THE HUMAN ISSUE
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And , how does that impact the buildings we live in ? It means buildings become living things , rather than being passive , and we ’ re already seeing the early days of this . They do things , they talk to us , they change and morph according to what ’ s required .
We ’ re already beginning to see some of this happen . Shutters on the outside of buildings that know the weather and can change accordingly . Air conditioning units and windows that can open and shut to allow the breeze to come through .
You have a building that recognises you and will understand who ’ s about to come into the building and what they need – it opens the garage door , turns on the lights , puts on the kettle ; they become part of everyday life – they will do things based on your actions .
We ’ re now getting digital ‘ building twins ’ – a complete digital replica of a building that people can access to deliver services – for example , fixing an air conditioning unit remotely rather than that person physically coming to your home .
Looking further ahead , what ’ s on the cards ? The next phase is buildings as extended places – where our buildings really bring the outside world to us , and us to the outside world . The tip of that is what we ’ re seeing today – we ’ re able to sell our solar energy back to the grid – but in the future it will be able to do far more . For example , it might shut the building down if it becomes aware of an incident down the road , because it ’ s reading the environment . It might understand transport – it might know someone ’ s approaching , guide them from their mode of transport and to the front door .
And what do you see happening in the workplace ? Workplaces will become a lot more fluid – work will be done where and when is appropriate , by people who are appropriate , and they will fall into three categories : the first two categories are full-time workers , the ones who carry the brand and the knowledge ; the second , contingent workers , who ’ ll be part-time or freelance , and will be brought in for projects , based on their skill sets .
The third category is technology , and that is intriguing for electricians because it embeds the smarts into the building . Take teleworking – we ’ ve been using technology that wasn ’ t built for the current situation ; it ’ s old , and we ’ ll see greater advancement in virtual reality and augmented reality , which will be able to embed you in the physical reality of a building .
And what about the next ‘ big ’ thing ? What ’ s that ?! The Metaverse . It ’ s the great grandchild of the internet , but it ’ s completely different from the internet . The internet is very ‘ dos ’ based , you need to know what you ’ re looking for , you ’ ve got to use a keyboard , you can use your voice now . But in the Metaverse , it ’ s going to be a reality : as a physical human , you ’ ll be able to disappear inside a screen , move around , manipulate what ’ s there . You ’ ll be able to jump into a screen and sit in a meeting with other people from around the world , around the same table . I ’ ll be able to go and visit friends around the world while the whole room changes and morphs .
This isn ’ t far away , five to 10 years – maybe closer to five now after Covid . n
BACK TO THE FUTURE !
The realisation that the ‘ future ’ that Marty McFly and Doc Brown travel to in Back to the Future II is now six years ago is enough to send anyone of a certain vintage into some serious contemplation about life , time and where on earth has it all gone .
And , looking back , they got an awful lot right when they filmed the sequel in 1989 . R Mobile payments – Marty donates to the Save the Clocktower appeal electronically . R Biometric scanners – fingerprint recognition features throughout , and Jennifer enters her home by scanning her thumbprint .
14 GEMCELL . COM . AU DEC – JAN 2022
R Smart clothing – while size changing shoes aren ’ t here yet , smart clothing is fairly common place . R Video calls – an everyday occurrence today , but predicted in Back to the Future II . The extent of data collection was also foretold by the information displayed regarding the person Marty Snr is talking to . R Video glasses – been there , done that ! They ’ ve been tried ( hello , Google Glass ) but have been parked … for now .