Technological innovations are making our lives better and easier day by day. Our lives have been made much more comfortable with the help of technology over the years. These days, various technological innovations are changing our lives for the positive like cloud computing, augmented reality as well as the evolution of shared economy.
The catalysts for those changes have been smartphones. We are more reliant on smartphones than ever. Smartphones have brought the evolving technology closer to us. You need not have an expensive piece of hardware to use these technological solutions. As long as you have your smartphone with you, you are good to go. The tech products which have brought about a change in our lives are plenty.
We will today share with you five incredible ways technology has made our lives easier.
1. Products as a service
These days, an increasing number of companies are offering various products as a service. The advantage is that consumers can use that product only for a limited period. There is no need to buy the product outright. Thus, earlier the products which were inaccessible for you due to high cost are accessible now.
With the help of products as a service offering, the shared economy is also picking up steam. It is not just the companies who are offering products as a service. Individual entrepreneurs also use these platforms to provide their products as a service.
Some of the examples are:
Uber
Uber is a cab service which allows you to not just opt for renting a full cab and also car sharing. Thus, you can easily choose the mode of transportation as per your budget. You need not pay for the cost of the entire trip when you opt for car sharing. The cost is split up among people sharing the ride. In a nutshell, you get a cab driven by a driver at a fraction of the total cost. Another advantage is that you can call the cab with the help of your smartphone.
Airbnb
Airbnb is a platform where homeowners offer their homes for short-term rentals. Whether you’re in a tourist city or whether you are in a normal one, chances are you can find suitable Airbnb rentals. The cost of owning such a home or an apartment can be enormous. It does not make financial sense for people to invest in an apartment in different cities. Hotels can be expensive. They can, however, rent the place for a couple of days using Airbnb. Thus, the entrepreneurs who own the property offer them as a service for a short period.
You can easily use the applications through your smartphone which allow you to access these services. You pay precisely according to your use. If you’re using the service only for a couple of hours or a couple of days, you will pay for only that period. As a result, the cost of the product reduces significantly. Moreover, since you can now book through your smartphone, it will be easier for you to access the service without going into the paperwork or other such tedious procedures. Thus, this is the number one way in which technology has made our lives easier.
2. Smart Cities
Smart cities are becoming more popular all over the world. Authorities and governments around the globe are realizing that cities need to evolve. Only when they keep pace with technology, they will be habitable. Otherwise, they will be nothing more than concrete jungles. Many local authorities and councils are planning on converting their cities to smart cities. There are various aspects to deal with while creating a smart city.
These include:
Smart Grid
Providing all the critical utilities to the citizens is essential. However, every utility needs to be tracked. Moreover, the citizens should have the ability to choose from the traditional sources of power as well as the renewable ones. When the emphasis is put on the renewable ones, they cannot only save a significant amount of money, but ensure that the carbon footprints of the city is on the lower side.
Smart water management
A smart city is one which reduces its carbon footprint and the pollution which it creates. One of the essential steps to do so is to be smart about water management. Most of the smart cities reuse the wastewater in some form or the other. It can be for gardening or growing plants in the wilderness. Similarly, most of the smart cities have a proper wastewater treatment plant before releasing the remaining water into the rivers or the tributaries.
Smart transportation systems
Automobiles are one of the biggest causes of pollution on our planet. Smart cities encourage ridesharing and the use of electric vehicles to deal with this menace. Both of these solutions have been made possible only due to technological innovations.
Complete connectivity
Smart cities can only work when the entire population is connected with the help of Internet. Owing to this reason, public Wi-Fi hotspots are a reality in most of the smart cities all over the world.
Planned construction
Most of the smart cities permit new construction only when it is environment-friendly. Planned construction takes the environment into account while constructing. Planned construction also means more open space and greener surroundings.
Planning for the future
The main advantage of smart cities is that each bit of data and metric is available in the digital form. The government, as well as the planners, can use this data to plan the future of the city. It works as a predictive mechanism to make the cities greener and more comfortable to live. The tracking is only possible due to the smart grid systems which rely on the latest cutting edge technology.
These are just some facets of a smart city. The main aim is to make the entire city sustainable. Only when the city is sustained, you can ensure that the living conditions over the decades will be favorable for the citizens rather than being toxic. Smart cities try to utilize every resource scarce and effectively to ensure that the city is sustained.
When you look closely at the systems above, you will realize those smart cities are only possible due to technology. The smart cities are built keeping the future in mind. The smart cities can only sustain themselves when technology is used to deal with the various problems which we face in our cities these days. Thus, with the help of technology, our lives can certainly take a turn for the better as our cities become sustainable.
