The year 2022 is off to a flying start and we are already seeing the start of strong technological trends that will mark Quebec this year. And we are not talking about the role of influencers on social media, this one seems more and more called into question!
A very uncrowded 51st edition of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas has just ended and it gives a good idea of what tech companies are going to bring to the general public over the next few months. There are good and bad, of course. After all, who needs a free-standing bathtub with wifi connection?
Fortunately, you only need to dig a little to find a few things that make you dream of a really better world. You might as well take advantage of it, because once is not customary.
Live better
One could say of the Montreal company Dcbel that it made against bad luck good heart in Las Vegas. It invested in an imposing booth reproducing a typical Californian house to illustrate the benefits on consumers’ electricity bills of its energy optimization technologies. Its founder and CEO, Marc-André Forget, expects to receive three times fewer visitors than expected, but since his facilities will be moved before the summer to his brand new office in San Bruno, Calif. is also a lesser evil.
“We receive Asian and European partners at CES; it seems that it is mainly the North Americans who have decided to cancel their presence, ”he said in an interview with the Duty. “They can come visit us in California later this year. “
In the coming months, Dcbel will launch a pilot project in San Francisco in partnership with Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), a sort of North Californian Hydro-Quebec. The company will install its technology in a thousand homes. It has developed a range of charging stations for electric vehicles as well as software tools to alternately use different power sources, whether it is a public supplier, solar collectors or, yes, the battery of an electric vehicle. compatible.
Two-way charging of electric vehicles will be an important factor in their success in the years to come, Forget believes. BMW, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Ford and General Motors, to name a few, think the same thing. “Five years ago, our plan was rather visionary and, today, we are in the right place, at the right time”, affirms the CEO of Dcbel, which intends to establish itself in the world as the did AddÉnergie on the side of North American public charging stations.
Live old
Quebec-based Medisuivie launched the CarePredict platform in Canada last year. This uses sensors gathered in a connected bracelet to help the elderly live independently longer. CarePredict can automatically alert loved ones if it detects signs of a serious health problem, such as the effects of a fall or the onset of depression.
Jerry Wilmink, Business Development Manager for CarePredict, cites independent studies of its technology which tend to indicate its positive effect on the lives of its users. In retirement homes where CarePredict has been put into operation, the number of accidents has been reduced by 69%, and hospital admissions have fallen by 23% in just a few months.
One more tool to avoid CHSLDs, the most cynical will say … In any case, the population is aging so rapidly that it will necessarily be necessary to find other means than the health network to keep itself healthy. “There are six million Canadians aged 65 and over and a quarter of those live at home alone,” says Wilmink. “Many people expect to live independently and independently for as long as possible. Solutions like ours help to keep in touch and establish a more effective health follow-up than a visit to the doctor. “
Obviously, for the family, this does not replace a phone call or an occasional visit. But in the analysis of people’s daily behavior, we find precursor clues to certain health problems that we will not see otherwise. “Changes in diet, physical activity and sleep can reveal and then prevent the onset of depression,” says one who has had such an experience in the past.
Live elsewhere
Speaking of remote visit, we will not miss the famous metaverse this year. This immersive digital environment that encompasses both augmented and virtual reality was on everyone’s lips at CES last week. Most well-known brands of electronic devices now have in their catalog a pair of glasses compatible with this type of environment.
The most important news on this side was made on stage in Las Vegas by the CEO of the Californian company Qualcomm, Cristiano Amon. Qualcomm manufactures tens of millions of processors every year that power phones, tablets, some personal computers and, soon, augmented reality glasses. The company has unveiled a partnership with Microsoft to combine their respective immersive environments, Mesh and Spaces XR, to make them something of an operating system for augmented reality. Think of a Windows system that would be integrated into your glasses …
The two manufacturers must act quickly: according to rumors, Apple will put on sale next fall its own metaverse, and all the computer equipment necessary to connect to it. In both cases, the goal is to go far beyond video games. There are already several augmented and virtual reality applications in business, where they help increase worker productivity. Telehealth and distance training applications are also highlighted by Microsoft and Qualcomm.
In short, we risk hearing a lot about metaverse in 2022. For the worst, no doubt: these environments are very immersive. But if they help to break down certain borders, we will also talk about them for the better.