Technological convergence is the tendency for technologies that were originally unrelated to become more closely integrated and even unified as they develop and advance. For example, watches, telephones, television, computers, and social media platforms began as separate and mostly unrelated technologies, but have converged in many ways into an interrelated telecommunication, media, and technology industry.
Definitions
"Convergence is a deep integration of knowledge, tools, and all relevant activities of human activity for a common goal, to allow society to answer new questions to change the respective physical or social ecosystem. Such changes in the respective ecosystem open new trends, pathways, and opportunities in the following divergent phase of the process".
Siddhartha Menon defines convergence as integration and digitalization. Integration, here, is defined as "a process of transformation measure by the degree to which diverse media such as phone, data broadcast and information technology infrastructures are combined into a single seamless all purpose network architecture platform". Digitalization is not so much defined by its physical infrastructure, but by the content or the medium. Jan van Dijk suggests that "digitalization means breaking down signals into bytes consisting of ones and zeros".
Convergence is defined by Blackman (1998) as a trend in the evolution of technology services and industry structures. Convergence is later defined more specifically as the coming together of telecommunications, computing and broadcasting into a single digital bit-stream.
Mueller stands against the statement that convergence is really a takeover of all forms of media by one technology: digital computers.
Acronyms
Some acronyms for converging scientific or technological fields include:
NBIC (Nanotechnology, Biotechnology, Information technology and Cognitive science) GNR (Genetics, Nanotechnology and Robotics) GRIN (Genetics, Robotics, Information, and Nano processes) GRAIN (Genetics, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and Nanotechnology) BANG (Bits, Atoms, Neurons, Genes)
Biotechnology
A 2010 citation analysis of patent data shows that biomedical devices are strongly connected to computing and mobile telecommunications, and that molecular bioengineering is strongly connected to several IT fields.
Bioconvergence is the integration of biology with engineering. Possible areas of bioconvergence include:
Materials inspired by biology (such as in electronics) DNA data storage Medical technologies: Omics-based profiling Miniaturized drug delivery Tissue reconstruction Traceable pharmaceutical packaging More efficient bioreactors
Digital convergence
Digital convergence is the inclination for various digital innovations and media to become more similar with time. It enables the convergence of access devices and content as well as the industry participant operations and strategy. This is how this type of technological convergence creates opportunities, particularly in the area of product development and growth strategies for digital product companies. The same can be said in the case of individual content creators, such as vloggers on YouTube. The convergence in this example is demonstrated in the involvement of the Internet, home devices such as smart television, camera, the YouTube application, and digital content. In this setup, there are the so-called "spokes", which are the devices that connect to a central hub (such as a PC or smart TV). Here, the Internet serves as the intermediary, particularly through its interactivity tools and social networking, in order to create unique mixes of products and services via horizontal integration.
The above example highlights how digital convergence encompasses three phenomena:
previously stand-alone devices are being connected by networks and software, significantly enhancing functionalities; previously stand-alone products are being converged onto the same platform, creating hybrid products in the process; and, companies are crossing traditional boundaries such as hardware and software to provide new products and new sources of competition.
Another example is the convergence of different types of digital contents. According to Harry Strasser, former CTO of Siemens "[digital convergence will substantially impact people's lifestyle and work style]".