Telenor Research has predicted five technology trends in 2021 following increased digitisation brought about by Covid-19. They concern mental health, combat climate change, password panic, remote working, and education. Hologrammatic communication and personalised chatbots could combat loneliness, AI could make energy use more efficient, tiny drones will monitor climate change and robot farmhands will support agriculture.
The 'Tech Trends 2021' report said that the coronavirus pandemic has forced the global population to adapt to a new way of life. Bjorn Taale Sandberg, head of Telenor Research, said 2020 proved that digitisation will be important to facilitating new ways to work and live in 2021.
Mental health applications
Looking first at the mental health trend, Telenor Research said chronic isolation caused by pandemic restrictions leads to maladies such as anxiety and depression. Sandberg predicts that eHealth providers will offer new mental health services. Countries with full 5G implementation are likely to use augmented and virtual reality, and holographic communication could be up and running within the next year.
A new generation of chatbots designed to help people suffering from loneliness will be launched. Using AI, such personalised digital assistants can respond to questions, initiate calls, offer entertainment and provide "enriching activities" that "enhance feelings of being connected", said Telenor.
Climate change and environmental action
Turning to the climate change innovation trend, Sandberg said the pandemic has triggered badly needed environmental action. Telenor Research believes governments will use the momentum of 2020 to pave the way for a green recovery in 2021, putting climate laws and plans into action.
AI will optimise energy consumption at data centres and mobile base stations. AI will help make renewable energy such as wind power more predictable, and optimise urban transport and predict air quality. AI-powered micro IoT devices for Tiny Machine Learning (TinyML) will operate as ultra-small, low-power drones to monitor exposed areas via image processing.
In rural areas, autonomous modular robots will work in the fields, supporting farmers who struggle to find agricultural workers. Mechanical weeding with machine vision will streamline the use of pesticides.
Password managers and biometrics
Regarding password panic, Telenor Norway foresees wider use of simple security functions in 2021. Password managers throughout sectors or iris and fingerprint scanning will be more common, said Sandberg. This will alleviate the problems of managing rising numbers of password-protected accounts and advice to change passwords every three months and avoid recycling old ones.
Teleworking
Turning to what it calls Society-as-a-service, Telenor Research said that in 2021, it expects many companies to give staff more flexibility to work outside the office. Firms will need to train employees in cyber security, "digital hygiene" and use of digital products and technologies, it said.
The trend towards tele-commuting will require workers to improve the balance between their working hours and leisure time. People expect amenities that enable digital working wherever they go, Sandberg said. Cafes could turn into meeting rooms, Telenor Research added.
Digital divide causes education gap to persist
Looking at education, Telenor Research said that in 2021, it predicts an "escalating number" of new and creative methods of remote digital learning to emerge, without being specific. However, it expects the education gap to continue, as millions of pupils and students who lack home internet access lost out on education in 2020 when schools and colleges shut down.
Sandberg said the education gap needs addressing properly both internationally and within nations. The education sector and ICT companies must join forces to ensure robust and faster networks, and to promote and support universal digital literacy, he added.
