This year’s MWC – Mobile World Congress edition has brought together a variety of the latest and hottest techs. Besides Nokia’s comeback and different mobile announcements, we could try out other different tech innovations. VR, robots and connected cars were some of the most promising of them.
I, Robot
Robotics is an ever-growing phenomenon and MWC seemed the perfect scenario to demonstrate the latest progress. Companies are developing robots able to carry out all kind of tasks, from robotic arms that play the drums to solving Rubik cubes.
But, there was a robot that stole all the thunder. Pepper, Softbank‘s personal assistant powered by IBM‘s Watson AI, was one of the main attractions.
Playful VR
Virtual Reality – VR it’s been a must in the past MWC editions. Numerous companies presented their VR technologies and headsets, from SEAT to Nokia or Qualcomm.
HTC encourages the user to take a leap into the virtual void. Their glasses are so real that it actually gives you the chills.
But if there was a company making an effort on VR that would be Samsung. In an attempt to redeem its past issues with faulty Galaxys, Samsung got a huge stand dedicated to VR. It had different VR-rides, and a waiting list you had to sign up via Twitter.
Connected Cars
Ford, Seat, Nokia, Movistar, Vodafone… they all want to be the leaders in the development of Connected Cars and Self-Driving Cars.
Automobile companies prefer to bet on smart vehicles to offer an ever-growing number of services to the driver. Instead, telecom companies are jumping into a fight. They want to achieve the best network able to support these vehicles, since they need to be constantly connected to the web.
For instance, Vodafone has launched a self-driven car thought for disengagement (it doesn’t even have any windows). The user jumps in, starts surfing the Internet, and forgets about everything. The car does the rest. A technology expected to be a reality before 2023.
5G is the technology that will make all these innovations a functional reality. It will enable VR applications, drive vehicles from a remote location, or even conduct remote surgery. It could also enable connected robotics, with the final “jump” of connectivity seemingly enabled by a cellular 5G connection.
MWC Americas will debut next 14th of September, in San Francisco. It will attract nearly 30,000 professionals and 1,000 exhibitors from across the mobile industry and related industry sectors.
