The global media is abuzz with the headline technology permeating out of CES, formerly the Consumer Electronics Show, in Las Vegas this week.
And two buzz phrases are dominating everything from Bloomberg News to The Age.
‘Wearable Tech’ and ‘The Internet of Things’
Firstly, these two terms are horrible. Obviously a ‘marketing specialist’ has been paid big bucks somewhere to look at all these new technologies and say… ‘Hmmm looks like the internet is in a lot of things these days. I know let’s call it all ‘The Internet of Things’.’
It makes me shudder every time I hear the phrase.
Of course the trend itself, whatever you want to call it, is real. But it goes deeper than just ‘things’ being connected to the internet.
Not all things will need an internet connection. Some will operate within their own separate networks, isolated from the internet, and will ‘talk’ to other devices in the same proximity that share the necessary hardware.
So rather than the internet of things, this entire trend is better summarised as ‘immersive technology‘.
The immersive technology trend is all about communication between devices. It’s Machine to Machine communication (M2M). Devices talking to other devices automatically. When this happens it all comes together as relevant, useful information for us.
And this world of immersive technology has been in the making for years. In fact it goes as far back as 1988 when one company pioneered M2M, inadvertently launching world defining technology. This company is now also a leader in the immersive technology trend with the processors and sensors needed to reshape how we live.
We’re all Technophiles at Heart, You Just Haven’t Realised It Yet
The world is at the early stages of being able to appreciate the significant change immersive technology is going to have on everything.
You will look back ten years from now and wonder what life was like before immersive technology swept through the world. And at this point you’ll likely also realise it was a missed opportunity to make tremendous gains by investing in the companies that have driven this technology.
But that’s the future, and we sit here now in the present. There is tremendous opportunity available right now to take action on this world defining trend.
Let me go into a bit more detail to explain what I mean.
I use CES as an example because right now every second report from CES is about wearable tech. But why this is even a discussion point is the deeper reason. Look at it this way…
It’s human nature to want to create an environment that makes life better, easier and more enjoyable. The pursuit of a better living standard is what drives many people. That’s why we work hard, save, invest and try to build wealth. It’s for a reason, a purpose. It’s to make life better.
In this quest for a more fulfilling life we eventually come to rely on technology to make that happen. Now most people don’t go out and invent and create technology to do it themselves. They rely on others with the capabilities and resource to innovate and invent.
And when these new technologies come to market we get excited. It’s true. We all love new technologies that we can use to make our life better, more fun and more enjoyable. I’ve never heard anyone say, ‘Oh that telephone ruined my life,’ or, ‘Without this PC I’d be so much better at handwriting,’ or, ‘This microwave makes heating up my lasagne so inconvenient.’
Sometimes it takes a while for people to get excited, but eventually these new technologies become a way of life. Soon enough you struggle to remember what life was even like without them.
At heart we’re all technophiles; some people just don’t realise it yet.
Technology wriggles its way into your life whether you like it or not. This happened with the telephone, car, typewriter, personal computer, mobile phone and is now happening with immersive technologies.
Every one of these technologies was a solution to a problem. A solution to make life easier in some form or another.
This is the same trajectory immersive technology is taking. But sometimes it’s hard to see the real story through all the noise.
Right now there are at least three dozen new flashy smartwatches and lifestyle trackers to put on our wrists. The wrist seems to be the hot spot for tech right now. But in all reality this is just a way-point en route to the bigger picture. The real immersive technology trend is so huge it’s going to change your concept of what technology is capable of.
It’s No Longer on You…It’s in You
Smartwatches will come and go, as will lifestyle and fitness trackers. When you really look past the hype, the technology is brilliant but the form and execution, for now, isn’t all that life changing.
Where I’m heading with this is the sensors and processors located within current examples of wearable tech will impact your life more than the device itself.
And it’s going to take form in the shape of technology immersed not just in your environment but in your biological structure.
That’s right, I’m taking about immersive technology in the sense your biology, your physical world and your digital world immerse as one. Call it implanted technology if you will. This technology won’t exist on your head or your wrist. It will exist in your body, connected to your biology.
You won’t be wearing a watch that you can text with and you won’t be counting how many steps you take in a day. No, you’ll have tiny biosensors and processors that interact with a visual interface to let you know real-time how you’re really going in every sense of the word.
Through immense amounts of personal data you will have the hardware and software tools at your disposal to stay healthy and happy.
The thing is, you’ll never even notice these sensors are even working away. That’s what good technology does…it just happens.
Immersive Technology Is Here and so Is the Opportunity to Invest
The way this all works is actually pretty straight forward.
You have sensors and processors connected to you. These monitor everything from the air you breathe, to your circadian rhythm, temperature and heart rate. This data transmits to a miniature computer where it’s processed. And this useful information is instantaneously delivered to you to help you make better life choices.
So if you’re feeling a bit sad, tell-tale signs will indicate this. Subsequently your personal digital assistant will appear next to you as a holograph and chat with you for 15 minutes about happy things to turn your mood around.
This might sound ridiculous to many of you. I understand that. But this is the inevitable progression of technology. It’s the sum of an array of available and prototype technologies now coming together to create a more immersive world.
Consider this. At CES already in the last week Intel has put an entire PC into a case the size of an SD card. The MYO armband has sensors in it that detect the electrical impulses emanating from your muscles. Innovega are demonstrating working contact-lens-enabled, fully functional smartglasses. And Scanadu has finalised their hardware and are ready to release their tricorder in March.
Right now all these technologies are in separate pieces of hardware. It’s not terribly efficient, nor does it make life all that much easier.
But advance the technology a couple more years, reduce the size, increase the processing power and the capabilities…and you inevitably find this technology in your body, not on your body.
There will be kickback. People will initially struggle with the concept of having technology as a part of their biological self. But we will look back in ten years’ time and wonder how we ever managed without it all.
But as that point comes closer you can actually take steps to join this huge immersive technology trend now. There are some companies that are at the cutting edge of the immersive technology trend. They’re the ones that make the sensors and processors that will usher in this new era.
These companies are crucial to a world of immersive technology, and they stand at the very early stages of a worldwide shift in how we all live and exist in the world.
Call me a dreamer if you will but this is happening. It’s happening now. Don’t get caught up in what the mass media regurgitates. It’s already a past-trend when you hear it on the news. Look deeper, look further, have a vision about what it all really means.
That’s what we do at Revolutionary Tech Investor. We look beyond and conceptualise the great ideas that will reshape our world. And we pick the companies that will take us there and make huge gains along the way.
Regards,
Sam Volkering +
Technology Analyst
Publisher’s Note: Over the past few weeks we’ve let you know about plans to launch a daily technology eletter. As we recently announced, we’re going ahead with that plan. Today I can announce the eletter will be called Tech Insider. Each day tech guru Sam Volkering will give you his insights on the latest technologies hitting the market and the innovations he sees happening in the future. It will be like no other free eletter service we’ve ever produced. We’re just putting the final touches to the behind-the-scenes infrastructure. In the next few weeks we’ll give you details on how to easily subscribe to Sam’s new free daily service.
