While the hype might suggest otherwise, virtual reality (VR) won’t become mainstream in 2017. However, its industrialisation will start to gather momentum.

VR has already been used as a training tool in medicine, and this year we’ll begin to see more innovative VR-enabled medical applications. The powerful combination of VR, robotics and machine learning will also start to transform many sectors.

We will be able to teach robots — remotely and virtually — to do a range of tasks, accelerating the adoption of VR across many industries.

VR will give people experiences money can’t buy

It is a technology with incredible potential — but the key question is, do people really need it? There is a misconception in the entertainment industry that you have to build end-to-end VR experiences to make people embrace this technology.

During closing credits, cinema goers could get a virtual tour of the film set, transporting them to the middle of an epic battle scene and making them part of the action using VR. This could also help make going to the cinema more appealing, creating immediate value for both cinemas and content owners.

Lack of 5G will risk bursting the VR bubble

Practically unlimited storage and computing capacity in the cloud, super-fast fibre connectivity at homes and sophisticated headsets make it possible for VR to become mainstream. However, mobile connectivity is not yet ready to support these immersive experiences despite the fact that VR is inherently mobile.

In many parts of the world, 5G networks might not arrive until 2020, and organisations creating new VR applications will find that they aren’t able to deliver these experiences to people wherever, whenever.

Technology will converge with humans

We are moving away from simply using technology to being surrounded by technology that enhances all aspects of our lives and the world around us. The Internet of Things will evolve into the Internet of People, which will enable humans and machines to interact in a more seamless, converged way than ever. Once things start to interact with these technologies, as well as humans, our understanding of the world around us will augment exponentially.

But, this evolution will bring with it new security threats too because the more connected applications there are, the more vulnerable we become. We will need a much more holistic, standardised and industry-wide strategy to securing the Internet of Things and the Internet of People.

Until the industry is able to solve this problem, cyber criminals will continue to exploit the vulnerabilities in the connected word and prevent people, businesses and society as a whole from making the most of the incredible opportunities that the convergence of technology and humans brings.

The living, breathing network will emerge

We have seen huge advances this year in technologies such as software-defined networking and network functions virtualisation, making connectivity more intelligent than ever. But no matter how much automation can be programmed into networks, it’s fair to say that they can’t actively think for themselves.

To offer people and businesses the “always-best-connected” experience, regardless of device, location, network type or operator, the telecoms industry will start to harness the power of AI. This will be the biggest shift the industry has seen in years: we will start moving away from a fragmented, distributed network matrix to a global, ubiquitous network topology, powered by AI.

We will no longer have to think about whether we are using WiFi, a mobile network, Bluetooth, or one of the many IoT network technologies. It will just work.

Ultimately, we won’t need a mobile phone, a wearable or any other device to access this connectivity universe — our innumerable applications will become a virtual platform as we interact with them or even put them on our bodies.

Creating a world where all networks and applications work harmoniously together to give people this ubiquitous ultra-connected experience is a task that the telecoms industry should start to tackle together in 2017.

— The writer is Future Technologist and Product Innovator at Tata Communications.