Mobile World Congress: 10 best tech innovations, from drone taxi made in China to new 5G tricks
Incredible holograms, AR and VR, 5G innovations, disease control by smartphone, and tracking systems for dogs, children and valuables: here are the 10 most exciting tech innovations to come out of Mobile World Congress
The annual Mobile World Congress held at Barcelona is always dominated by new phones from the big brands, but if you look beyond the main halls there is so much innovation to explore. Here is a taste of the tech that caught the eye this week.
1. Ehang 184 drone taxi
Riding in a one-seater drone that autonomously flies you from an airport to your hotel is not everyone’s idea of how futuristic travel should look. Realising that drones such as the Ehang 184 are also a potential pest and a danger to each other, the mobile networks are hoping to create an “internet of the skies” by fitting all drones with a 4G SIM card.
Dominating the Innovation City zone in Barcelona, 4G-connected drones such as the electric, four-blade Ehang 184 could be tracked and geofenced [given a virtual geographic boundary] by a mobile network, so they could never enter airspace used by aircraft. There are plans to trial the Ehang 184 imminently in Dubai.
2. Kino-mo’s Hypervsn hologram effect
Holograms are an illusion. Light needs to bounce off a surface for the human eye to see colour and brightness, so stopping it in mid-air? Impossible. Not that you’d know from the huge crowds around British company Kino-mo’s booth.