[2023 edition] 5 IT/Web trend keywords! Explanation of meaning and outline

In 2022, progress in IT technology, led by image generation AI, became a big topic.

The major trend of digital transformation driven by AR and AI is expected to continue beyond 2023.

In this article, we will introduce five keywords that will be the core of IT/Web trends in 2023

metaverse

“Metaverse” refers to an online virtual space. In addition to the increased demand for online interaction during the corona crisis, Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook) announced in July 2021 that it aims to become a Metaverse company, and it has been attracting attention.

According to an announcement by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the global market size of the Metaverse is expected to grow dramatically from 4.264 trillion yen in 2021 to 78.8705 trillion yen in 2030.

Metaverse use cases

Use cases for the metaverse include:

• Fortnite: A free battle royale online game from Epic Games. Service started in 2017, becoming the starting point of the Metaverse trend. The number of registered accounts exceeds 350 million. (*) In addition to fighting games, events such as virtual live performances by famous artists will be held. (*) Please check
  the Epic Games website for details.
• The Sandbox/Decentraland: A digital game based on Web 3.0 blockchain and NFT technology, which will be described later. In the virtual space within the game, users can buy and sell lands and items.
• Mesh for Microsoft Teams: A service provided by Microsoft. The MR (Mixed Reality) function of “Microsoft Mesh” is integrated with the productivity tool “Teams” such as video conference participation and chat. A platform that allows remote users to collaborate.
• Horizon Workrooms: A service provided by Meta Platforms. Users can operate avatars in a virtual space with gestures and hand gestures, enabling communication similar to that of a real-life meeting.
• The University of Tokyo Metaverse Faculty of Engineering: You can take specialized engineering education in virtual space. The concept of Metaverse is adopted to develop human resources widely regardless of age, gender, and region.

Other examples include gatherings and simulated experiences in virtual space, simulations of cars and houses, and digital archives of buildings.

Benefits of the Metaverse

One of the advantages of the Metaverse is that it is possible to hold events with a sense of realism while staying at home, and it is also useful as a countermeasure against infectious diseases. In addition, conventional online meeting tools tend to be one-way communication, but the Metaverse 3D space makes it easier to have two-way communication.

The Metaverse is still in the process of development, and further advances in technology are expected in the future.

Disadvantages of Metaverse

Disadvantages include the high costs involved in creating, maintaining, and developing virtual space content and the need for unique security measures. In addition, there is a shortage of human resources with the skills and planning skills required for 3D modeling, etc., necessary for the development of the Metaverse, and it will take time to acquire and train human resources.

Also, since the current law does not envisage business in the Metaverse, it is important to note that legislation and guidelines have not kept pace.

Web3.0

“Web 3.0” is a decentralized web-based on blockchain technology.

From the mid-1990s to the early 2000s, “Web 1.0” was the mainstream of static web pages and information transmission was one-way. , the concept of “Web 2.0” was born. Anyone can now communicate on the Web, but it has also been pointed out that platformers have a monopoly on the ownership and management of personal data and profits. In “Web 3.0”, the use of blockchain technology will enable a community without the intervention of administrators such as platformers, and data authority will be distributed to each user.

Web 3.0 use cases

Use cases for Web 3.0 include:

• DApps (Decentralized Applications): Applications whose backends are distributed and administrators such as operating companies do not intervene. Specific examples include Defi and P2E, which will be described later.
• DeFi (decentralized finance): Financial services that do not involve administrators such as financial institutions. For example, DEX (distributed exchange for crypto assets) and lending (crypto asset lending service).
• P2E (Play to Earn): A service that allows users to receive rewards such as crypto assets when they play games.
• NFT (Non-Fungible Token): A digital data asset that cannot be replaced. Conventional digital content is easy to copy, but NFT proves its uniqueness through the use of blockchain technology, which is difficult to forge or tamper with. For example, digital fashion (digital clothing that can be matched in a photo).
• The token economy: A unique economic zone with tokens (alternative currencies) such as crypto assets. For example, the LINE Token Economy concept centered on the crypto asset LINK, which is independently issued by LINE.
• DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization): An autonomous organization with no administrator and loosely connected users according to the rules laid down by smart contracts (automatic execution of contracts). Members purchase governance tokens and vote on organizational management policies.

Benefits of Web 3.0

One of the advantages of Web 3.0 is that individual users can obtain the profits that were concentrated on platformers until Web 2.0. In addition, since users can freely interact and trade with each other without the intervention of administrators, the possibility of new markets and economic activities will increase. It also has the advantage of high security because it is difficult to tamper with data by utilizing blockchain technology.

Disadvantages of Web 3.0

One of the disadvantages of Web 3.0 is that there is no one responsible for the community, so even if troubles or disadvantages occur, users will be responsible for themselves. Also, it is necessary to be aware that domestic systems such as laws, copyrights, tax accounting, etc. have not kept up with development, and that there is a risk of being used for money laundering and fraud.

Image generation AI (AI illustration)

“Image generation AI” is a mechanism that automatically generates an image based on the keyword by AI in just a few tens of seconds when the user enters a keyword that represents the illustration that the user imagined.

“Midjourney” released in July 2022 became a big topic, and in August, “Stable Diffusion”, which has higher performance than MidJourney, was released free of charge in open source format. While SNS is flooded with AI-generated illustrations posted by individuals, there is also a growing movement to explore ways to use AI in business.

