Advanced Robotics
Advanced Robotics are the technologies associated with the creation of automated machines that have a higher level of capability than stationary robots. These abilities can include movement, touch, communication and vision. In the coming years Advanced Robotics is expected to impact everyone, both at home and in the workplace. This is a technologically-complex emerging market with significant opportunities for the right application.
Industrial robots are on the verge of revolutionizing manufacturing. As they become smarter, faster and cheaper, they’re being called upon to do more. They’re taking on more “human” capabilities and traits such as sensing, dexterity, memory and trainability. As a result, they’re taking on more jobs - such as picking and packaging, testing or inspecting products, or assembling minute electronics. Also, a new generation of “collaborative” robots ushers in an era of shepherding robots out of their cages and literally hand-in-hand with human workers who train them through physical demonstration.
AI/Machine Learning
The most important general-purpose technology of our era is artificial intelligence: the simulation of human intelligence by machines. Especially significant is the development of machine learning (ML) — that is, the machine’s ability to keep improving its performance without humans having to explain exactly how to accomplish all the tasks it’s given. The most important thing to understand about ML is that it represents a fundamentally different approach to creating software: The machine learns from examples, rather than being explicitly programmed for a particular outcome.
The development of neural networks has been key to teaching computers to think and understand the world in the way we do, while retaining the innate advantages they hold over us such as speed, accuracy and lack of bias. A Neural Network is a computer system designed to work by classifying information in the same way a human brain does. It can be taught to recognize, for example, images, and classify them according to elements they contain.
Internet of Things
Connected, smart Internet of Things (IoT) products are hailed as more proactive, efficient and customer service-oriented. Trackable devices allow manufacturers to efficiently service home appliances remotely and products can inform the user when something is wrong or needs to be replaced or refilled, making these “things” more valuable.
But, on a deeper level one of the most promising aspects of IoT in terms of sustainability is the ability to contribute to the circular economy. In the words of subject-matter expert William McDonough, “The circular economy is an economic system that is an innovation engine that puts the ‘re-‘ back into resources. In short, it’s a system where waste is repurposed and a product is designed so that at the end of its lifecycle, it is turned into something new and usable.
Virtual and Augmented Reality
In light of refined technology and widespread social acceptability, industry leaders are adopting VR and AR into daily workflows. From military training to architecture to ergonomic interior design, VR and AR are aiding more industries than ever. Decision makers are now integrating VR and AR technology in new and exciting ways.
A common and invaluable industrial application for VR and AR is augmenting the computer-aided design (CAD) process. Thanks to emerging technology, products designed in a CAD program can now be quickly and easily brought into a virtual reality or augmented reality environment. Nearly any industry that creates a physical product can now benefit from VR and AR integration into CAD.
Bio-inspired Design/New Materials
Bio-inspired design views the process of how we learn from nature as an innovation strategy translating principles of function, performance and aesthetics from biology to human technology. The creative design process is driven by interdisciplinary exchange among engineering, biology, art, architecture and business.
How exactly does one turn sunlight and water into usable energy? If it were possible to ask any living organism on Earth this question, you could do far better than asking a biologist or a chemist, or any other human being for that matter, and take the question directly to a leaf. That's the goal of biomimicry: to take human problems and ask nature "how would you solve this?" And increasingly, such questions are changing everything, from energy to information technology to the way we build cities.
3D Printing
Engineers and designers have been using 3D printers for more than a decade, but mostly to make prototypes quickly and cheaply before they embark on the expensive business of tooling up a factory to produce the real thing. As 3D printers have become more capable and able to work with a broader range of materials the machines are increasingly being used to make final products too.
Additive manufacturing of food is being developed by squeezing out food, layer by layer, into three-dimensional objects. A large variety of foods are appropriate candidates, such as chocolate and candy, and flat foods such as crackers, pasta, and pizza. 3D printing has entered the world of clothing, with fashion designers experimenting with 3D-printed bikinis, shoes, and dresses. In cars, trucks, and aircraft, AM is beginning to transform both unibody and fuselage design and production and powertrain design and production.
Bitcoin/Blockchain
Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency and worldwide payment system. It is the first decentralized digital currency – the system works without a central repository or single administrator. The network is peer-to-peer and transactions take place between users directly through the use of cryptography, without an intermediary. These transactions are verified by network nodes and recorded in a public distributed ledger called a blockchain. Bitcoin was invented by an unknown person or group of people under the name Satoshi Nakamoto and released as open-source software in 2009. Bitcoins are created as a reward for a process known as mining. They can be exchanged for other currencies, products, and services.
Energy Storage Technologies
Energy storage technologies can support energy security and climate change goals by providing valuable services in developed and developing energy systems. A systems approach to energy system design will lead to more integrated and optimized energy systems. Energy storage technologies can help to better integrate our electricity and heat systems.
Energy storage can also play a crucial role in energy system decarbonization by improving energy system resource use efficiency, supporting greater production of energy where it is consumed, increasing energy access, and improving electricity grid stability, flexibility, reliability and resilience.