<![CDATA[<p>Jack Shaw knows it’s tough making predictions, but he opened up the Lawn & Landscape Technology Conference by forecasting what a future in landscaping might look like.</p><p>He offered a hypothetical couple, Luke and Annie, who live in Atlanta. In his scenario, Shaw told attendees that the couple lives in Atlanta and contacts a landscape designer to complete a new design/build project. Then, Shaw walked attendees through a technology-assisted pitch the company might use to sell their services to Luke and Annie.</p><p><strong>READ MORE: </strong><a href="https://www.lawnandlandscape.com/news/category/technology-conference/" target="_blank">Catch some of our previous L&L Technology Conference coverage from 2021 and 2020</a></p><p>Shaw described a scenario where the contractor used walkthroughs with augmented reality and virtual reality glasses. Luke and Annie asked about an irrigation program, which the contractor says can instead be an AI-powered, weather-based irrigation controller and system. And, to sign contracts at the end of the virtual tour, Luke and Annie use facial recognition technology and fingerprinting. Within minutes, the necessary plantings are automatically ordered and the company’s best landscape designer is assigned to the job.</p><p>Sound like a fantasy? Shaw warned attendees this could be the way their competitors get a leg up on them if they’re not fast enough.</p><p>“Your competitors are going to be doing most of these very same things within the next few years,” Shaw said, “and in some cases, much sooner than that.” </p><p>So, Shaw broke down some of the emerging technologies for landscapers in his keynote address at the technology conference.</p><p><strong>AUGMENTED AND VIRTUAL REALITY. </strong>First, Shaw made sure to outline the key differences between augmented reality versus virtual reality. AR takes the physical reality in front of you and it overlays the existing reality with additional information like images and data. Shaw likened it to the yellow first-down marker football fans might recognize on broadcasts. Meanwhile, VR means an entire field of vision is covered by glasses or viewers and is a new environment entirely.</p><p><strong>READ MORE:</strong> Our Top 100 event is also underway in Scottsdale. <a href="https://www.lawnandlandscape.com/page/top-100/" target="_blank">Take a look at which companies made the cut in 2021</a>. </p><p>Shaw said some of the benefits to both AR and VR include better design renders for client pitches. This means contractors can have more accurate quotes, more precise assessment of a project’s timeline and a better understanding of the necessary construction materials and labor needs. Plus, there’s no need to present physical samples with AR/VR – a design/build contractor doesn’t need to pull out hardscapes to show off how they might look in an environment.</p><p><strong>INTERNET OF THINGS. </strong>Any physical object can become connected through sensors, processing abilities and software – this is the Internet of Things. Shaw said fleet services is a great example of IoT. </p><p>Vehicles and landscaping equipment can communicate to one another through IoT. “This way you can not only track the location of equipment,” Shaw said, “but even the utilization of the equipment.” He told attendees they might be able to track how many hours they’re getting out of each piece of equipment, which might help contractors evaluate whether they have equipment on trucks they don’t need or how they can better price jobs.</p><p><strong>BLOCKCHAIN.</strong> Blockchain allows you to create data that’s signed, time stamped and cannot be changed. This could be records of identity, ownership of assets, business transactions like purchase orders and payments, and of contractual commitments. These records could be shared amount two or more entities without an intermediary providing a master set of records. The information is globally available with complete transparency to anybody authorized to see the data but un-hackable security to anyone who’s unauthorized to see the data.</p><p>Shaw clarified that blockchain data is not stored on any one computer system; it’s stored with identical copies on hundreds or thousands of systems all over the world. If someone hacks into one of those nodes, Shaw said that synchronization technology on any of the nodes will spot the inaccuracy or change in data. A Harvard business professor recently calculated how much energy it would take to use the computing power needed to hack into the blockchain and do it successfully was roughly equal to the same energy emitted at one time by the sun.</p><p>“And I know some of you are thinking, ‘So you could do it then!’” Shaw joked. “So if you were able to hack into the blockchain, you’d have to hack into a majority of the nodes on that blockchain, and you’d have to do it simultaneously and very fast.”</p><p><strong>MORE TECHNOLOGIES.</strong> Shaw also covered autonomous mowing with cameras that can stop the machine when they encounter an unexpected obstacle and machines that are purely electric and are much quieter. </p><p>He also dissected artificial intelligence like IAs, or intelligence agents, that can help coach newer employees by using prompts like “are you sure you want to make this decision?” or “do you want to consider this alternative?” Shaw believes IAs can get so intelligent soon that they can lay out preliminary landscape designs and factor in material/labor costs, climate change considerations and even anticipate when faults may occur. </p><p><em>The Lawn & Landscape Technology Conference is officially underway! Check back on our website for more coverage of the event.</em></p>]]>
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