It’s official: 6G is in our future. Companies, universities, and even governments are joining the “race” to the sixth generation of wireless technology.
Many leading thinkers are laying out their vision for what 6G will look like and when it might arrive. From effective self-driving cars to immersive entertainment, the possibilities are pretty fantastic.
Although 6G remains a decade or more in the future, we can glean a few predictions for possible use cases for 6G. Continue reading for what we can expect when it finally gets here.
Three Things to Expect with 6G
Although R&D projects kicked off just as 5G rolled out, most industry experts slate the release of 6G sometime in the early 2030s. That makes it tough to predict what sort of technology it will bring. Nonetheless, a few clues as to the future of 6G already exist. Here’s what we can reliably predict:
1. Hyper-Connectivity
NTT Docomo’s 6G whitepaper was the most prominent document to indicate that 6G will introduce hyper-connectivity and coverage around the globe – but it wasn’t the only one. Other experts, such as those at the University of Oulu, have indicated that 6G will bring “integrated connectivity” across the land, under the sea, and in space.
That means we’ll finally say goodbye to wireless dead spots or super slow internet in rural areas. It will also mean better location awareness and more precise positioning data.
2. Super Smart Wearable Wireless
6G will almost certainly expand on 5G’s ability to make practical the Internet of Things, but it will take smart wireless devices a step further. The University of Oulu expects “wearable displays,” specialized processors, and ultra-precise sensing devices to become mainstream with 6G.
The implications for healthcare are of particular interest. Some early research suggests that 6G will make health monitoring much easier and efficient while requiring fewer resources, improving the overall quality of care.
3. Advanced Artificial Intelligence
Even before 5G, artificial intelligence was going mainstream. However, this technology has a few shortcomings – particularly the amount of energy it requires. Like our brains, which consume a quarter of all calories we eat, AI hogs resources and can weigh down a network.
With 6G, that problem will vanish. Infrastructure developments are expected to allow assets to AI not to only require far less energy than they do now, but networks will also be able to generate and harvest their own power in the future. (Imagine your brain generating its own energy and feeding itself.)
Technology in a Future with 6G
In the future, 6G will unlock many amazing technologies that transform every part of our world. From more advanced artificial intelligence to advances in healthcare technology, we’ll finally be able to fully capitalize on smart devices.
However, 6G won’t arrive any time soon, and our visions of what the future may hold are limited by our current technology. Developments in the near future may unlock unrealized potential. That makes imaging technology in a future with 6G truly exciting.
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