What other topic has dominated our everyday life this year more than COVID-19? The disease has not only killed more than 1.66 million in the world but also changed the way people live, work and do business. Amid the pandemic, end user entities are turning to new technologies – or new applications from existing technologies – to meet new demands and requirements. In this article, asmag.com identifies the top 2021 technology trends that are shaped by COVID and how they will be part of our new normal.
Cloud has been a popular topic before the pandemic, but its momentum only grew in our new normal as we follow social distancing guidelines and remote work practices. This is where cloud can come in handy – since the video surveillance or access control service is hosted in the cloud, personal visits to the user site for maintenance and upgrades are no longer needed, and operations for example enrolling and revoking access rights can be done remotely instead of physically on-premises. Further, with end user organizations suffering financially due to COVID, the cloud’s subscription model, rather than an upfront cost, may be more appealing to end users post pandemic.
Thermal cameras have long been used for defense and industrial purposes; examples include night-time surveillance in dark, lightless areas, as well as monitoring for overheated machines in factories. But now, and likely so in the post-pandemic era, thermal imaging is heavily used for checking elevated skin temperature, a sign for infection, and this is done not just in airports but also in train stations, retailers, restaurants, government offices, enterprises and other end user entities. This has prompted a great number of camera vendors to roll out thermal solutions which, when paired with a blackbody device, can even achieve greater accuracy.
One of the top technologies now and what’s set to be a major 2021 technology trend is contactless biometrics. Indeed, while fingerprint is still the predominant biometric technology, COVID-19 has forced people to look for alternatives that do not require the act of touching, which has been suggested as one medium for the coronavirus spread. Contactless, then, becomes an ideal option. One example is facial recognition, which has become quite advanced and accurate – some systems allow recognition of multiple individuals in the same camera view, allowing speedy access while using the user’s legacy video surveillance system. Beyond facial recognition, palm vein technology is also picking up traction, allowing the user to make a hand gesture and get into a building.
In video surveillance, analytics, more and more of them powered by machine learning and AI, are nothing new, yet COVID has surely triggered new applications to meet user requirements. One of them is mask wearing – whereby someone not wearing it or half-wearing it will be detected and alerted to the operator. Another application is ensuring that social distancing, which is now in place in various retailers, public spaces and other facilities across the globe, is followed; the analytics will detect if two people are too close to each other and sound an alarm accordingly. This can not only keep people socially distanced but also reduce manual labor needed for enforcement. These new usages of video analytics are expected to remain popular in our new normal day-to-day life next year.
5. Alexa, what should I do during my stay-at-home time?
Needless to say, more and more people are spending more time at home, and, with less budget devoted to traveling, dining and other outdoor activities, for them the next logical place to spend money on is the home. This, then, is expected to accelerate demands for DIY home security products and solutions, including smart Wi-Fi cameras, video doorbells and smart locks. But the trend definitely extends to other smart home paraphernalia – sensors and wearables to monitor our loved and more vulnerable ones, as well as sensors that help save energy, water and electricity while we stay home longer. Vendors who seize these opportunities, of course, will win out. What we have noticed is that people are investing more resources into their homes and their safety. Simple and fast solutions for DIY systems are increasingly being sought in the area of protection and security. Furthermore, we are witnessing that more and more sales are taking place online.
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