Theme

We are living through the fourth industrial revolution. It is happening all around us and changing the way we live, work, and connect. This new wave will bring in a new set of challenges for government, businesses, and society as the disruption coming from technology will create the need for reinvention of institutions.

From a technology stand point, Cloud, Big Data, Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence and analytics are recognised as part of this transformation. The technology shift is also happening in the economy in form of digital currencies and blockchain.

While cloud has become pervasive, there is hype for the adoption of big data and IoT. AI and analytics, on the other hand, are stuck in infancy stage and are in dire need for human intervention for derivation of insights. The societal shift with these technologies poses a new challenge in privacy of a data driven world.

Geospatial and location technologies are in a continuous mode of transformation. Changes from the fourth industrial revolution are adding to this drastic transformation.

Today, the autonomous cars industry is driven largely by LiDAR and positioning technologies. Soon, it will drive into a new set of geospatial data in the form of HD maps, which are much more advanced than the maps that we use and see today.

Earth Observation business is moving from the business of selling pixels to analytics. With huge sets of data being moved to services like Amazon Cloud, there is an array of opportunities in areas like insurance, agriculture, monitoring, etc. Artificial Intelligence algorithms deployed are providing new set of analytics. As AI matures and Cloud becomes more accessible, a new set of automated analytics will be derived.

Industries such as the utility sector are becoming smarter by moving from being centralised to being distributed. Technologies like blockchain are getting embedded, and geospatial technology is acting as a key enabler for newer applications in this space.

With mobile-based location data paving a new way to track consumers, government and businesses are taking full advantage of it. Indoor location technologies will witness greater adoption as Internet of anything and everything will become evident from the fourth industrial revolution.

Entering the world of 4IR will give rise to new set of applications, business models, and new revenue models for the geospatial industry. As the global scenario undergoes these dynamic changes, it is important for the geospatial industry to keep up with these new developments.

The World Economic Forum helped the world understand the relevance of 4IR, and how it is going to transform the society and the world economy. Geospatial World Forum 2018 is going to highlight how geospatial technologies will play a key role in 4IR.

With the theme GEO4IR: Geo-enabling Fourth Industrial Revolution, Geospatial World Forum 2018 is going to highlight how geospatial technologies are going to get remodelled by 4IR. Here are some of the key aspects GWF 2018 will discuss: