What To Expect From 5G
There’s certainly been a lot of hype surrounding the rollout of 5G in the mainstream media – but what’s it really going to mean for Joe the Plumber? 3G, 4G, 5G -- as long as I can still send text messages and upload images to Facebook and Instagram, what’s the big deal? Let’s take a look at some of the possibilities…
5G will provide greater bandwidth, which will allow larger and more complete data sets to be stored -- and the more data predictive AI algorithms have to work with, the greater their ability to make accurate forecasts. Algorithms that anticipate when industrial equipment will require maintenance or when buildings or bridges might need structural reinforcement could be save companies and municipalities millions over time. Algorithms that analyze traffic patterns and can predict when and where congestion will materialize could help people optimize their commutes and help Etailers like Amazon improve delivery times and provide more accurate delivery estimates to their customers. Healthcare providers are also embracing big data in the hopes that it will allow them to predict when patients are at a higher risk of heart disease or cancer. Companies like FitBit will be able to use the health information in collects from its users to customize exercise recommendations for people with similar lifestyles or diets. Environmental and climate data may even help to predict when and where catastrophic weather events like forest fires or floods will occur.
Image detection and recognition will also be take a huge step forward with more raw data to process and faster transmission rates. Although some consider it controversial, image recognition may also be used to identify suspected criminals or vehicles that may have been involved in a crime. The more photos facial recognition algorithms have to analyze and the faster they can process them, the better they get. Cameras and image recognition algorithms will allow retail stores and outlets to keep track of inventory in real time. Imagine an automated shopping cart at Bed Bath & Beyond taking online orders and then locating and collecting items without any human supervision. Ever been walking through an enormous warehouse store like Costco and been overwhelmed with choices? Customers could use augmented reality headsets or glasses to steer them towards what’s in stock or on sale.
Speaking of augmented reality, you’ve probably been to a museum and used an “electronic docent,” a set of headphones that informs you about the exhibits you’re looking at. You punch in an exhibit number into a handheld device and the prerecorded spiel begins. In the near future, those headsets could have a visual component, so instead of punching in a number, the headsets identify what you’re looking at tell you about it as you move between exhibits. That experience doesn’t need to be limited to museums, either. You could be walking the streets of Paris with an augmented reality headset telling you where Gertrude Stein and Ernest Hemingway used to have lunch or where Jim Morrison is buried.
These are just a few of the possible ways 5G could change the way we do things – there will many, many more. As 2020 marches on, we’ll look back and see how many of our predictions came true and take a fresh look at the ones we missed.