Innovation is wasted if it doesn’t change society

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  • We are living in an age of innovation.

    Newspaper headlines are constantly filled with the latest technologies – think of the Internet of Things, drones and big data. It’s true that throughout history, new inventions have held certain glamour. The printing press, steam engine and wireless telegraph hold iconic places in human history. But then as now, innovation is wasted if it doesn’t change people’s lives. There is no value in technology for technology’s sake, and we must focus our advances on improving society. That’s why it’s vital sometimes not just to focus on the latest sensor or server, but think about how these developments are being applied to address some of the world’s biggest challenges – including healthcare, urban migration and energy supply.

    Better serving the ageing population

    Healthcare resources are under increasing strain, because of the world’s continually growing population and ageing society. IT has a crucial role to play in advancing medical knowledge, improving treatments and extending services, including for elderly patients. For example, sensors may be used for patient monitoring to check for abnormal movement patterns associated with a fall or other injury. Fujitsu is helping with the KIDUKU Research Project in Ireland, an initiative to provide health monitoring services and assisted independent living for senior citizens and patients who live in smart houses. This data will not only enable carers to respond more quickly to accidents, but will provide the healthcare community with more information about the environmental factors influencing falls.

    Smart cities

    More and more people are moving to cities worldwide, and technology will be vital for maintaining good quality of life for these citizens. The idea of the smart city is an urban landscape with an intelligent infrastructure, using sensors to collect data which is then used to analyse and improve services. One example of the principles of the smart city already in action may be seen in the way that many cities control traffic flow through intelligent traffic light systems.

    This principle is being extended to other areas of the city, such as water supply. Fujitsu is collaborating with utility provider Metawater to provide an on-demand cloud service to support the water and sewer operations of local governments in Japan. Ultimately, smart functionality will play an important role in ensuring that cities meet the needs of their citizens in a cost-effective way.


    The world is also facing unprecedented demand for energy, with global requirements set to grow by 37% by 2040. In the meantime, environmental concerns and diminishing supplies are challenging our traditional reliance on fossil fuels. The IT industry can play a major role in energy change, through steady applied innovations to improve efficiency.

    Through connected devices, we have the capability to direct heat and light to where they are needed, while smart meters in customer homes can also build more intelligence into the grid. Waste energy can also be put to good use – in the Fujitsu London office, we funnel waste heat from our London North data centre to our office campus. Through these improvements across the board, we can help to create an energy system fit for the future.

    Human-centric innovation

    Many of the advances described here use established and proven technology. What’s crucial is applying these innovations smartly and creatively, to address long-standing challenges and ready our societies for the future. Collaboration is crucial, both between different technology suppliers and partners within organisations, sectors and even governments, to ensure that we realise the advantages of tech sooner. That way we will be able to look back on this as not just a period of innovation, but a time of meaningful, powerful change.

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    You can find this blog and more insight from Fujitsu on its website.

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