Technological trends: know 5 that will impact business and manufacturing!

La digital transformation in Mexico and the world is undergoing great changes aimed at optimization derived, mainly, from the integration and combination of technologies. The revolution in the way we do business and develop production processes has led us to a scenario in which companies combine new ways of experiencing reality, distributing information flows and providing services.

The next generation 5G wireless network technology has finally begun to develop and grow around the world. Although the change from 3G to 4G was minor for the technology, the transition from 4G to 5G represents a great leap in the telecommunications environment, opening the doors to the creation of new technologies for monitoring processes and associated services.

In general, we are going through a time of constant innovation in the way we move and perceive the environment.

But, for sure, what are these global technological trends that will impact businesses? Keep reading and learn about them!

1. 5G networks

For businesses and industry, the emergence of 5G networks represents a substantial evolution of the Internet of Things, which guarantees higher transmission speed, low latency and greater data circulation based on expanded bandwidth.

Fifth generation (5G) mobile network technology is expected to be a significant advancement that will radically change our lives, expanding the existing opportunities created by the 4G network. The important thing about all this is that it will not only improve the quality of mobile communications, but also the development and implementation of applications for monitoring industrial processes based on interfaces that can be consulted through mobile devices.

5G is going to be very fast. Some estimates point to speeds up to 100 times faster than 4G as achievable, more than enough to process and transfer data in the “blink of an eye.” Additionally, this increased capacity also means that more devices can be interconnected and always on to share data in real time. Thanks to the democratization and deployment of this technology, a phenomenon that we will most likely see during the first half of the nascent decade, new industry 4.0 projects will be realized, computer security will increase and, of course, the user experience of plant processes will improve in a transcendental way.

The new network will have the potential to enable digital transformation in manufacturing, where 5G will function as an important enabler of smart factories, facilitating the application of technologies such as robotics and automation, augmented reality, by achieving almost instantaneous quality transmissions or the IoT, with the multiplication of connected devices, reinforcing aspects such as privacy, data security or regulatory compliance and, related to the protection of information.

2. Virtual reality and augmented reality

The virtual reality and augmented reality industry affirm that 5G will allow new uses of their technology, in areas where it could not be used until now. Different sectors are exploring the possibilities that this advance will offer in their respective fields. Beyond the mere increased speed of this generation of networks, what will attract businesses will be the integration of 5G networks with innovative applications and services, such as those that virtual reality will provide in many industries. Examples of this will be seen in the services sector, where immersive experiences for customers will increase, or in the manufacturing industry for training or support, in areas such as infrastructure design and management or how to virtually 'travel' through the processes of manufacturing before they are even built, which could be useful and enhance design adaptations to user requirements.

Augmented reality became popular in 2016 thanks to the rise of Pokémon Go, a revolution in the universe of video games. In itself, this technology is based on the embedding of digital information in the real world. Meanwhile, virtual reality, as its name reflects, transports the user to a virtual environment, with objects arranged in 3 spatial dimensions.

Although they are not as recent technologies as 5G networks, both have experienced great innovations in recent times and by integrating them, it is possible to truly achieve industrial digitalization by optimizing plant designs and maintenance. The latter, improving the prediction, assistance and resolution of incidents or unwanted events. An example of the applications of these trends is Cloud-based wireless robot control. Bringing as results: Increased productivity (through collaborative robots and augmented reality glasses that guide operators), reduction of down-time and maintenance costs (through continuous monitoring of process variables) and the reduction of inventory and logistics costs.

3. Machine learning

Automated learning or machine learning, commonly called machine learning algorithm , will also play a key role in businesses and industries in the years to come. Machine Learning focuses on developing techniques and processes that promote the learning of computers, robots and other computer equipment, providing multiple advantages to factories and companies in general.

Allowing learning, in this context, means identifying complex patterns in millions of data. The machine that really learns is an algorithm that reviews process data and is capable of predicting future behavior. So With Machine Learning you can go from being reactive to being proactive. The historical data of the set of process machines, properly organized and processed in blocks, generate a database that can be analyzed, in real time, to predict future behaviors, favoring those that improve the operational performance of a production process. This implies that Applications improve autonomously over time, without human intervention.

This Predictive quality will also be essential to make cybersecurity systems more efficient, as well as logical processes related to interaction with the client. Of course, the effectiveness and scope of the machine learning algorithm It depends directly on its integration with the systems of big data, a technological trend that is much more palpable today and that will undoubtedly continue to give something to talk about in the future. Only in this way is it possible to analyze millions of data in a matter of seconds, boosting machine learning and their abilities to project behaviors and situations.

5G is designed to be a key enabler and leading infrastructure provider in the information and communication technology industry by supporting a variety of future services with diverse requirements. Considering the increasing complexity of the network and the emergence of novel use cases, machine learning is expected to be essential in helping make the 5G vision conceivable. Supervised, unsupervised and reinforcement learning, looking at what has been done so far in the adoption of ML in the context of mobile and wireless communication,

La Artificial Intelligence, algorithms, machine learning, neural networks and natural data processing the language, "They will be the key to processing all these enormous amounts of data to generate a new world of services."

4. edge computing

Thanks to this computing trend, also known as edge computing, data collection, processing and delivery processes are closer to the source of information.

El connectivity boom entails different associated phenomena. One is the movement of processing tasks from the center of the network to the edge: the 'edge computing', improves performance and makes working with data easier by placing its processing closer to the end devices. This new model is expected to gain relevance with the development of the future generation of mobile communications, the 5G, which promises greater speed and improved latency.

While 5G and the Internet of Things (IoT) grab the headlines, there is another technology in the shadows that is also revolutionizing connectivity. It is edge computing -perimeter computing, in its literal translation-, the innovation that opens the door to a large part of the potential applications of IoT and 5G.

Although the 5G network is faster than 4G and has lower latency or delays, these advantages are of no use if the content and applications are not close to the place where they are consumed or executed. In response to this, "Edge computing is about processing information from Internet of Things devices very close to where they are generated, rather than taking it back and forth to the cloud." As a result, immediacy is absolute and will make it possible for many of the services promised by 5G to become a reality. \»This transformation is about to open a new world of low latency applications that were not possible until now

So, the edge computing could play a leading role in the development of smart grids, with fewer bottlenecks in data traffic and, consequently, saving time and money. Edge computing is essential for the development of virtual and augmented reality, where very low latency maintains coordination between what is done and what is seen.

5. Blockchain

Blockchain technology is another technological trend that goes hand in hand with industry 4.0 and the modernization of business in general.

Through it, organizations have the possibility of tracking transactions in an agile and effective way, which makes it possible to work with untrustworthy parties without the need for a centralized party, such as a banking institution, for example.

Thanks to this feature, it helps reduce friction in business, especially in financial processes. Furthermore, its agility and immediacy allows it to improve cash flow and promote liquidity.

The use of blockchain could not only improve the production area of a company, but also much of the information in the supply chain, making it easier to manage, with better inventory/warehouse/production/distribution control. For example: A new blockchain system could serve to track the information of each vehicle produced, making the logistics process easier, from the transformation of raw materials to the arrival of the product to the consumer. This concept can be brought to parts manufacturing stakeholders to have the ability to trace the origin and process of a component.

Very good! If you have read this far, you already know what 5 of the global technological trends that will have a positive impact on businesses and industries are about.

Remember that to experience true transformation and modernization you need to integrate these elements in a sustainable and logical way, promoting them to optimize each other.

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