For Supantha Mukherjee and Clara-Laeila Laudette
BARCELONA, Jun 28 (Reuters) – Verizon showed two robots at the Mobile World conference on Monday that use 5G connectivity and Multiple Access Edge Computing (MEC) to communicate with each other.
MEC uses augmented reality and machine learning to analyze big data where it was collected, be it in a factory, an oil rig, or in an office, and requires fast data transfers that only high-speed 5G signals provide.
“When you have more than one robot in one place, you run into a problem: they are still just machines and they can’t communicate with each other naturally,” Verizon chief strategy officer Rima Qureshi said at the event in Barcelona. .
“5G will make it possible for robots to connect with other robots and devices of all kinds in a way that was not possible before,” he said.
Smarter and connected robots are seen as crucial to making certain areas of companies more efficient through automation, as remote monitoring reduces costs and the need for plant infrastructure.
As part of the demonstration, Qureshi called in two robots: a dog-shaped one named Gigi that walked rigidly on all fours and a second square robot named Mekeal that moved on traction wheels.
Qureshi highlighted in the process the work of the engineers to train the robots to be aware of their environment beyond the two-dimensional path, which cannot appreciate elements beyond the points of origin and destination.
The global 5G cloud market is expected to reach $ 10.6 billion by 2028, with annual growth of 79.2%, Research and Markets said in a recent report.
