Technology is in the DNA of competitive companies. All business processes, to some degree, are or can be influenced by technological innovations that are continually developed and every year present themselves as new products and services.

This year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2018, the annual fair in Las Vegas, has reinforced technological trends that were already being developed in previous years, such as the invasion of digital personal assistants and autonomous cars. On the other hand, gadgets should remain the protagonist, with state-of-the-art devices representing the most futuristic in the industry.

For companies, there are solutions that can be implemented today, in a simple way, to improve productivity in several areas. For people, the new solutions point to another step towards consumerization, bringing comfort and convenience to a new level. Get to know some technological innovations that should gain prominence throughout the year:

1.Chatbots

Customer service, regardless of the segment of the company, is something that consumes time and effort. The use of chatbots – software programmed to respond to predictable questions and provide an immediate solution – is an alternative to unlocking service, increasing problem resolution and facilitating the work of the company.

Social networks, especially on Facebook, there are already tools for including chatbots on the pages for contact with followers. This instrument can be used for both sales and customer service.

The use of algorithms, in turn, will enable service to become increasingly similar to that of a human operator, increasing the impact on a company’s relationship marketing. This new level of relationship between consumers and brands will be the focus of business in the coming years.

2.Artificial Intelligence

All the devices we use in everyday life will be smarter. Not just computers and smartphones, but also glasses, refrigerators, washing machines and even jars to store food. With this, personal digital assistants – such as Alexa from Amazon, one of the main highlights of CES 2018 – should become increasingly common.

3.Wearables and Smarthome

The internet of things will invade your house and, why not, you. Wearable devices are no longer absurd inventions for the future. Shirts, glasses, watches and other clothing items will become intelligent and will be prepared to meet the most demands of convenience.

One of the most profitable inventions will be the wearable clothing that helps in health care: monitoring of heart rate, blood cholesterol levels and even sleep.

Wearable technologies are not intended solely for personal applications. 3M, which invests approximately US $ 1.8 billion per year in P & D, develops lines of Individual Protection Equipment (EPI) equipped with the technology. The result is a better guarantee of the safety and health of workers.
One such product is the 3M Versaflo respirator, an EPI with motorized pressurizing instruments that ensures the supply of fresh air by means of a trachea protecting the worker in high chemical or biological risk environments. An RFID tag coupled with clothing allows all equipment data to be read by smartphone, connecting via the Internet, area, operator and EPI providing important business data. In this way, it is possible to mitigate the risk of accidents at work.

Home appliances, in turn, can be controlled more simply. Have you thought about having a refrigerator that tells you, via smartphone, that a certain food is near the expiration date, besides indicating the nutrients and amount of calories present there? This was new in 2015.

Home appliances, in turn, can be controlled more simply. Have you thought about having a refrigerator that tells you, via smartphone, that a certain food is near the expiration date, besides indicating the nutrients and amount of calories present there? This was new in 2015.

4.Automation

In industries, automation has been a reality for decades. In the offices, the story is a bit different: the focus on processes and people has expanded its scope to technologies a few years ago. Innovations for enterprise automation like Robotic Process Automation (RPA) are able to increase productivity in rule-based activities and help companies save a lot of money.

By 2018, automation should accompany the processes of digital transformation in companies – both large and medium. Micro and small companies, struggling to remain competitive in the market with few resources, can see in these technologies a competitive differential.

5.Autonomous Cars

Sitting in a software-driven car may not be the most reassuring experience for anyone already accustomed to traffic in the chaotic traffic of big cities. But autonomous cars have been heavily invested by companies – Tesla is the most prominent, both carmakers and those offering rides as a service, such as Uber.

For this to be feasible, other peripheral technologies must be developed – such as object detection, machine vision, for example. Nvidia, maker of chips and graphics cards, recently announced a partnership with Volkswagen and Uber for the development of autonomous cars.

With the launch of Byton, the brand of vehicles created to compete with Tesla, we must see a strong competitiveness in the sector – which will lead to better and better solutions.