Mobile World Congress Displays More than Phones

 

Today’s the day that the Mobile World Congress – one of the industry’s major trade shows – will open in Barcelona for nearly 100,000 attendees.   The usual new smartphones, new tablets and the latest and hottest mobile tech will be unveiled.  And, between all of the presentations on what we usually think of as “mobile” will be some really mobile computers – drones.  “MWC has dramatically increased the presence of drones and autonomous vehicles as it seeks to expand the concept of what we mean by the word ‘mobile.'” say tradeshow organizers.

The mobile industry is, as always, in search of technology that will drive the use of networks.  And as we’ve seen demonstrated by Intel, Qualcomm, and the investment choices of other big companies, the Internet of Things – and drone technology – is it.

DJI is there – and hosted a press conference yesterday.  The exhibit hall resembles a drone industry conference with drone cages for demos and a Drone Zone.  Organizers are streaming video of flights into the lounge.  And on Thursday, the International Drone Expo will hold a drone summit at the show, including 4 hours of discussion to bring the mobile industry up to speed on drones.

“There has never been more attention in the media regarding the growth of Drone Technology. Commercial Drones are set to change the face of Mobile Transport/Delivery, Agriculture, Infrastructure Inspection, Mining and Disaster Response,” MWC organizers said in an announcement.

Ford has already announced it’s concept for drone delivery as part of it’s “City of Tomorrow” vision.  The company  calls the concept  “Autolivery”, an end-to-end delivery service using self-driving vehicles for the majority of the trip, with a drone completing the delivery to doorstep. Ford showcased the concept in action using HTC Vive virtual reality headsets.  The combination of trucks and drones to perform deliveries isn’t new, but as cars and drones both move towards autonomy the demonstrated concepts become even more fascinating examples of the extreme edge of “mobile” tech.