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The development of AI has been rapidly progressing over the years and its utilization to aid various fields have become more widespread. This is also the case for the space industry as various space agencies such as NASA find more and more practical uses for AI in which it can aid scientists in space exploration. The power of AI has already shown amazing promises in which it removed barriers that limited humanity’s capabilities to explore space. The efficiency in various complex space operations have been tremendously improved by AI solutions to an unimaginable degree. In some cases, activities and operations were completely automated by AI solutions when we compare it back to the Space Race Era. Here are a few examples of how AI has changed space operations. The built-in AI systems in satellites has helped optimizing various processes and analysis of data as well as contributing to collision prevention. Particularly the last part is very vital, as collision with other satellites and space debris is a rather common occurrence. The automation of the onboard systems along with collision detection can give the satellite an early warning to adjust its trajectory before crashing into a piece of space rock. Another example is its involvement in the Rover missions. The NASA rovers on Mars already have an AI system called AEGIS in which it would handle to camera targeting and analyze its environment. However, the next generation of AI’s can bring more to the table than the automation of simple tasks (Prosser & Rebolledo 2018; Van Loon, 2020).

The advantages regarding efficiency, process optimization and automation are well received benefits from AI. However, I think that AI could offer the most in space exploration as a cartographer of space. The universe as we know it, is immensely huge and there is no edge in sight. There is basically an immeasurable amount of space that would take eras to charter. However, the capabilities of AI aid in data collection and analysis of natural occurring phenomenon in space. It will not be a pipedream anymore to charter and catalogue big chunks of areas in our galaxy and potentially discover new planets and such (Fowler, 2020).

Bibliography

Fowler, G. (2020). AI’s Role In Space Exploration. Retrieved from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinessdevelopmentcouncil/2020/07/20/ais-role-in-space-exploration/#5f9c59567206

Prosser, M., & Rebolledo, J.D. (2018). AI Is Kicking Space Exploration Into Hyperdrive—Here’s How. Retrieved from: https://singularityhub.com/2018/10/07/ais-kicking-space-exploration-into-hyperdrive-heres-how/

Van Loon, R. (2020). How AI is Transforming Space Exploration. Retrieved from: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-ai-transforming-space-exploration-ronald-van-loon

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Online shopping has become a significant part of the retail industry through the years and as internet access and global deliveries become more of a common occurrence, ecommerce gains a stronger foothold in the retail industry. In the last few years, the retail industry has kept on transforming itself to satisfy its online shoppers and this can only be the beginning (Clement, 2020).

Considering how online shopping brought more convenience for shoppers, we can further enhance the shopping experience by implementing 3D technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR). For those who are not familiar with VR and AR, VR brings its user in an immersive virtual world, it is basically a simulation. AR differs from VR as it brings digital elements into the real world by using your phone camera. Example of this is Pokémon Go, where you can catch a Pokémon on the street or at home. Another example is Snapchat, where you can put filters on your face or environment.

Have you ever bought products online, only to discover that the real product was not what you expected from the pictures online. Well, no more of those headaches as VR can change how you will shop online. By using VR gear, you can shop in a virtual world where you can check different products just like how you are shopping in a physical store. No more looking at mere pictures to help you decide on buying stuff. This would bring the retail industry to a whole other level as you can go online shopping that is almost like real life shopping (Bonetti, Warnaby & Quinn (2018). For those of you wondering how the VR experience would look like, I have included a Youtube video of Alibaba showing their VR shopping at the end of this article.

While VR brings you into a virtual world, AR aims to enhance your live view of the real world. Let’s say, you want to buy wardrobe for your bedroom, but you have limited space. Then you have to measure the space in your room and go shopping in different stores to find a wardrobe that fits your criteria. Seems like a lot of hassle, isn’t it? That is also no more as AR can simply aid you in this frustrating venture. Instead of looking at different furniture stores, you can use your phone to check if a wardrobe fits the space in your room by showing a virtual product that is accurate in its measurement. IKEA has already made an app using AR technology to help their customers check if a product fits a certain space. If you are curious about the IKEA app, you can find more information at the end of this article (Moorhouse, Dieck & Jung (2018).

Although it might take a while before we see a wide scale use of 3D technologies in the retail industry, major companies are already working on making this the next transformation of retail (Cook, Kusumoto, Ohri, Reynolds & Schwertzel (2020). So what do you think? Are you excited to experience this new type of shopping?

 

Interesting links:

Alibaba VR – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HcKRBKlilg

IKEA AR – https://www.architectmagazine.com/technology/ikea-launches-augmented-reality-application_o

Bibliography

Bonetti, F., Warnaby, G., & Quinn, L. (2018). Augmented reality and virtual reality in physical and online retailing: A review, synthesis and research agenda. In Augmented reality and virtual reality (pp. 119-132). Springer, Cham.

Clement, J. (2020). E-commerce worldwide – Statistics & Facts. Retrieved from: https://www.statista.com/topics/871/online-shopping/

Cook, A.V., Kusumoto, L., Ohri, L., Reynolds, C., & Schwertzel, E. (2020). Augmented shopping: The quiet revolution. Retrieved from: https://www2.deloitte.com/xe/en/insights/topics/emerging-technologies/augmented-shopping-3d-technology-retail.html

Moorhouse, N., tom Dieck, M. C., & Jung, T. (2018). Technological innovations transforming the consumer retail experience: A review of literature. In Augmented reality and virtual reality (pp. 133-143). Springer, Cham.