With the EU promising to offer free Wi-Fi to all its member states by 2020, there is widespread commitment to ensure everyone is able to stay online and engage with their technology. In light of this promise, Dan Bladen, CEO and Co-Founder of leading wireless charging solutions company Chargifi, makes his predictions on how technological advances will change our world in 2017.
Mass personalisation will accelerate through 2017 to become as commonplace as targeted online advertising is today. Using pattern recognition and sensor fusion technologies, mobile apps and digital services will become highly personalised and contextualised to deliver everyone with the services they need, where and when they need them. The British Airways example of this is an interesting one. They have just patented a smart pill that you take at the start of your flight; it monitors your well-being, and then wirelessly alerts the in-flight attendant to your body’s need.
Hotels and higher education institutes will radically advance their facilities to attract students and guests. In an increasingly competitive bid for students, universities are already investing heavily in modernising facilities and implementing cutting edge technology. Hotels will also increase investment in this area – tiny plug in kettles and non-existent or expensive Wi-Fi will be a thing of the past. Prepare to see sleek and free of charge amenities, such as state of the art coffee machines, smart showers, wireless charging and free, fast Wi-Fi. This development will be rapid as each industry competes to deliver a premium experience for their client.
Companies will know more about how their customers are using their applications than ever before. ‘Right Here Right Now’ will be a major trend as brands use Facebook and Snapchat to connect with customers in real time. Wireless charging software will soon give them real-time intelligence on how customers are using these applications when they charge on site, to further enhance contextual experiences.
‘Triggers’ – systems that read the context and trigger a pre-set action will be huge. This has happened, but it’s only happened for early adopters. Simple triggers or IFTTT’s (If This Then That’s) are already being employed by some people, but you have to build them yourself. For example; when I get to the train station at 8pm in the evening my phone automatically sends a message to my wife that I’m about to jump on my bike and I’ll be home in 10 minutes. The simple IFTTT app looks for when my phone’s GPS locates me at the station and then sends the message.
Venues will facilitate power and connectivity, as more wallets go digital – it will be critical for consumers and travellers to get access to wireless charging in public venues to make sure they are able to access their digital wallet. Have you tried getting off the London Tube without enough battery life for Apple Pay or Android Pay? It’s not all that easy…