Introducing HP’s 2018 Megatrends, and how they’re shaping our world
At CES in Las Vegas, HP’s CTO maps out a vision for the future.
By Shane Wall, Chief Technology Officer at HP and Global Head of HP Labs — January 10, 2018
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed in the face of these tidal-wave forces of change, but at HP, these are precisely the challenges that drive and excite us. As a company, our goal is to create technology that improves lives, so given these rising megatrends, we have identified several areas of opportunity where we feel confident we’ll make significant contributions to our society and our world.
And now for a sneak peek at some disruptive technologies shaping HP’s new 2018 megatrends report:
BioConvergence
Nature-inspired fabrication will allow us to harness and mimic the natural processes and materials that surround us, along with technology to create goods customized for local markets and their demographics. Local, sustainable and affordable production will improve the lives of people all over the planet. Within technology, innovation that taps the power of nature — literally — is already here in lithium-ion batteries made of alfalfa seeds and pine resin.
Beyond Human
With a growing population and changing demographics that skew older, our societies and economies will increasingly depend on technology to drive productivity, tackle health challenges more cost-effectively and improve our overall quality of life.
HP is already leveraging its microfluidics technology used to power Inkjet printing to help reinvent drug discovery. Our bio-dispensing systems enable drug research labs to improve the speed, efficiency and precision of in-lab drug trials, so scientists can more rapidly develop optimized drug mixes and doses to combat diseases.
And these early steps are just hints of how profoundly technology is poised to deliver a better world. Artificial intelligence, wearable robotics, virtual reality — all of these technologies will combine to help us accomplish more, stay healthy longer and be more productive, augmenting our natural or waning abilities in the future with personalized AI assistants, smart robotic limbs and exoskeletons, or digital health technologies such as smart pills that decide what doses we should be taking.
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed in the face of these tidal-wave forces of change, but at HP, these are precisely the challenges that drive and excite us.
Frictionless Business
Various disruptive technologies, including AI, blockchain and Internet of Things, are combining to enable transformation across business processes, ranging from faster automated product creation through generative design, to the streamlining of transactions using blockchain with applications ranging from crypto currencies to smart contracts.
With 3D printing, we’re laying the groundwork for how robotics, IoT and artificial intelligence will work together to completely reshape manufacturing — ushering in an era of small-batch, made-to-order, more energy-efficient production at micro-plants located near the cities where consumers live. This will put an end to the far-flung supply chains developed over the past century and eliminate many of the costs and pollution generated by today’s practice of shipping goods all over the planet.
At HP, we’re inspired by these trends. With them in mind, we’re building solutions that will help businesses keep up with the skyrocketing pace of innovation and deliver advances that will improve the lives of everyone, everywhere.
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