Barcelona: Phone makers and telecom companies unveiled a slew of gadgets and innovations at one of the industry’s biggest gatherings this week in Barcelona.
Here is a selection of the most curious objects of the Mobile World Congress:
5G bartender
He brews a mean cocktail, speaks a dozen languages, and recognizes his most loyal customers by their faces.
The Kime robot is a “high added value” bartender developed by the Spanish “food tech” group Macco Robotics.
Joan Laporta, president of Barcelona football club, was among the robot’s customers at the tech rally this week.
The 5G-enabled humanoid robot can “work around the clock”, according to its manufacturer.
In these times affected by the Covid, the robot has another advantage over its human competitors: it avoids “unnecessary contact” and reduces the risk of contamination, according to the company.
Virtual disco
No queuing around the block to get in, no security guards at the entrance – just a virtual reality headset and booming soundtrack.
On the stand of the South Korean operator SK Telecom, visitors were able to experience the metaverse, the immersive version of the internet presented as the centerpiece of the next online generation.
Joysticks in hand, the virtual clubber is immersed in a giant disco ball to dance among other avatars.
It’s one of many apps in “Ifland,” the operator’s metaverse, designed to “optimize user experience in various virtual spaces and avatars.”
Remote car racing
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to drive a car over 1,000 miles from the wheel?
The French operator Orange offers it as a use of the next generation 5G internet.
Called “Vrombr”, this mobile game created by the young start-up Polyptik allows you to drive real miniature cars via a smartphone.
During the demonstration at Mobile World Congress, the driver was in Barcelona while the vehicle raced around a track near Paris.
Fast charging green battery
Several manufacturers have claimed to have developed the fastest smartphone chargers in the world.
Chinese Realme has unveiled a 150-watt charging system for its upcoming GT Neo 3, which will allow it to recharge its battery to 50% in five minutes.
Its competitor Oppo has promised a 100% charge in nine minutes thanks to its 240-watt “Supervooc” technology.
For its part, the Japanese start-up PJP Eye has unveiled a prototype “organic” battery using carbon from cotton instead of the metals usually used for this type of product.
This technology “allows our batteries to have a long life” and reduces their CO2 emissions, explains Inketsu Okina, the director of the firm.
Cyberdog
Low on its feet, its body stuffed with sensors and microphones, the cyberdog can trot close to its master, bark, raise its paw and even stand guard.
The robot, presented for the first time outside China by its creator Xiaomi, is piloted via a mobile phone.
Even though its “brain” is still in an experimental phase using open source programming, Xiaomi has already put 1,000 of them on sale in China, for the modest sum of 1,600 euros ($1,800) each.
