessly connected environment.

The electric vehicle (EV) sector is poised for significant growth in 2022, building on breakthroughs made in 2021. In September, the Tesla Model 3 emerged as the best-selling car in Europe.

Meanwhile, the U.S. plans to halt the sale of gas-powered vehicles by 2035, and the UK aims for a similar transition by 2030. A coalition of nations has set 2040 as the global deadline to phase out fossil fuel-powered vehicles.

Consumers should also note that the gasoline-powered car purchased today may depreciate rapidly in the coming years as demand diminishes and people shift from traditional combustion engine technology to electric vehicles.

Innovation in various global sectors has faced setbacks due to a skills crisis. This challenge has given rise to self-service solutions. No-code programming will become more prevalent as many lack programming knowledge or detailed understanding of statistics and data structures.

With this technology, the lack of programming knowledge will no longer be a barrier to turning an idea that can change the world into reality. This allows companies to avoid the expense of hiring a team of computer geniuses to build their own 'digital brain.'

Recently, the research company founded by billionaire Elon Musk, OpenAI, announced details about Codex, a tool capable of autonomously generating computer programs in 12 programming languages. Codex can teach and assist newcomers on the path to becoming self-made programmers creating simple code snippets.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is omnipresent, enhancing human life in various aspects. Smart cars utilize AI for facial recognition to detect whether the driver is attentively observing the road, issuing warnings if signs of fatigue are detected. Smartphones employ AI to maintain call quality and capture more beautiful photos.

AI is also integrated into daily work support tools, from voice assistants to language translation. Thanks to AI, tools can extract structured data from images, decipher squiggly lines on a whiteboard, and interpret handwritten notes. AI significantly aids in automating functions across management, logistics, accounting, and human resources. With the application of AI, human life becomes more comfortable.

Vacuum robots and single-purpose devices are quite common. However, tech enthusiasts are eagerly anticipating the first multi-functional household robot named Astro from Amazon, capable of much more.

Astro can function as a mobile security robot, monitoring individuals who shouldn't be present in the homeowner's absence. Moreover, it actively seeks out the owner in response to calls or alerts of unusual activities. Astro is even developed to be a companion to users, providing entertainment or simply assisting with household tasks. Current test versions of Astro can help owners with chores, monitor the health of elderly individuals living alone, or serve educational purposes.

If Amazon succeeds, other manufacturers are sure to follow in the footsteps of this 'giant,' just as they did when Amazon introduced the virtual assistant Alexa through the smart Echo speaker.

Users are no strangers to smart home products like smart locks, bedside lamps, and robotic vacuum cleaners, connected to the internet and remotely controlled. They also operate more reliably thanks to digital assistants like Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, or Apple Siri.

However, the smart home market remains somewhat chaotic. Products from one manufacturer may not be compatible or work well with another's technology. For example, some smart locks may only function reliably with iPhones, or certain thermostats may only respond to commands from Google Assistant, rendering them useless with Siri.

This raises the need for a unified standard for smart homes. Major companies like Apple, Samsung, Google, and Amazon are planning to release and update smarthome technology to be compatible with Matter - a new standard that allows smart devices in homes to communicate with each other, regardless of whether they integrate virtual assistants or come from any brand.

'When everything speaks the same language, technology will prove its usefulness,' said Samantha Osborne, Vice President of Samsung's SmartThings division, to the New York Times. According to experts, Matter is expected to gain popularity this year with over 100 smarthome products adhering to this standard.

In recent years, health-tracking devices measuring activities, heart rate, calorie consumption, blood oxygen levels (SpO2), electrocardiograms (ECG), and more have become increasingly common. However, in 2022, these products will become more compact, feature-rich, and offer more accurate body data analysis to truly become essential human products.

At CES 2022, Abbott introduced the Lingo patch with a 5mm integrated needle and sensors, enabling the measurement of body indicators such as glucose levels, ketones, and lactate in the blood. Meanwhile, the startup Movano unveiled a ring containing sensors to monitor heart rate, body temperature, and use AI to analyze the data, providing recommendations to users.

Understanding daily habits more comprehensively can help make better health decisions, detect issues early for hospital check-ups. However, experts also express concerns that some devices may misdiagnose, causing anxiety for users, and collecting excessive personal health data.