Innovation in 2021 is expected to have technology at its core

Necessity being the mother of invention and reinvention, 2020 has been quite a year of new things and reliving old technologies. Ransacked by the Covid-19 pandemic and thrashed by the economic turmoil, the past year was nothing more than a roller coaster ride. Despite facing the global crisis, innovation still found its way out of researcher’s and scientist’s minds. The reason is necessity was always there. However, we are now in 2021, the year that started with new hopes. The present year is expected to bring more innovation with technology at its core.

2020 saw so many changes in every sector. Moreover, people’s mindset has also changed to some extent. The shopping preferences and priorities of consumers are not the same after the pandemic. Besides, companies across various domains have adopted digital technologies to make remote working comfortably. As companies hurried to develop new digital capabilities in an effort to build resilience and retool for the post-pandemic world, innovations are steeping into the technology radar to streamline digitization. Digital nomadism, philanthropy, and sustainable development goals (SDG) will be popular keywords in 2021. The present year will lean heavily on technology with more innovations occupying the digital space. IndustryWired has noticed and listed some innovations that will make it big in 2021. 

Healthcare will use more technology in drug development and telemedicine will streamline

The one thing that we have learned from the pandemic is always to be prepared for a crisis. No one expected a virus to break out and lock us up in our houses. Besides being on lockdown, the Covid-19 outbreak has started a healthcare revolution that taught us how important healthcare facilities and drugs are. Drug development that generally takes over 10 years to make and hit the market just took six months to reach people. Behind the fastened vaccine manufacturing, trial and approval, technology played a big role. Researchers have put many traditional clinical trials on hold, or have shifted to a virtual structure by performing consultations online and collecting data remotely. After seeing how remote clinical trials worked well, 2021 will have more tools and features to continue the process. Innovation will bloom more in vaccine manufacturing and testing. 

Other than Covid-19, other disease patients also faced the healthcare crisis during the pandemic. Henceforth, many private and public practices have started offering telemedicine services through video chats, AI avatar-based diagnostics, and no-contact-based medication delivery.

BFSI will have non-technical employees handling technology

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, banks and financial institutions expect an 86% increase in AI investments by 2025. More funding means more money on research & development. Henceforth, financial companies and banks will get an opportunity to exploit the full potential of AI. Besides, more non-technical people will start doing simple technical works. This will come with more innovation on fintech focusing on simple means of usage. Unlike the traditional way where technical personnel was assigned to handle machines and technology, laymen can do the same with the help of updated features. The future will allow employees with no technical background to create AI models using prebuilt apps that leverage deep learning techniques. 

Construction will get innovation at every end

With 3D printing on the construction sector’s bucket list, the building industry will see big changes in 2021 and further. Already, start-ups like Concur are using IoT and sensors to provide real-time quality and insight about concrete, making ‘dump concrete smart.’ Starting from brand-new construction ideas to rethinking and optimizing building space for remote working, the construction industry will undergo a massive transition in 2021.

More concepts like moving the building without breaking it will emerge from the sector. Moreover, 3D printed houses are already leaving people in awe. For example, Prague-base architecture studio Scoolpt has unveiled a 43-square-meter 3D printed house called Prvok, a structure that can be built in just 48 hours and will float on water.