Innovation Democratization
Novel high-capacity broadband systems will enable rural industry and education and help to address key community needs. These innovations will accelerate the speed and scope of broadband technology evolution by empowering rural communities to shape and lead the process.
Bright Simons founded mPedigree, a system that lets Ghanaians verify whether their medicine is authentic through a free text message. Their breakthrough could transform global health and empower resource maximization.
1. Smart Cities
Smart cities use data to continuously improve infrastructure, efficiency, convenience and quality of life for their residents. They are leveraging the growing data revolution, low-cost sensors and research collaborations, while taking steps to ensure safety and privacy.
For example, in New York City, cellular routers are used to monitor traffic flows, optimizing streetlights and improving public transportation options. They can also provide real-time information to citizens about their environment, including air and water quality.
Seconds count when lives are at stake, so smart systems enable emergency vehicles to respond more quickly. For instance, traffic-signal preemption lets first responders cut response times by up to 35 percent. And smart water systems help reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions.
2. Smart Agriculture
The development of modern technologies affects all spheres of life, including the agriculture sector. Smart farming is a relatively new concept of advanced farm management, which uses various software and equipment to optimize and automate routine processes.
It allows growers to reduce labor costs, increase yields and profit margins, and improve the quality of their products. In addition, it helps protect the environment and reduce adverse effects of climate change.
Achieving a fully-fledged smart agriculture operation requires unified data presentation and information processing, as well as robust and reliable connectivity. It’s essential that all sensors, apps, and machinery communicate with each other via a single platform and provide regular reports to the user. At the same time, it’s important that these solutions are easily scalable. This way, small and large farms can benefit from the same technology and compete with each other. Smarter Technologies’ agricultural solutions deliver a detailed, full-scale view of assets, equipment and livestock, powered by real-time constant data. This empowers immediate response to alerts about security breaches, asset and equipment tampering, livestock health issues, herd location, etc.
3. Smart Transportation
A smart city relies on a range of technologies to monitor and manage traffic. These technologies include cloud computing, wireless communication, and a variety of sensors that gather data and provide actionable insights.
Previously, signs and signals needed time to change, but now each device is part of a private mobile network that can instantly adjust based on conditions. If ice forms on a road, for example, the system can automatically lower the speed limit. This saves lives and reduces the cost of highway maintenance.
A smart transportation system also includes a wide variety of in-vehicle technology, such as adaptive cruise control that adjusts a vehicle’s cruising speed based on the pace of the car ahead, which can help drivers avoid braking and reduce congestion. A smart transit system can also allow passengers to scan their cards at the subway terminal to pay for their ticket, which improves efficiency and eliminates the need to carry cash on board.
4. Precision Health
Many life-changing interventions, medicines and technologies have been developed through precision medicine — a data-driven transformation in healthcare that targets precise diagnoses and treatment for conditions arising from your unique genes, environment and lifestyle. But a fully realized precision health system would extend beyond these scientific advances.
It would be proactive, not reactive, with an emphasis on catching disease before it strikes and more time spent on patients. This is the goal of a new paradigm known as curated care or precision health, which could transform the way we think about healthcare.
As nurses at the frontlines of patient care, we are uniquely poised to help implement and advance precision health. By incorporating our holistic approach into research and clinical practice, we can help shape the future of healthcare — a future that includes more personalized approaches to prevent and treat illness while empowering individuals to take greater responsibility for their own health.