Research shows how Covid-19 impacts technology

There are five key technological trends that will define the post-Covid-19 world, according to Lux Research’s latest report, ‘The Impact of Covid-19 on Tech Innovation’.

These will be infection prevention, remote commerce, improved resiliency, greater agility, and macroeconomic impacts.

“Digital transformation will rapidly accelerate the adoption of emerging technologies like telemedicine and robotics,” said Kevin See, president of Lux Research, and co-author of the report.

“This is thanks to a dramatic increase in remote commerce, and the need for infection prevention. Covid-19 will push major manufacturing and logistics operations to assess the potential of robotics.”

The agri-food and health ecosystems are also expected to see positive growth in technologies fighting Covid-19.

“In food, ingredient informatics and plant-based proteins will benefit, as they allow for increased resilience and agility in the food value chain.”

In the transport sector, he said it was anticipated that self-driving vehicles were likely in the long-run because of social distancing preferences, but there are short-term delays in development.

Michael Holman, vice president of Lux Research, said they expect a positive impact on plastic waste recycling and synthetic biology.

“More people are gravitating toward single-use plastics, and synbio can allow more agile and flexible production,” he said.

“By using this framework, innovation leaders can identify the trajectory of technologies they are either invested in, or considering investing in, and the implications for their industry.”

This article first appeared on Zululand Observer and was republished with permission.

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