Robert Moffat, EU Director Sales & Business Development Europe at MediaTek talked to IoT Insider about the technologies he expected to influence 2025, which included, AI, quantum computing, and 5G/6G.
These technologies are comprehensive topics in their own right and for MediaTek, a fabless semiconductor company, Moffat said that they are influencing the design and manufacturing of chips.
“We can also expect to see specialised semiconductors being designed for artificial intelligence and machine learning,” he shared. “The focus will be on developing chips that are smaller than ever and deliver high performance computing while minimising energy consumption.”
6G is currently still on the horizon as it is not a fully realised technology yet. 5G is continuing to roll out across the world. Some in the IoT industry are turning their attention to 5G RedCap (Reduced Capacity) as a potentially viable technology with enough spectrum to meet the needs of IoT companies, but it is not yet supported in European infrastructure.
“We are starting to lay the groundwork for it [6G] to be commercially viable around 2030,” aid Moffat. “At MediaTek we are involved in 6G research and development and focus on key areas such as AI-driven network optimisation and ultra-low latency capabilities.
“Before 6G becomes a reality, however, we need to maximise the full potential of 5G: so expanding coverage, improving network reliability and performance across diverse ecosystems.”
The hope for 6G as a technology is to be used to create an intelligent, ultra-low latency network with integration across devices. “I feel like 6G will have the greatest impact in areas like autonomous and cooperative mobility, advanced healthcare tech, and intelligent urban infrastructure.”
In terms of AI, Moffat discussed it from the perspective of Generative AI: “Generative AI is increasingly being applied in traditional sectors such as healthcare, for drug discovery and medical imaging, and customer service, with virtual assistants becoming ubiquitous.” With a wide array of use cases on display, Moffat concluded: “GenAI can quickly produce high quality content, streamline workflows, enable increased productivity, and offer personalised experiences.”
Moffat said he also saw AI playing a role in smart homes, “enabling advanced context aware systems that learn user preferences, automate routines and optimise energy consumption. It will improve security thanks to predictive analytics and offer personalised experiences across interconnected devices.”
What are the potential obstacles to these technologies going forward? “The need for advanced infrastructure, spectrum availability and issues around data privacy,” Moffat noted. “Barriers to 6G include spectrum availability and energy efficiency, whilst GenAI requires huge computational demands.”
2025 is shaping up to be an interesting year as these technologies come into the fray, and companies like MediaTek will look at evolving its chips to meet demands.
This article originally appeared in the February 25 magazine issue of IoT Insider.