2017 Tech Predictions: Jacob Harris, Connected Home+Business
Connected writer Jacob Harris was pleasantly surprised when Paul Skelton asked him to contribute to the Tech Predictor segment. And while he may be wrong about some of this stuff, he takes solace in the likelihood that by the end of 2017 no one will remember.
Sensors
As we all know, the IoT is about to take off in a big way. As part of this, an array of smart building and home décor products – everything from plasterboard to toilet seats – embedded with sensors is soon to be installed in many homes and businesses.
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An example of this is Google’s recently patented Smart Bathroom. This tracks the occupant’s health with sensors in the bath, bath mat, mirror and aforementioned toilet seat. It will then collate a body of information on the occupant’s vitals, like blood pressure and heart function, and send it off to the relevant health professional if desired. I’m not suggesting we’ll all have Google bathrooms by the end of next year – but I could use a new bath mat.
OLED
LG’s dual-view OLED signage was one of the stand-outs at this year’s Integrate show. Of course, if you ask LG they’ll tell you that OLED is the future of commercial displays but judging from the conversations I had with others at the show, there did seem to be a general consensus that the market is heading in this direction.
Whether this will translate across to residential products like OLED TVs is unclear but either way it shows that the market is maturing. Will it happen next year? I hope so.
IoT security
The recent distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack on DNS provider Dyn that disabled the likes of Twitter, Amazon, Reddit and Netfilix was one of the biggest of its kind and should serve as a stark reminder of the importance of securing IoT devices.
The attack was perpetrated using the Mirai virus which identifies IoT devices that are using default passwords and turns them into ’bots’ to use in cyber attacks. This has highlighted the fragility of many IoT networks and the need for stronger standards and protocols. As IoT networks proliferate, this will become ever-more evident.
Two-channel audio
A migration back to two-channel audio has already begun and my money is on it becoming even more popular in 2017. It would seem music fans are realising there’s a tried and true method for listening to their favourite tunes that beats the pants off sound bars and 5.1 surround sound systems.
No doubt the steady resurgence in popularity of vinyl records has a part to play in the move back to two-channel but I reckon it’s also digital listeners finding a renewed appreciation of it.
AV over IP
Improved packetising and lossless compression technologies mean AV of a respectable quality can now be distributed over standard LAN networks with relative ease. The flexibility afforded by latency-free video streaming over a Catx cable makes for simpler installation and extension. And video distributed over IP is less prone to interference and compromised resolution. All things considered, I reckon AV over IP is destined to become the solution of choice for AV distribution in commercial settings.
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