Dec. 13, 2021 - Molex , a global electronics leader and connectivity innovator, predicts that 2022 will usher in the era of mass customization as consumers’ increasing demands for tailored experiences propel continued technology innovations in the new year and beyond. Nearly every industry will feel the impact of changing buyer attitudes and the desire to choose and pick “what works best for me.” The following predictions indicate what lies ahead across critical market segments served by Molex and its valued customers while shaping the future of automotive, mobile and consumer devices, IoT, data centers, Industry 4.0, as well as healthcare and medical technologies.
Automotive
- The vehicle experience is about more than driving.
- Electric trucks are major EV growth catalyst.
- Advancements continue in Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) communications.
Consumers are seeking customization in their automotive choices, requesting more pick-and-choose or ad hoc bundles, including specialized entertainment options as well as bundled warranties, maintenance and insurance.
Expect more decoupling of hardware and software to enable carmakers to deliver features and functionality that drive customer adoption, especially as electric vehicles (EVs) gain traction.
The eagerly awaited Ford F-150 Lightning and Rivian R1T electric trucks will ignite EV adoption while helping define new demographics, geographies and feature sets that will bend consumer-driven rules.
Expect V2X to reach hyper-drive, so addressing rapid data capture, transfer and access will become an even bigger priority and likely include smart algorithms to speed predictive analytics.
Consumer devices/IoT
- Artificial intelligence and machine learning will send device intelligence off the charts.
- Multipurpose robots raise their profile.
Advancements in AI and ML will require greater compute processing power for a multitude of consumer products—from smart watches to appliances and home-security systems.
The labor shortage, new minimum wage requirements, e-commerce growth and inflation will accelerate the use of robots beyond warehouses and factories to retail stores and restaurants, serving customers while driving brand differentiation.
Data center
- Disruptions continue in the technology ecosystem.
- Give me more connectivity.
Innovations and integration of electronics and photonics will ripple through data centers, enabling more seamless connectivity and device interactions while making on-the-go wellness monitoring and detection more mainstream.
As data speeds increase and fiber makes it directly into homes, more optical cabling will be needed, deviating from the long-held model that relies on heavy backhaul for most transmission needs.
Healthcare & medical technologies
- The quantified self’ demands attention.
- Alternatives to traditional treatment locations gain popularity.
- Medical devices get smarter.
The phenomenon of self-tracking with technology and to the community of users and makers of tools focused on "self-knowledge through numbers” will drive technological advancements.
The result will deliver real-time consumer health diagnostics that keep followers at peak performance, requiring seamless data capture and results exchange among devices and equipment tracking health-related vectors.
Instead of visiting doctors’ offices, clinics or hospitals, at-home treatments will expand to include more testing and monitoring that better fit individuals’ needs.
This shift will prompt a swift ramp in designs and models of easy-to-use, sustainable devices that are available to larger numbers of patients.
Evolving clinician and patient expectations dictate easier-to-use and more comfortable systems and delivery methods, such as smart inhalers, intelligent auto injectors, non-invasive continuous glucose monitors and more.
Industry 4.0
- Smart factories will become a reality.
- Production lines are reconfigured to manufacture custom products.
- Automated guide vehicles push adoption of 5G private networks.
Flexible factory architectures with broader implementation of sensors and consolidated sensor data will empower industrial automation.
The result will be raised visibility and monitoring of entire facilities while increasing production-line innovations and operational efficiencies.
Manufacturers will reduce dependencies on rigid hardware while using automation and robotics for more automated material handling, pick-and-place and reconfigurable production lines.
Added flexibility empowers development of more products personalized to consumers’ preferences.
As mobile robotics and automated guide vehicles become more prevalent, adoption of 5G private networks over wired Ethernet will grow, supporting low-latency, high-bandwidth, secure wireless communications.
Ventures
- The smart money is on next-generation infrastructure upgrades.
Top investment trends for 2022 will focus on infrastructure improvements and leapfrogs in related technology areas, such as 6G and quantum computing.
A continued spike in energy and power initiatives will be needed to ensure increased operational efficiencies while supporting greater efforts in sustainability.
About Molex
Molex is a global electronics leader committed to making the world a better, more-connected place . With a presence in more than 40 countries, Molex enables transformative technology innovation in the automotive, data center, industrial automation, healthcare, 5G, cloud and consumer device industries. Through trusted customer and industry relationships, unrivaled engineering expertise, and product quality and reliability, Molex realizes the infinite potential of Creating Connections for Life .
