What are the hot technologies in 2023?

An IEEE survey of 350 chief technology officers and chief information officers found that 5G, digital twins, the metaverse, and more will drive innovation in the new year.

Which cutting-edge technology areas will become the top five most important technology areas in 2023? Global technology leaders surveyed said that cloud computing, 5G, the metaverse, electric vehicles and the industrial Internet of Things will be the top five most important technology areas in 2023.

The study also predicts that 5G technology will have the greatest impact on remote learning and education, telemedicine and entertainment next year. 5G will enable remote collaboration, remote operation, remote management and remote services. This will eliminate physical presence, help drive cost optimization and increase communication speed.

As 5G technology enhances, the line between cellular and Wi-Fi will continue to blur as devices can use available connections without requiring user intervention.

One reason 5G is important is that fast data transmission speeds will provide users with a more immersive experience while reducing latency. 5G's low latency technology can achieve near real-time representation of images and sounds.

IEEE also found that while 5G is being rolled out, the foundation for 6G technology is being laid. Almost all global technology leaders believe that 6G will be mostly an evolving work in 2023, but will be standardized within the next five years. During this time, we will see new use cases and a broader discussion about the performance parameters of this generation.

The process of defining 6G is underway, and 6G technologies are being researched, but I think the bulk of the development is still pending. We need to recognize that each generation of cellular networks exists in part to address the limitations of the previous generation. To understand those limitations, we need to push 5G networks to their limits, but many 5G networks don't have a 5G core yet. We don't really understand the limitations of 5G yet.

Also emerging are digital twins and the metaverse, with 98% of respondents saying digital twin technology will be critical to effectively design, develop and safely test product prototypes and manufacturing processes in 2023.

The IEEE report authors define the "metaverse" as a digital network of immersive 3D interactive worlds. The survey shows that connectivity is likely to drive the development of metaverse capabilities in the new year, and connectivity may be more important than hardware when it comes to the metaverse.

When asked which innovations would be important in advancing the Metaverse in 2023, 71% of respondents said 5G and ubiquitous connectivity ranked above VR headsets, augmented reality glasses, and haptic devices that stimulate touch.

While ubiquitous connectivity will facilitate smoother interactions, advances in computing power could make VR headsets lighter, more energy-efficient, and ultimately more comfortable. High-performance chips at the 3nm and 5nm levels could foster better hardware. This rendering capability will make processing 3D worlds more complex. But the biggest sticking point for VR is the lenses. Plastic lenses are cheap, but they don't work well. Lowering the price could greatly improve the user experience.