The year 2013 will be prominently an election year for Kenyans. For the rest of the world, it marks another year of innovations and technological progression. There is an upside though; the election itself provides a platform to test technology that would aid the electoral process and political ambitions of the incoming President, Governors, Senators, MPs and Women Representatives. We have already witnessed the Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) and the consequent voter registration verification via SMS. Something not look forward to in 2013 is the turning off of the analogue terrestrial TV signal, considering the low access to digital TV set boxes. However, Kenyans are looking forward to a high-speed fourth-generation (4G) mobile data services network roll-out. The project is estimated to cost $500 million and is now pending awaiting approval from the Ministry of Finance, according to the Ministry of Information and Communication Permanent Secretary Dr. Bitange Ndemo.
Now, looking at the rest of the globe, things will be very exciting in the world of technology in 2013. Lots of innovative ideas will be put to test and prototype products put to market. One of the interesting products is a folding car designed at Massachusetts Institution of Technology (MIT). The Hinoko, meaning "urban car", is designed in such a way that you can easily park it in small spaces. In fact, the modern car can to fit in one third of a parking space after being "folded" up. Hinoko is planned to be released across Europe and parts of the United States of America in 2013. Dwelling on auto technology, General Motors will be working on a sort of self-steering auto mobile. The Cadillac Super Cruise model will use semi-autonomous intelligence to monitor the side of the road and the car in front, with an aim of avoiding accidents.
Over the recent years, augmented reality has grown in popularity with its integration into smart device such as the Layar application of Samsung Galaxy Note series. In 2013, Google’s is expected to launch a product by name Google Glass Explorer Edition. The head-worn Google Glass is will have built in 4G with GPS technology, a camera, and a Bluetooth connection to Android based phones. Using these technologies, Google Glass will put a little screen right in front of your eyes as you walk around going about your life. This screen will present to you an augmented reality overlay as you view the world around you. The first Project Google Glass demo resembled a pair of normal eyeglasses where the lens is replaced by a head-up display but plans are underway to integrate it to eyewear and contact lenses.
Another new feature to look forward to in 2013 is the bendy smartphone. With the new Galaxy Skin, the user can bend, twist or even hammer the phone. The phone is based on OLED display technology. OLED-organic light-emitting diode- is a light-emitting diode (LED) in which the emissive electroluminescent layer is a film of organic compound which emits light in response to an electric current. OLED can be made from organic polymers which can be flexible. The features of the Samsung Galaxy Skin include a high-res 800×480 AMOLED screen, 8mp camera and 1 GB of RAM and a 1.2GHz processor. Apart from this innovation, Samsung is also working on a technology that would take any digital image and display it across the skin of a mobile device. This feature may be available on mobile phones coming this year.
For years, humans have been instructing machines by physical touch; touching of buttons, turning of knobs and so on. A feature that is gradually been integrated into devices is gesture control, recently spotted in Smart TVs from various brands. How about gesture control for your tablet and laptops? In 2013, such appliances as Leap Motion will be integrated to more electronic devices. The Leap Motion controller senses your individual hand and finger movements so you can interact directly with your computer. Just connect our iPod-sized device and instantly get 8 cubic feet of awesome, intuitive, 3D interaction space. Leap Motion detects your hand movements with an accuracy of 1/100 of a millimeter. Without touching your screen, you can flip through photos or reach into a 3D diagram and manipulate objects. For business users, the implication could be as simple as this: a way to answer the phone or give a presentation with just a flick of the hand.
