IBM established a research lab in Dublin in 2011 as a technology centre focused on creating smarter cities – the first of its kind in Europe. A decade later, it has become a hub for scientists and engineers working on breakthrough technology in the areas of AI, quantum, healthcare and security. Dr Ruoyi Zhou is the director of the Dublin lab and is responsible for driving innovation at the research centre. Before moving to Dublin in May 2019, Zhou held many roles within IBM. She previously served as the director of IBM Accessibility Research, where she oversaw the development of advanced technology to enable accessibility, the creation of AI-powered assistive technology for people with disabilities, and the exploration of IoT-based AI solutions for an ageing population.

Over the past few years, we have seen the IoT and its boundless potential take off. With a pandemic fueled 2020, digital transformation accelerated rapidly, and with increased connectivity, thanks to 5G and faster WiFi and improvements in AI and machine learning, IoT looks set to deepen its roots in our lives and industries. As we close out 2020 and look ahead to 2021 and beyond, we see not just growth in the IoT, but increased use cases and trends surrounding them. The following is a deeper look at the biggest trends taking shape in the next year. If there's one thing the success of Alexa, Ring, Nest, and other smart home devices have taught us, it's that the IoT is nearly everywhere, if it's not already.

Self-driving cars, lifelike robots, and autonomous delivery drones are the sexy, headline-grabbing face of the digital transformation that we see all around us today. None of these would be possible, though, without data – the oil of the fourth industrial revolution – and the analytic technology we've built to allow us to interpret and understand it. Big Data is a term that's come to be used to describe the technology and practice of working with data that's not only large in volume but also fast and comes in many different forms. For every Elon Musk with a self-driving car to sell, or Jeff Bezos with a cashier-less convenience store, there is a sophisticated Big Data operation and an army of clever data scientists who've turned a vision into reality. The term Big Data itself may not be as ubiquitous as it was a few years ago, and that's purely because many of the concepts it embodies have been thoroughly embedded into the world around us.

Over the past few years, we have seen the IoT and its boundless potential take off. With a pandemic fueled 2020, digital transformation accelerated rapidly, and with increased connectivity, thanks to 5G and faster WiFi and improvements in AI and machine learning, IoT looks set to deepen its roots in our lives and industries. As we close out 2020 and look ahead to 2021 and beyond, we see not just growth in the IoT, but increased use cases and trends surrounding them. The following is a deeper look at the biggest trends taking shape in the next year. If there's one thing the success of Alexa, Ring, Nest, and other smart home devices have taught us, it's that the IoT is nearly everywhere, if it's not already.

The global pandemic has put a spotlight on personal safety and security, so it's unsurprising that the video surveillance market is surging as well. Globally, it hit $45.5 billion this year, while AI technology, which is being integrated into video surveillance products at every price point, will hit $100 billion by the year 2025. Both consumers and small- and medium-size businesses are increasingly looking for solutions to manage the safety and security of homes, businesses and assets. More importantly, they're in search of solutions that incorporate sophisticated new video analytics, AI and cloud-based storage technology. Manufacturers are racing to meet the demand, according to a report by IFSEC Global.

AI and robotics are increasingly working together. As 2019 winds down, every news media and technology site is pausing to reflect on the biggest trends of the past year. Some aspects of robotics and artificial intelligence are advancing rapidly; others, not so much. What should AI and robotics developers recall as they prepare for a new year? In your opinion, what was the biggest news in AI and robotics in 2019?

The number of moving parts in even the most basic of supply chains means that supply chain managers can use all the help they can get. AI is an emergent tool that could be of great use to supply chain managers. So where is AI as a tool for supply chain management, and which trends are most shaping AI's role within the industry? These industry insiders shared their answers to these questions. "A big tend will be orchestration systems that ensure humans, robots, and AI are working together to maximize their inherent strengths. A lot of companies incorporate robots into a single process step within their organization. This limits the machines potential to interact with other parts of the operation (and more importantly learn from those interactions), underutilizes the capabilities of other resources, and limits the operations ability to mix and match process steps based when needs change. It essentially creates a silo effect which decreases efficiency and productivity – the exact opposite of what AI is brought in to do." "We're particularly excited about how robots are getting better and better. They do a lot of heavy lifting in warehouses; not intelligent enough to take the jobs of human workers, but at least make human jobs better and easier than before."

Digital signage vendors are constantly innovating and testing new tools, ranging from AI to dynamic content to responsive touchscreens. Keeping up with these trends is absolutely key to ensure your digital signage is effective. As digital signage continually becomes more responsive and dynamic, it will become even more important to stay up-to-date on these trends to avoid falling behind the competition. The current big trends of 2019 include AI, omnichannel and personalization. In order to learn more about these trends and what's on the horizon for the future, Digital Signage Today spoke with Chris Devlin, president of digital signage software vendor Omnivex to get his perspective.

Artificial Intelligence has become a hot topic in tech circles. It has not only changed our lives, but it has also disrupted every industry you can think of. Despite all this, people have different perception about it. Some might consider it as a bad thing because they are told that it will take your job away from you in near future. On the other hand, AI advocates continue to think of AI as an enabler which will reduce your burden and make your life easy by automating things.

Artificial Intelligence has become a hot topic in tech circles. It has not only changed our lives, but it has also disrupted every industry you can think of. Despite all this, people have different perception about it. Some might consider it as a bad thing because they are told that it will take your job away from you in near future. On the other hand, AI advocates continues to think of AI as an enabler which will reduce your burden and make your life easy by automating things.