Ecosystems Digest
We often talk about new technologies and areas of their application. In this article, we’ve decided to look at them from the Business Ecosystems’ point of view and highlight a few of them that could definitely benefit from creating or taking part in an Ecosystem.
The following areas are the ones, that have accelerated their development over the last 2 years and will grow rapidly in the future:
- logistics;
- IT companies;
- e-commerce;
- telepresence;
- electric vehicles;
- healthcare and biohacking;
- artificial intelligence;
- space tourism.
These areas may benefit from creating business ecosystems. It doesn’t matter if a company is a startup or a large business — developing in cooperation will expand its options.
Innovations in these spheres are emerging so fast it’s hard to track them. And it’s important to stay on top of it and not to lose a chance to swoop in with a brilliant business idea. So here some news from these areas to catch on:
1. On May 22, Virgin Galactic Company completed its third space flight. The company’s founder, Richard Branson, plans to enable people to fly on suborbital flights. The company has already sold 600 tickets for the first trips, each costing $250 thousand.
What does it tell us? More and more companies are trying to create demand for spaceflights, and it makes sense for startups and businesses to join this movement and unite in one ecosystem. After all, there is still a lot of time before the spaceflights become reality, and in the meantime, companies can test their offers for future “astronauts”.
Change of food and taste habits, applications for tracking health indicators before the flight, training programs — just a few options businesses can work on. Now it still seems way out there, but not so long ago it was difficult to imagine getting a food order from a delivery robot.
2. The Peter Diamandis XPRIZE Foundation has announced the launch of the ANPR Avatar XPRIZE competition. By now, the semi-finalist teams have already been announced. The winner will receive funds to develop technologies that will allow people to feel each other’s presence, even if they are on different sides of the Earth.
Telepresence is a functionality that allows the operator of a telepresence device to receive sensory information (video, sound, and potentially tactile and other information) from a remote point, using sensors installed on a stationary or mobile platform. The platforms can look different — from a camera on a stick to multifunctional robots (primary inspection robots, security robots, nurse robots).
What does it tell us? The telepresence industry is expected to be worth several billion dollars by 2025. What should companies consider before getting into the industry?
Telepresence technology is more about functionality, and not about a special type of robot. Developing it requires a synergistic effect since the technology itself can’t bring businesses money yet. It is necessary to understand in which industry this technology can be applied in order to build up the independent players and develop a process for the client at the expense of the partner offer.
3. Social robots are becoming popular, especially in the post-pandemic period. The human-like robot Pepper from SoftBank Robotics already recognizes faces, basic human emotions and participates in a conversation through a touch screen on its “chest”. And the Mabu robot from Catalia Health reminds elderly people to walk more often and take medicines on time.
What does it tell us? The integration of real life into virtual life and vice versa is becoming an obvious and necessary direction in social medicine. Perhaps an older audience will need additional training to learn how to utilize all the advantages of such robots. But in this case, the end justifies the means, and the main task of ecosystems is to start creating such products and show an example to others.
The pictures below show Virgin Galactics’ SpaceShip, the PadBot P3 telepresence robot, and Catalia Health’s Mabu social robot.
