5-10 years would be sufficient to grasp a new massive impact that asian products and companies will have in our lives.
Asia has always been a hub for international commerce, with vast territories, multiple transportation channels (aerial, terrestrial and marine), cheap labor and flexible laws, this continent more than a tourist attraction, it is now a mecca. A technological one that’s about to see a booming like never before.
The increasing demand for new artifacts like: Wearable tech, smart watches, smart TVs and so much more, is turning the engines of big factory conglomerates willing to spend anything to grab a piece of this (cake) market. Competence is fierce and a lot of startups are registering their patents at an unprecedented rate.
According to experts at the International Monetary Fund, the world is about to experience a big shift from mobile internet to a big data centered information stage where many technological advancements would take a strong role, all at once. These are:
- Internet of things (IoT): A network of devices, home appliances (lights, fridges, kitchens, others) and vehicles, all connected online in order to exchange data.
- Artificial Intelligence (AI): As with natural intelligence, this one is demonstrated by machines, with the main purpose of analyze its environment to take the most accurate actions to achieve goals.
- Virtual Reality (VR): Scenarios generated by a computer, simulating real world experiences.
- Augmented Reality (AR): Using visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory and olfactory sensibilities, this type of technology projects a direct or indirect live view of elements augmented by a computer using the real world as stage. Examples: Pokemon Go, Snapchat, on-site translation apps.
All comes down to the immense return on investment that this industry is witnessing in global markets, and the rising of a new middle-class population in countries that once were very rural (India, Laos, Philippines, Vietnam, others). The particular case of China is eye-opening, in 1990 GDP per capita was below the $2000 mark, contrasting with statistics from 2015 where the $14000 bar has been surpassed, leaving this country with an ascendant curve and the re-thinking of its “once cheap labor” factor.
A new tomorrow is about to shine in this part of the world, one in which technology cannot be separated from the habits of daily life. People have more smartphones than toothbrushes, more social media contacts than friends. With that panorama in mind it would be very logical to think that Asia is going to have the last word when times change once again.
