The most curious thing about MWC 2023: robot dogs, 3D without glasses and facial recognition of pets | Technology | The USA Print

The Mobile World Congress in Barcelona continues to be one of the main showcases in the world of technology. Although most of the companies that attend the fair no longer reserve their launches for the event, and come with few surprises, some do reserve an ace up their sleeve to capture the attention of the rest of the attendees and show all the advances they have made. have achieved during the year. 5G has featured in the debates, presentations and stands of dozens of companies, but both those that work with telecommunications and those that do not have also brought to light progress in robotics, artificial intelligence, augmented reality and software.

Canine robots down the hall

It has been missed that Xiaomi has put its humanoid to walk, but another Chinese company has taken the opportunity to walk its robotic dogs (similar to the model that Xiaomi presented last year) precisely in front of the competition stand, where it has been organized a circle to caress the metallic animals. One in white and the other in black, the Unitree dogs have shown their capabilities and flexibility. Yes, flexibility. When one of their owners has kicked one of them, it has nimbly flexed to one side to maintain balance. But, in addition, they have also danced for their audience, they have stood on their hind legs and raised their front legs and, when thrown from half a meter high, they have fallen with style. From his corner at the Xiaomi booth, one might think the subdued humanoid envied the attention.

Without glasses to see in 3D

Huawei is one of the companies that is turning to 5G (and 5.5G), but it has also shown advances in software with a demonstration of 3D viewing on a mobile phone for which it is not necessary to put on the glasses. glasses that are usually essential; it is enough for the user to place himself at a suitable distance in front of the device and he will see how the legs of a frog protrude from the terminal.

The Chinese company has also shown the public its technology capable of simultaneously translating a video call conversation: while one interlocutor speaks, the translation appears as text on the other’s device. However, oral simultaneous translation still has a longer way to go. According to some sources, it is still several seconds late and is not fluid.

6G, the future with detection

There are already many companies that are defining 6G, although they all agree that it will not arrive until at least 2030. It seems that this technology is going to constitute the greatest technological leap so far: the sensors located in the communication networks will detect everything what happens, from a car that can cause an accident due to its driving, to an animal that has entered where it should not or a machine that is putting a person at risk (sending a signal to the first to stop and do no harm to the second). At the Nokia stand, the company that stopped producing unbreakable phones to work in the world of telecommunications, they have shown how some antennas detect the pedestrian while walking, without having to carry a device on them; unlike GPS, for example, which detect the terminal, not the individual.

facial recognition of pets

With petnow, an application developed in South Korea, dog and cat owners can register the “face” of their pets. In case they ever get lost, by scanning them with their phone, thanks to artificial intelligence, they could check if it is really the animal they were looking for. In the same way that human beings have unique fingerprints that do not vary over time, the nose of dogs and cats acts in the same way: each one is unique and immutable. This is the only application that, for the moment, can fulfill this function and, according to one of its spokespersons, it will reach the application stores of several countries (including Spain) in the coming weeks.

“The fastest charge in the world”

The Chinese company Realme has presented its new smartphone at the congress: the GT3, with which they say they have achieved “the fastest charge in the world” with 240W in 11 minutes. However, his compatriot Xiaomi has announced just at the same time a 300W hypercharge, with which they claim to be able to reach 100% in five minutes. These announcements, together with previous ones from these and other phone manufacturers, show that one of the biggest battles is to achieve long-lasting batteries and hyper-fast charges that allow them to be chosen by users, who, they are clear, give those aspects of enormous importance when they have to choose between the available models.

Drone-taxi by 2025?

SK Telecom, the largest telecommunications operator in South Korea, has brought a four-seater drone-taxi prototype to its Mobile space, which the most adventurous have been able to climb to, with virtual reality glasses, experience what it will be like to go in a vehicle of this type through the most important cities in the country, Seoul and Busan. The company (which has obtained two of the awards granted by the congress organization, GSMA, for innovation for cities, accessibility and inclusion) intends that by 2025 it will be a reality suitable for commercialization.

Earn money for walking

macadam is a mobile application developed by two French entrepreneurs in Barcelona itself. It records the steps through the mobile’s pedometer and, when a high number is reached, it allows you to exchange the accumulated coins for money. But it also allows you to donate it to an NGO, plant a tree or obtain a product from certain brands, such as sneakers or wireless headphones. Its creators got the idea after realizing that they barely walked when they were working and, with this application, they tried to give incentives to combat a sedentary lifestyle.

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