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Klaus vom Hofe

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Of Minions, mobility and magenta-colored glasses

Which is the most attractive stand of the entire Mobile World Congress? The Deutsche Telekom stand, of course! But wait. After what feels like a hundred articles about the networks of tomorrow, let’s put aside our magenta-colored glasses for a moment. Only then it is possible to look at the big picture. So, what happened elsewhere? Here’s a small, entirely subjective, selection.

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A manhole opens, a Minion climbs out. He dances and plays tricks with the trade fair visitors who are seated in front of a camera. That’s something those passing by can see especially well on the large display behind the camera. It’s an example of augmented reality, which was billed as a trend topic at the Mobile World Congress (MWC). The exhibitors put this promise into practice. Augmented reality – that involves adding material like additional information or images in a pair of glasses or also to live recordings such as with Pokémon Go or like here with the zany Minion. It was the British company Ads Reality that put the little guy onto the display, as I found out at their stand. Established as a start-up in 2012, the company now creates eye-catchers for those wanting to arouse interest, such as from passersby. It’s fun! Videos can be seen on their website

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Iconic mobile phone a crowd puller

Augmented reality must have only been in its early infancy when the Nokia 3310 first hit stores 17 years ago. Unforgotten to this day, the distinctive ringtone. Now, it’s back. Nokia has reissued the model and thereby caused a real sensation at the Mobile World Congress. There’s no other way to put it, judging by the crowds that converged on the table with the 3310.

The mobile phone model is lighter and a little slimmer than the original, comes with the game Snake and – above all – has a battery that promises to last for a full month in stand-by mode. I think it’s an ingenious coup by Nokia.

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While walking around I couldn’t help feeling as though I’d already witnessed many of the highlights last year. The Virtual Reality Cinema from Samsung, for example, that whisks the visitors away to another world and then – strapped to their seats – tilts and spins them around. It seems to be pretty popular here. But I don’t join the queue – no more such experiments for me anymore since getting sick at the funfair on a different occasion. Another topic that is more visible this year: drones. The same applies to robots, among which a small fellow called Pepper is certainly still the most popular. Also highly conspicuous is Smart City and – even more prominent than in 2016 – the Internet of Things, whereby the various sought-after sensors for networking are gaining attention.

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For garages and wardrobes

Speaking of networking, a safe bet is always vehicles – no matter if cars or trucks. But what I see at Peugeot reminds me directly of my mobility workshop. Peugeot presents a design study for the self-driving and thinking car of the future. Complete with a foldaway steering wheel and every that a subsequently out of work driver could then possibly need. On board, an Internet of Things platform, a Samsung cloud connects the car to the owner’s cloud as Peugeot writes on its website. The thinking car – that knows what my plans are and from which I can control much more than just my journey by just using my voice. The car integrates everything that I wish to share with it via my smartphone or watch, or from my smart home. It’s crazy.

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At least just as crazy: the social media dress at IBM. Yes, that’s right: at IBM. It lights up in colors that change in accordance with the mood of the fans on social media. I think that it might possibly be a case of too much information. Spooky… 

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Spritely start-ups

So much from “my” Mobile World Congress. Something completely different, by the way, is the world found in the old trade fair grounds: wooden pavilions instead of spectacular stands. The 4 Years from Now (4YFN) start-up fair provides a refreshing change. In the shadow of the world’s largest mobile communications fair, start-ups introduce themselves and present their ideas to potential partners and customers at 4YFN. The trend here is clear: from shopping trolleys to beehives – everything is becoming networked. Naturally, so too parking spaces. For example, eParkomat can predict the inner-city parking situation based on big data and simply leads its customers to the next free parking space via an app. And that with 96 percent accuracy. The start-up has already successfully established its service in the Czech Republic and is now looking to become active in further European countries. This all works with the help of hub:raum – the Deutsche Telekom incubator that supports start-ups in turning their ideas into reality. Such as through the stand at the 4YFN fair. The start-ups at the hub:raum stand use it to expand their network and close deals. Oops, I think that I’ve donned my magenta-colored glasses again…

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Grasping without a hand

My personal star here in Barcelona is, incidentally, a small cloth – thin, light and made of a material I was not aware of: graphene. It’s benefit: it replaces the very costly material of titanium and is capable of conducting electricity generated by the movement of muscles through the skin to especially helpful prostheses. Such as from a person’s upper arm to an artificial hand – thereby enabling a ball to be grasped. I was left speechless after trying out the prototype from “Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia” (IIT). But what I can say is: this better come onto the market soon. 

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