Future Tech Insights

From Converge360, the leading emerging tech publisher of PureAI.com and IoTDev360.com, the Future Tech Insights blog offers updates on the technology that will shape our future, including artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, machine learning, quantum computing, edge computing, blockchain and robotics.


Is 5G Being Underestimated?

According to a new survey by Accenture of 1,800 executives and IT decision makers in mid-size and large businesses in 10 countries, most of them said that they think that 5G will enable "very few" things that can't already be accomplished, and only 37 percent, or two in five executives, say they "expect 5G to bring a 'revolutionary' shift in speed and capacity."

And while 70 percent said they believe that 5G will give them an edge with their customers, 72 percent said they need help "imagining the future possibilities and use cases" that come with 5G.

Another 60 percent said there is a distinct lack of knowledge among communication service providers about the specific challenges to using 5G to innovate within their industry.

According to the survey, the energy sector is most bullish about 5G's revolutionary impact, while the public sector has the "lowest total awareness" regarding 5G.

Anders Lindblad, Accenture's Communications & Media industry lead for Europe, commented in a prepared statement, "Despite the knowledge gap, there is excitement among business leaders about the value that 5G can bring to enterprises. This value is currently trapped within the perceived risks and uncertainty around 5G, which can be unlocked by organizations that understand customer needs, can overcome barriers to adoption and can drive collaboration among service providers."

More information can be found in the official announcement of the study, here.

Posted by Becky Nagel on 02/25/20190 comments


Blockchain, Machine Learning Top Emerging Jobs Report

LinkedIn's annual Emerging Jobs report, online here, is dominated by machine learning-related positions and led by the blockchain.

Blockchain developer is the No. 1 position on the report, with 33x growth over the past year. It didn't place on the 2017 report -- that's how fast it's climbing.

Many of the top 15 jobs are related to machine learning, data and AI, including machine learning engineer at No. 2, machine learning specialist at No. 4 and machine learning researcher at No. 15.

The complete top 15 list is here:

  1. Blockchain Developer (33X growth)
  2. Machine Learning Engineer (12X growth)
  3. Application Sales Executive (8X growth)
  4. Machine Learning Specialist (6X growth)
  5. Professional Medical Representative (6X growth)
  6. Relationship Consultant (5.5X growth)
  7. Data Science Specialist (5X growth)
  8. Assurance Staff (5X growth)
  9. Sales Development Representative (4X growth)
  10. Business Support Consultant (4X growth)
  11. Solar Power Consultant (4X growth)
  12. Administrative Assistant (4X growth)
  13. Background Investigator (4X growth)
  14. Machine Learning Researcher (4X growth)
  15. Data Science Manager (4X growth)

 "Artificial Intelligence (AI) is here to stay," LinkedIn Chief Economist Guy Berger commented in the report's introduction. "No, this doesn't mean robots are coming for your job, but we are likely to see continued growth in fields and functions related to AI. This year, six out of the 15 emerging jobs are related in some way to AI, and our research shows that skills related to AI are starting to infiltrate every industry, not just tech. In fact, AI skills are among the fastest-growing skills on LinkedIn, and globally saw a 190 percent increase from 2015 to 2017."

Posted by Becky Nagel on 01/09/20190 comments


New USB Aims To Bring Neuro-Biological Architecture Forward

Intel is working on a USB form factor, codenamed "Kapoho Bay," that interfaces with "Loihi," the company's neuromorphic research chip system. Together, they will provide the Loihi system with access to peripherals, an important step in achieving an architecture for mainstream computing.

Government, corporate and academic research groups are currently part of Intel's neuromorphic project, the goal of which is to "tackle the challenges facing the adoption of neuromorphic architectures for mainstream computing applications," while using the Loihi chip as a "focal point," the company said.

Neuromorphic computing is a branch of computing that aims to model the human brain as much as possible via electronic circuitry, typically within what are known as "very large scale integration" or VLSI systems. (As the human brain is so complex, hundreds of thousands of transistors/devices are needed on a single chip just to begin to model the human brain.)

A video showing Intel's Loihi chip being used in a lab environment can be found here. Intel's product page for Kapoho Bay is here.

Posted by Becky Nagel on 12/10/20180 comments


Report: Global Mobile Robotics Market To Reach $54.1 Billion by 2023

Chicago, Ill-based Markets and Markets recently released a report projecting that the mobile robotics market will reach a value of $54.1 billion worldwide by 2023, up from 2018's estimated $18.7 billion.

The growth includes both industrial and personal robots, plus industrial and military applications of robotic technology, as well as sensors, components and operational equipment.

