Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1299286
OCTOBER 2020 I PCB007 MAGAZINE 41 sert the new furniture you are looking at; ex- ploring your backyard with a possible new pool installed; or consider- ing focused education, hands-on virtual class- room training, partner company, or customer collaborations (let us show you our research labs or manufacturing lines through XR), as well as entertainment, movies, gaming, travel or potential travel tours, virtual attendance at concerts, sporting events, etc. The combination of all the above and more will be even more real with the advent of the lightning-fast data transmission made possible with 5G. Did XR accelerate? Bet on it big time! Medical and Military These are two areas that are subsets of the previous topic, but all of these are related in one way or another. These two will continue to grow with or without significant advances in technology, but the change we have discussed so far—especially XR enhanced by 5G—will play a big role making military and medical missions far more effective and, for some, even possible, and add to that the improvements in flexible electronic manufacturing. Imagine being able to perform robotic sur- gery from hundreds or even thousands of miles away. Imagine the world's top surgeon located in Atlanta being able to perform full robotic surgery using VR on a patient in Delaware, or being able to do the same on a patient in To- kyo. What if you could have your own eyes as part of a missile launched at a critical target and steer it to the exact location, right to the inch, or you could flight train with the most amazingly realistic virtual surroundings? These are just general examples, but you get the idea. With accelerated growth in XR, the spread of 5G, and even when you include 3D additive to reduce the size and improve the re- liability, this is another area where you can bet on accelerated growth. Battery Technology With so many new improvements in portable devices, including next-generation phones— such as the upcoming super-thin dual-screen devices—and electric-powered vehicles, a slow but growing trend in the use of electric rather than fossil fuels. There is a need for smaller, longer-lasting, faster-charging batteries. I be- lieve that the growth in this segment is obvi- ous, but currently, it is hard to predict the rate of change in the short term. Eventually, yes, but for the next year or two, we will have to wait and see. Conclusion The topics where I have projected that the rate of change is accelerating are the topics I will focus on in future articles over the next few years. Feel free to look at my opinions again in a few years and tell me if and where I missed the boat. PCB007 Reference 1. Market Watch, "Extended Reality (XR) Market is Rising Due to its Remote Presentation During COVID-19 Lockdown | XR Market Size, Share, Trends, Opportunities, and Chal- lenges," September 9, 2020.