Welcome to our latest round-up of news from the technology and hosting world. Here’s what we’ve discovered this month.
Robo Chores
The good news for anyone who hates doing housework is that AI experts predict that within ten years, 40% of it will be done by robots or automation. Besides cleaning and tidying, the experts said robotic devices would be able to automate such tasks as the weekly shop and even help look after the kids or the elderly.
When looking at specific chores, experts estimated that automation could reduce the time people spend on care duties by more than a quarter, doing things like helping children with homework and taking them to school or their friends. When it came to shopping for groceries, automation could help us do it in a third of the time we spend now.
Overall, the Oxford University research predicts that robots and automation can radically reduce the time we spend on household chores. However, in the next ten years, this will probably come in the form of technology that helps us do things quickly rather than a multi-tasking robot.
Sleep Tech
The lack of a good night’s sleep is an issue that affects people right across the world. In the UK, over 70% don’t get the right amount of sleep (7 to 9 hours) with 14% getting fewer than five hours. This can have a detrimental effect on our health and our ability to work. Some research shows the drop in productivity due to poor sleep costs the UK economy £40 billion a year.
A lot of advice tells people to turn off their devices an hour before they go to bed to get a better night’s sleep. Ironically, however, for many poor sleepers, the most effective help comes from sleep technology. There are smartwatches that can monitor your sleep and apps that adjust room lighting and temperature or play calming music, meditation and read sleep-inducing stories.
Such is the demand for such technology, that the global market for it is expected to rise from £12 billion in 2022 to £55 billion by the end of the decade.
UK 6G Research
Potentially a hundred times faster than 5G, 6G will be a major step forward in telecommunications and the UK is determined to lead the way in its research and development. As a result, the UKRI National 6G Radio Systems Facility will launch at Sheffield University in January 2024. The national research centre will enable researchers from several universities and industry specialists from over forty companies to collaborate on 6G innovation.
The facility has been funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), which is overseen by the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) agency.
Currys Iron Man Suits
Lifting all those heavy white goods can be backbreaking work for warehouse staff, which is why technology retailer, Currys, has invested £250,000 in exoskeletons for its logistics provider GXO. Although not quite up to the same standards as the one used by Iron Man in the Marvel films, they work on the same principle, providing staff with additional power to lift heavy items and move them around.
Looking like a yellow backpack, the exoskeleton suits provide workers’ lower backs with up to 30kg of assistance when lifting and moving, giving them around ten tonnes of relief over the course of a working day. This reduces pressure on their joints and muscles and prevents injuries.
Built by German Bionic, carbon fibre Cray X exoskeleton suits are waterproof, ultralight and have a built-in AI safety system that notifies wearers if they are lifting incorrectly or have poor posture.
Wallpaper Heating
The combination of the climate crisis and the rise in energy bills is accelerating innovation in alternative heating. One of the newest inventions to be unveiled recently is electric infrared wallpaper. Unlike traditional wallpaper, the infrared version is made from metallic sheets that are connected to mains electricity.
While central heating radiators warm up the air in a room using convection, the wallpaper emits infrared waves that warm the objects in the room, including people, rather than the air around them. Another advantage over central heating is that infrared wallpaper can be operated by an app to heat up just the rooms that are being used, to cut down on the cost of heating the whole house.
The other benefit of infrared heating is that it can result in better air quality. It can reduce the chance of mould and prevents the air from drying out as much as it does in centrally heated homes. Visit our website for more news, blog posts, knowledge base articles and information on our wide range of hosting services.