"Robotics has witnessed a quantum leap with the introduction of technologies such as augmented reality, deep learning, and artificial intelligence (AI)," the company commented in its announcement of the study. "[The] mobile robots market for entertainment, education, and personal application is expected to grow rapidly during the forecast period. ... Another driver for the mobile robots market include increasing demand for warehouse automation."

According to the report, North America will be the biggest driver of the market, thanks to industry segments like medical, logistics, education and telepresense. The study names Google, Amazon, iRobot, GeckoSystems and Adept Technologies as major players in the U.S. mobile robotics market.

Other studies have predicted the U.S. robotics market overall will reach $498 billion by 2025.  

Posted by Becky Nagel on 12/05/20180 comments


Quantum Computing News: New Dynamic Decoupling Performance Method, Q# Update, Quantum Hype?, More

In just the past month or so, a number of interesting developments and insights in the realm of quantum computing have come to light. Following are some of the standouts.

  • Scientists at USC's Center for Quantum Information Science and Technology just announced a new theoretical method aimed at greatly improving quantum computing performance and stability. Dubbed "dynamic decoupling," the technique uses "tiny bursts of staccato energy pulses" upon superconducting qubits to disrupt the "ambient disturbances" that have been found to have a great impact on the sensitive nature of quantum calculations. Using this method, the USC scientists extended a controlled quantum state up to three times longer than usual, improving stability and reducing errors. "This is a step forward," commented Daniel Lidar, a professor of electrical engineering, chemistry and physics at USC and director of the center. "Without error suppression, there's no way quantum computing can overtake classical computing." The results were published in this paper.
  • In late October, Microsoft updated its Quantum Computing Development Kit -- aimed at helping scientists and IT pros bring quantum computing into practical applications -- to include several new features, including numerous updates to its Q# development language and a new quantum chemistry library. The kit is available to download for free here.
  • Toronto, Canada-based company Xanadu has announced PennyLane, what it describes as the first machine learning software dedicated to quantum computing. Seth Lloyd, Xanadu's chief scientific advisor, MIT professor and a founding figure in both quantum computing and quantum machine learning, commented in a press release: "We're going to see an explosion of ideas, now that everyone can train quantum computers like they would train deep neural networks [using PennyLane]." PennyLane is available on GitHub.
  • In November, IEEE Spectrum published an article on quantum computing that attracted a lot of attention: "The Case Against Quantum Computing." In it, physicist Mikhail Dyakonov argues, among other things, that the data manipulation required to make real-world quantum computing work is simply too intensive. "There is a tremendous gap between the rudimentary but very hard experiments that have been carried out with a few qubits and the extremely developed quantum-computing theory, which relies on manipulating thousands to millions of qubits to calculate anything useful," he said. "That gap is not likely to be closed anytime soon."

Posted by Becky Nagel on 11/29/20180 comments


Placing a Bet on Blockchain

Blockchain transaction processing is usually associated with the Bitcoin cryptocurrency but with the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in May that now allows states to legalized sports betting, the technology could be coming to a bookie near you.

A report from San Francisco-based Grand View Research predicts the global blockchain technology market will reach $7.59 billion by 2024 as it expands to include companies offering services in the gig economy but also kicking off into sports betting.

FinancialBuzz.com, a financial news service, highlighted the sports betting potential of blockchain in a recent news release where it is being deployed in partnership with Leicester City Football Club, the 2016 English Premier League Champions and FansUnite Entertainment Inc., a portfolio company of Canadian-based Victory Square Technologies Inc.

"We take the saying 'Better for Bettors' seriously," FansUnite CEO Darius Eghdami is quoted as saying in the release. "FansUnite truly is 'Better for Bettors."

FansUnite offers "a blockchain protocol on target to disrupt and revolutionize the sports betting and sports data markets," according to the press release, which describes it as "pioneering a tamper-proof and transparent global store for sports data."

Along with sports betting, FansUnite says its blockchain application can also be used for gamers in the fantasy sports world.

The FansUnite sports betting blockchain product is scheduled to launch before the end of this year, according to the company and will allow "wagering sites around the world to offer bettors lower fees and increased payback percentages directly to the wagering public."

The company said it is beginning by marketing itself to Leicester fans with promotions inside the club's stadium and in targeted campaigns.

"FansUnite has set their sights on powerfully transforming the entire sports betting and sports data marketplaces with their proprietary blockchain protocol and we couldn't be happier to welcome Leicester City to the Victory Square family," said Shafin Diamond Tejani, CEO of Victory Square.

Posted by Richard Seeley on 10/10/20180 comments