©Mark Ollig
Robots handed out cups of
freshly-brewed coffee to the human visitors attending one of the world’s
largest technology showcases in the Mediterranean seaside city of Barcelona,
Spain.
These AI (artificially intelligent)
cloud-connected 5G (Fifth generation) mobile robots, built by CloudMinds, also
flashed a bit of human emotion, audibly saying, “I screwed up,” whenever they
accidentally dropped a cup.
This week, the 2019 MWC (Mobile Worldwide
Congress) showcase extravaganza saw more than 107,000 attending what is
considered one of the foremost venues for presentations of dominant mobile
technology and dazzling digital innovations.
CloudMinds operates these robotic
baristas using a unique cloud-to-robot operation platform called Human
Augmented Robotics Intelligence with Extreme Reality (HARIX).
HARIX uses an Artificial Intelligence
(AI) and a continuously developing “cloud brain,” which has the potential to
operate millions of cloud-connected robots over a secured mobile network
connection. Yes, “millions.”
AI capabilities, such as Natural
Language Processing, Computer Vision and Navigation, and vision-controlled
manipulation are included with CloudMinds robots.
CloudMinds sees its AI robots used in
customer engagements in hospitality, real-estate, smart cities, and other
applications.
At the MWC, phone maker Samsung showed
off its newest Galaxy Fold smartphone under glass – with security guarding it
as if it was the Mona Lisa.
Look for an April announcement from
Samsung on the availability and pricing for the Galaxy Fold.
It was acknowledged during the MWC,
that 5G would have a faster deployment rate in the US than in other global
markets because of the FCC’s 5G Fast Plan project announced Sept. 28, 2018.
The three central components of the 5G
Fast Plan are: pushing more spectrum into the marketplace, updating
infrastructure policy, and modernizing outdated regulations.
The FCC says benefits of upgrades of,
and installation of new networks and technologies to support 5G include
providing low latency (delay of data transfers), resulting in higher
mobile/wireless computing performance.
The MWC describes Intelligent
Connectivity as the powerful combination of flexible, high-speed 5G networks,
IoT (Internet of Things), AI, and “big data.”
For 5G to become a reality for
consumers, mobile operators are upgrading their networks with 5G radio spectrum
transmitting and receiving gear.
To take advantage of a 5G network,
smartphone makers are manufacturing handsets with built-in 5G components.
I believe 5G will be available within
many major-populated cities across the country by the end of this year.
Look for 5G to usher us into a world of
ultra-high definition video on our smartphones, and devices, and bring in
advanced software applications.
Although MWC was focused more on 5G,
voice/speech recognition was also showcased.
I recently purchased a Google Home Hub,
and have been using it every day for checking the weather, temperature, latest
news, Dow Jones, metric conversions, setting a wake-up time, and more.
Sometimes I say, “Hey, Google,” and ask
to see a list of synonyms for another word I am trying to come up with when
writing a column.
Voice assistance is everywhere. It’s in
our homes, cars, offices, smartphones, and is being widely used in the
healthcare and other service industries.
Marketing intelligence firm, Tractica
forecasts that natural speech recognition will be used by 82 percent of all
mobile devices by 2020.
Today, speech recognition has grown
beyond its novelty; it’s becoming a regular part of our daily lives, and we
will continue to interact with it as we transition into new technologies.
MWC observed milestones in wireless
mobile history, including the following:
• Motorola engineer, Martin Cooper made
the world’s first call April 3, 1973, in New York City, to a rival competing
with him in building the first mobile phone. Cooper’s 3.3-pound handheld mobile
phone became known as “The Brick.”
• In 1984, Motorola’s 1.7-pound DynaTAC
8000x became the first commercial portable cellphone available to the public.
• In 1993, Bellsouth and IBM announced
their creation of the “personal communicator,” called Simon, which weighed
slightly more than 1 pound.
Simon included a pager, email, keypad,
automatically updateable calendar, and a stylus for writing on its screen. It
was advertised as the world’s first smartphone.
• In 2002, the first phones with
built-in cameras became publicly available, including the Nokia 7650 and the
Sanyo SPC-5300.
Nokia’s phone camera included a 176x208
pixel color display. Today’s iPhone and Galaxy S9s have eight-megapixels, plus
autofocus, flash, and face detection.
Speaking of Apple’s iPhone; it became
available in 2007.
In 1988, I bought a Motorola “Bag
Phone.” This portable phone was made up of a handset with the keypad on one
side, and the traditional receiver/transmitter held up to one’s ear and mouth.
The handset cord was plugged into the
same slim transceiver device as was the DC car power source, 12-volt DC
2.3-amp-hour Radio Shack rechargeable battery pack, and “rubber duck” antenna.
All of these parts were inside a black nylon bag.
The Motorola Bag Phone also included a
coiled antenna attached to a magnet. I would put it on the roof of my car to
get a better cellular signal.
In 1977, Motorola began selling their
Dimension IV pager. I had one clipped on the pocket of my blue jeans while
working at the Winsted Telephone Company, back in the day. I distinctly
remember the sound of its audible beeping alert tones.
However, I digress.
As we travel through 2019 toward 2020,
we find ourselves on the cusp of a new era being defined as intelligent
connectivity. It will be available wherever we are, and whenever we need it.
The MWC official Twitter hashtag is #MWC19.
Its website is https://www.mwcbarcelona.com.
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| Source: MWC19 Barcelona |
