The Future in 5 Words… #1: ‘Sensorsational’

Why Cities will be… ‘Sensorsational’ 

#1V2

Mushrooming urbanisation has already seen us race past the halfway point for the proportion of people living in cities (with estimates reaching 54% in 2014) and is predicted to exceed 2 in every 3, by 2050 (66%).

With the boom in mobile and digital technology exploding all around us, driven by smartphone ubiquity, we as people are becoming increasingly connected by sensor technology throughout the physical environment.

In effect, the Internet of Things (IoT has been creeping up on us by stealth; and that creep is fast turning into a gallop. Already, the forecast date for hitting the one trillion sensors mark has been brought forward from 2030 to 2025. Sensors will connect us to the buildings in which we live, learn and work, the shops where we buy goods, and all modes of transport in between. Within 10 years, that degree of connectivity will see the equivalent of around 120 sensors in operation for every human in existence.

Tomorrow: Why Business will be… ‘Sociable’

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