Top 10 2020 technology trends in Asia Pacific
Following a recent report from IEK Consulting, Business Chief looks at the top 10 2020 technology trends in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region.
“Asian countries play a major role in international advanced technology R&D, including areas such as AI and mobile communication technologies; from a long-term perspective, Asian countries such as China and India have a large market potential,” comments IEK Consulting.
Within its report the company looks at the 2030 market perspectives and policy plans for major Asian countries and the top 10 crucial advanced technologies.
Artificial intelligence (AI)
Defined by Accenture as a constellation of many different technologies working together, artificial intelligence enables machines to sense, comprehend, act, and learn with human-like levels of intelligence.
“AI will continue to improve its self-learning capabilities, that is, to learn the learning process itself, and be able to function as well as humans with little data or experience,” comments IEK Consulting.
6G mobile network
The successor to 5G, 6G networks will enable even high levels of capacity and lower latency speed compared to 5G networks which are currently being adopted within organisations. “The 6G technology market is expected to facilitate large improvements in the areas of imaging, presence technology and location awareness,” commented SearchNetworking.
“By 2030, our society will be data driven. This will be enabled by near-instant and unlimited wireless connectivity. The 6G network will offer high-speed Internet access through wireless and mobile devices up to at least 11 Gb/s, surpassing the 5G network,” comments IEK Consulting.
Autonomous vehicles
Explained by TWI Global, there are six levels of autonomous vehicles.
Level 0: the car has no control over its operation.
Level 1: the vehicle’s advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) can support steering, accelerating or braking.
Level 2: the ADAS can oversee steering and accelerating and braking in certain conditions, however human drivers are required to continue paying complete attention to the environment.
Level 3: the advanced driving system (ADS) can perform all parts of driving in certain conditions, but a human driver is required to regain control when required.
Level 4: the ADS is able to perform all driving tasks independently in certain conditions without needing human attention.
Level 5: full automation where the ADS is able to perform all tasks in all conditions without intervention.
“Reaching autonomous driving levels 4–5 by 2030, the vehicle will combine 360-degree vision with a decision-making intelligent algorithm that can make the best driving behavior decisions under various driving conditions,” commented IEK Consulting.
Industrial Robots
Defined as “automatically controlled, reprogrammable, multipurpose manipulator programmable in three or more axes,” typical applications of the technology include: welding, painting, ironing, assembly, pick and place, palletising, product inspection, and testing.
“In the future, consumer demand will be customised and personalised. Industrial robots will integrate machine vision, improve their capabilities, and be suitable for the more efficient manufacturing of products made in small quantities and have a short life cycle,” commented IEK Consulting.
Service Robots
When it comes to robotics service robots differ from industrial robots. Professional service robots are semi or fully autonomous robots that are usually used in retail, hospitality, healthcare, warehouse or fulfillment for repetitive tasks.
“Service robots will have the ability to move around, make decisions in complex situations, and communicate with each other by 2030,” noted IEK Consulting.
Blockchain
Defined by Accenture as a new way of storing data in a distributed ledger, Blockchain allows multiple stakeholders to confidently and securely share access to the same information.
“The main blockchain application markets, including, finance, logistics, retailing, and e-commerce sectors, will have grown rapidly by 2030,” commented IEK Consulting.
New energy vehicles (NEVs)
Ranking number seven for impact, penetration rate and priority, IEK Consulting predicts that new energy vehicles (NEVs) that use alternative methods for fuel will be a top technology trend for the APAC region between now and 2030.
“NEVs are expected to play a key role in urban areas to provide mobility-as-a-service by 2030,” with “Japan and China are currently the world’s top two NEV markets,” commented IEK Consulting.
Renewable and biodegradable plastics materials
“A consensus was reached, at the recent summit of the G7 countries, that, by 2030, plastic materials will be made from 100% recycled or renewable products,” comments IEK Consulting.
Within IEK Consulting’s top 10 list renewable and biodegradable plastic materials rank at number eight for impact, penetration rate and priority.
Solid-state Batteries
Solid-state lithium-ion batteries have seen an increased interest due to their high safety rating and increased energy density. ”These batteries may have the opportunity to maximise the driving range of electric vehicles and improve the safety of mobile devices. It is expected that solid-state batteries will have entered the early stage of commercialisation by 2030,” commented IEK Consulting.
Nanomaterials
Gradually nanotechnology has been applied to multiple industries including energy, medical and biotechnology. “In the future, mass production and cost reduction are the main development challenges of nanomaterials,” comments IEK Consulting.
For more information on business topics in Asia Pacific, Australia and New Zealand, please take a look at the latest edition of Business Chief APAC.