3. Augmented Reality
Augmented Reality (AR) refers to the amalgamation of the virtual world with the real world. As the name itself suggests, it augments a specific part of the virtual world in our real worlds. The aim is to make our surroundings more interactive. Since most of us use the smartphones these days, it is easy to experience augmented reality.
The applications of augmented reality are present in many different industries.
Some of these industries include:
- Gaming
- Medical
- Military
- Engineering
- E-commerce
- And many more
When you look at the augmented reality devices, they ideally consist of input/output devices, CPU and sensors. Most of this hardware is present in our smartphone. That is why, if you possess the latest smartphone, you can easily use it to experience augmented reality.
Example of augmented reality:
E-commerce stores which sell fashion apparel, as well as accessories like sunglasses, often incorporate augmented reality into their applications. You have to just record your video and upload it to their mobile app. When you select a pair of clothes or sunglasses, they superimpose it on your body in the video to help you better understand how you will look after wearing them. Thus, you can try out different sunglasses and apparel options virtually to find out which one looks good for you.
Now that you are aware of what exactly is augmented reality, let us look at some of the advantages of the same.
These include:
- AR systems provide you with a glimpse as to how a particular thing will work and look at the real-world environment.
- AR systems make our lives much more interactive.
- AR systems brings the virtual world closer to a physical world.
- AR systems in the medical industry have made an early diagnosis of possible diseases.
- AR systems are also used for testing purposes in many industries to make the products better.
- AR systems help the military in formulating a strategy and creating a simulation of an actual war without putting the lives of soldiers at risk.
- AR systems increase the retention among customers and therefore, help businesses sell more products
As you can see, the advantages of AR systems are plenty. It is one of the fastest evolving technologies which has undoubtedly made our lives better and also has the potential to do lots more.
4. Mobile Tablets
Smartphones and mobile tablets are made our life much easier. Smartphones might have a small screen, but Mobile tablets eliminate that shortcoming. Mobile tablets have large screens and have higher processing power as compared to smartphones. That is why you can use Mobile tablets for a wide variety of functions.
The advantages of Mobile tablets are plenty like:
- They have a larger screen.
- They come in different size options.
- They are perfect for HD viewing.
- The operating systems of most of the mobile tablets have a large app store to choose any application.
- Mobile tablets are highly versatile.
These days, with the help of different applications, mobile tablets can replace smaller notebooks quite easily. There are even accessories like keyboards which allow you to type on the mobile tablets without having to open your notebook or your laptop. Thus, you have to just carry a small tablet and a foldable keyboard, and you’re good to go.
Example:
If you want to get some of the office work done, all you need to do is to just connect a folding keyboard with your mobile tablet, and you can easily type and edit the contents just like your normal notebook. If you want to print it, there are companies which sell printers which are compatible with not only your computers and laptops but also your mobile tablets. You can check products from mobileprinter.com.my to find a such printer. The point being, these days with the help of right applications and hardware accessories, you can do almost each and everything with your mobile tablets.
Mobile tablets have certainly made our lives easier as you no longer need to carry a laptop or notebook. With the large screen size, you can do almost anything on your mobile tablets.
5. Telemedicine
The medical industry has much to thank technology for. Apart from the advancing technology for formulating and testing newer molecules, technology has also made it possible for doctors to connect remotely with the patients. As a result, people in rural areas all over the world can now gain access to quality healthcare with the help of telemedicine.
There are millions of people globally who do not have access to quality health care. It is not viable for them to travel to the nearest cities or metropolis to get access to quality healthcare. For them, telemedicine is a boon. Doctors can now communicate with their patients sitting hundreds of miles away and prescribe them the right medicines and provide them with necessary medical advice. Telemedicine also comes in handy when there is an emergency or a natural calamity like an earthquake. The essential steps can be taken to protect the victims and save their lives with the help of telemedicine.
With smartphones and mobile tablets becoming more common, the cost of telemedicine is consistently going down. Our smartphones offer a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot with the help of which, you can directly communicate with the doctors over video and audio. Telemedicine does not require you to invest in any expensive hardware.
The advantages of telemedicine are plenty like:
- It offers quality healthcare services to people in rural areas.
- It provides them a chance to speak face-to-face with the doctors.
- It makes the healthcare industry more affordable.
- It increases patient satisfaction.
- It comes in handy in emergencies.
With the help of technological innovations like smart phones, mobile tablets, 4G networks, telemedicine has become a reality. It has made the lives of millions of people all over the world much safer. They can now gain access to quality medical advice without having to travel hundreds of miles.
So, technology has undoubtedly improved our lives in many different aspects. We often just focus on entertainment-based technological innovations. The truth is that it has made every aspect of our lives better. You can now use technology in almost every niche to do things the easy way. It is time to use these incredible technological marvels to our advantage.