Over the last two years technology has been the one thing that has brought us together, and has shown us we can connect, work, and socialise no matter where in the world we are.
It’s no surprise then that the technology sector growth reports indicate the number of internet-connected devices will hit 50 billion by 2030, this, compared to 22 billion internet connected devices in 2019. The Internet of Things (IoT) now links millions of devices that were previously unconnected to the web and Artificial Intelligence (AI) is projected to add $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030.
A company well versed in both IoT and AI is SKYWORTH. SKYWORTH are proven industry game-changers having provided the market with several firsts including Android TV, AI TV, and just recently the biggest Android 10 TV to hit local shores, the 86” SUC9500, they are pioneers in big-screen Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT). Their ground-breaking system Swaiot® through voice control can connect more than 6,000 Wi-Fi non-intelligent home appliance products across brands and categories.
‘With the Swaiot® system in place, consumers can conveniently connect and control their smart home ecosystem, creating a holistic and vibrant smart living world. This just further demonstrates SKYWORTH’s commitment in leading the industry under the new AIoT era,’ explains SKYWORTH brand manager, Jaco Joubert.
While technological advancements are at an all time high, it’s those that have come before that have helped us get to where we are today. What ground-breaking technology has changed the world in recent years? Joubert highlights some of the stand outs below:
Wi-Fi
In 1997, Wi-Fi was invented and released for consumer use. With a router and a dongle for our laptop, we could unplug from the network cable and roam the house or office and remain online. Over the years, Wi-Fi has gotten progressively faster and found its way into computers, TVs, mobile devices and even cars. Wi-Fi is so essential to our personal and professional lives today that it’s almost unheard of to be in a home or public place that doesn’t have it.
IoT
Wi-Fi also made it possible to connect and share information without human interaction, creating a system called the Internet of Things. Today, there are tens of billions of internet-connected devices around the globe that allow us to perform smart home tasks such as turning on our lights, checking who’s at our front door, and alerting us when we need more groceries. It also has industrial applications, such as in health care and management of municipal services.
Voice assistants
The heart of the smart home is a voice assistant such as Google’s Assistant. In addition to being a prerequisite for controlling devices in your home, they will tell you the weather, read you the news and play music from various streaming services, among thousands of other ‘skills.’ There were more than 3.25 billion voice assistant devices in use globally in 2019, and that number is expected to more than double to 8 billion by 2023, plus 20% of Google searches in the application are voice searches. SKYWORTH TVs Hands-Free Voice Control means no more fussing with a remote when you’re in the kitchen, in the room next door, or you simply don’t feel like getting up off the comfy couch to find the remote.
AI
The simulating of human intelligence in machines used to be confined to science fiction. However, in recent decades, it’s broken into the real world, becoming one of the most important technologies of our time. AI is helping to solve critical problems in transportation, retail, and health care (spotting breast cancer missed by human eyes, for example). On the internet, it’s used for everything from speech recognition to spam filtering. AI is expected to bring a staggering $15.7 trillion into the global economy by the next decade.
Videoconferencing
As COVID-19 has changed the world we live in, forcing us to limit contact with others and spend most of our time at home, videoconferencing has exploded in popularity. Along with webcams, free internet services such as Skype popularised the tech in the 2000s, taking videoconferencing to all corners of the internet. The corporate world embraced the tool to cut down on employee travel for meetings and as a marketing tool. As companies and schools implemented policies on work and study from home, video chatting and conferencing apps grew in popularity to get work done and communicate with friends and family, especially among people who had never used the tech before. Now, setting up a Zoom or Teams meeting is like second nature.