Use cases of image generation AI

Use cases for image generation AI include:

• Personal to commercial use: Mainly for illustration purposes, posting on the cover of novels and proposals, and creating illustrations
• Advertisement/Marketing field: Creation of images for banner advertisements that increase CTR (click-through rate)

Advantages of Image Generation AI

The advantages of image generation AI include a significant reduction in work time, improved work efficiency, and lower entry barriers to illustration creation. It is also possible to create many ideas that cannot be imagined by humans based on one keyword.

Disadvantages of image generation AI

As a disadvantage of image generation AI, it is a tool that was just born in 2022, so the law and guidelines regarding rights issues related to data learning and generation have not kept pace. Even in the current situation, there are cases where troubles have occurred, such as illustrators posting roughs and line drawings on SNS, and others having AI-complete illustrations and posting them before the illustrator himself.

In addition, there is a risk that the competition between illustrators and AI will intensify in the future as image generation AI raises the average illustration quality, leading to a decrease in the employment and income of illustrators.

At the moment, image generation AI tends not to be good at the continuous generation of specific illustrations such as cartoon characters and consistent depiction of details, so further technological progress is awaited for use in commercial illustrations. State.

LPWA

“LPWA” (Low Power Wide Area) is a type of wireless communication system that enables wide area and long-distance communication with low power consumption and low cost. Although the communication speed is very slow, ranging from several kbps to several hundred kbps, a single base station can achieve wide-range communication equivalent to that of LTE, covering several kilometers.

3G/4G/LTE is another wireless communication method that enables wide-area and long-distance communication, but it consumes more power and costs more because it enables high-speed communication. LPWA is ideal for low-power, low-cost, low-speed communications several times a day, such as IoT devices.

LPWA use cases

LPWA use cases include:

• Utilization of IoT devices in smart agriculture: CO2 concentration measurement/CO2 addition in greenhouses, water level data measurement/collection/abnormal notification in paddy fields, etc.
• Utilization of IoT devices for disaster countermeasures: Sewer inundation monitoring by manholes equipped with sensors, grasping of guerrilla rainfall in cooperation with rainfall radar, water level management of rivers and reservoirs, etc.
• Use as a simple base station in remote areas: monitoring construction sites deep in the mountains, remote monitoring and control of farms, etc.
• Use of other IoT devices: Product distribution tracking and theft prevention, monitoring of elderly people getting out of bed and children’s location information, etc., operation management such as sending location information of school buses, monitoring of a large number of IoT devices such as electric gas meters, etc.

Benefits of LPWA

The advantages of LPWA include low power consumption, low cost, and the possibility of wide-area and long-distance communication up to several kilometers. In addition, the batteries have a long service life, enabling communication for one to two years with a single dry cell, and depending on usage, can continue to operate for several years to decades.

Disadvantages of LPWA

The disadvantage of LPWA is that the amount of data that can be transmitted is small and the data transmission speed is extremely slow, ranging from several kbps to several hundred kbps. However, the small amount of transmitted data enables low-power, wide-area communication and long-term battery life for LPWA, so the disadvantages and advantages can be said to be two sides of the same coin.

In addition, LPWA communication requires an environment with good visibility, as communication is not stable if there are obstructions.

HAPS

“HAPS” (High Altitude Platform Station) is a stratospheric platform that provides communication services over a wide area using unmanned aerial vehicles equipped with base station functions that fly in the stratosphere. Even in areas without communication networks such as deep in the mountains or on remote islands, you can use the Internet as long as you have a smartphone. Softbank and NTT are conducting research and development with the goal of commercialization in 2027.

HAPS utilization case

Use cases for HAPS include:

• Disaster countermeasures: Even if base stations on the ground are destroyed in a disaster, communication is possible only with a smartphone
• Climate change and fire monitoring measures: Since it flies at a lower altitude than ordinary satellites, it is expected to be able to monitor methane gas emissions and wildfires with high resolution.

Advantages of HAPS

One of the advantages of HAPS is that it is possible to communicate with a smartphone, compared to conventional communication satellites, which require base stations and dedicated terminals on the ground for communication. In addition, communication satellites fly in the exosphere and outer space thousands to tens of thousands of kilometers from the ground, but since HAPS flies in the stratosphere about 20 kilometers from the ground, the speed and quality of communications are lower than those of satellite communications. higher.

Disadvantages of HAPS

The disadvantage of HAPS is that it is difficult to maintain a stable service area compared to base stations on the ground because the airframe is easily shaken by the wind in the stratosphere. In addition, the communication distance under the aircraft is about 20 km, but at the end of the coverage range, it is about 60 to 100 km, which is nearly 3 to 5 times longer, so it can be said that there is a disadvantage in that there is a difference in call quality even within the same range.

summary

We introduced the core keywords of IT/Web trends in 2023. As symbolized by Metaverse, Web 3.0, image generation AI, etc., advances in IT technology will create new services and economic zones. On the other hand, since the development of laws, guidelines, tax accounting, etc. has not caught up with technological progress, it is necessary to keep in mind the risk of trouble.

Please use this article to gather information and deepen your understanding of the keywords introduced, and to keep abreast of IT/Web trends in 2023 and beyond.

In this article, we introduced the IT/Web trends expected in 2023.

• metaverse
• Web3.0
• Image generation AI
• LPWA
• HAPS

It can be said that these five technologies will become popular in 2023. Expectations are gathering for future trends.

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