GITEX UPDATES:
October 16 (Day 3)
These are some of the latest technologies our reporting team members covering the Gitex week would like to share with you:
Meet 'eotronico: the robot musician
Teotronico has 19 fingers allowing for rapid movement along the keys. The robo-maestro can play the piano faster than the average human, while singing and playing the drums at the same time.
— Video by: Virendra Saklani/Gulf News
Teotronico is currently one of the attractions at the on-going Gitex Technology Week at the Dubai World Trade Centre.
Teotronico is the brainchild of Italian Matteo Suzzi. There's an artificial intelligence behind Teotronico allowing the robot to recognise sudden key changes and alterations in tones.
And unlike other musical robots, Teotronico is able to interact with the audience. Suzzi built in two video cameras – one behind each eye – which allows Teotronico to identify human presence and begin to talk.
Unmanned shopping: Anyone?
A new solution for unmanned shopping is getting more attention this week at Gitex 2018. Unmanned stores have virtually no employees and can, in theory, offer goods at lower prices. They also allow customers to skip the usual checkout process.
To track retail activity, cutting-edge technologies, such as RFID, facial recognition, and image recognition are used. Unmanned stores are becoming a significant part of offline retail industry in Asia, driven by Tencent, and in the US, pushed by Amazon, which announced a new grocery store concept that promised customers a human-less shopping experience.
Experience 'smart tunnel' immigration system
This week, you can experience the "Smart Tunnel" system at Gitex. Head down to the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs' (GDRFA) Dubai pavilion at Gitex.
The sysem is fitted with face recognition technology, a biometric system that allows passengers to just walk through the "tunnel" without the need to show their passport or ID — and complete entry procedure within 10 seconds.
Interactive Journey
There's an interactive journey showcasing projects that focus on people's happiness offered by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority at Gitex technology week.
October 15 (Day 2)
This police patrol car can read your face: Dubai Police is showcasing how an advanced police patrol vehicle, called ‘Ghayath’, can read your face and car plate, too.
The 4x4 vehicle is fitted with latest Artificial Intelligence gear, with eight computer screens inside and eight CCTV AI cameras.
Driverless taxi explained
The self-driving cab is part of a series of smart techonology intiatives the agency has unveiled at Gitex Techology Week. How does it work?
An official of the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) explains:
Smart services at Dubai Chamber
The Dubai Chamber is showcasing a wide range of smart services at the Gitex Technology Week, including services available to businesses such as online payments, membership, Certificates of Origin, ATA Carnets, mediation and credit rating reports.
.@dubaichamber showcases a wide range of smart services at @GITEXTechWeek including services available to businesses such as online payments, membership, Certificates of Origin, ATA Carnets, mediation, & credit rating reports. pic.twitter.com/wOtA7XOfJX
— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) October 15, 2018
Why is 5G good for you and me?
First off, high-speed connectivity. For the average user, 5G will allow us all to cut cables to machines, and almost seamlessly connect with them all the time.
Today, UAE telecom operators Etisalat and du are demonstrating 5G use cases at the on-going Gitex.
These appliations cover:
■ Healthcare
■ Remote robotic surgery
■ Augmented reality/Virtual reality
■ Internet of Thing (IoT)
■ Autonomous technologies (like driverless vehicles)
■ Cloud computing, and
■ Real-time trades and verification
Previous mobile technologies such as 3G and 4G were built for human interactions, whereas 5G allows unrivalled machine-to-machine and machine-to-human connectivity.
Speed is a key 5G advantage: theoretically up to 10 GBps. That's nearly a thousand times faster than a 4G handset (i.e., 4G LTE networks).
Here's the latest from the Gitex exhibition floor:
October 14 (Day 1)
More than 4,000 exhibitors and 750 start-ups from over 175 countries are converging into Dubai to take part in twin tech expos — Gitex Technology Week and Gitex Future Stars.
Video by Clint Egbert/Gulf News
Taking place at the Dubai World Trade Centre from October 14-18, the 38th edition of Gitex Technology Week event is open to business professionals only.
Key focus of this year's, the 38th Gitex Technology Week, comes under the tagline "Experience Future Urbanism", and include:
■ Artificial intelligence (AI)
■ 5G, robotics
■ Virtual and augmented reality
There are dedicated event for start-ups — Gitex Future Stars.
The five-day was inaugurated by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council along with other diginatries.
.@HamdanMohammed officially inaugurates the 38th GITEX Technology Week at DWTC, tours the exhibition area that attracted more than 4500 tech companies. #Dubai pic.twitter.com/JsCUg3hEzx
— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) October 14, 2018
More than 200 government entities are taking part and out of that, 80 per cent are from the UAE. They showcasing their latest technological knowhow and live projects at their stands.
“5G is as big an innovation as electricity was to mankind. It is going to change the world much more than what 3G and 4G did. 4G took us to a level well connected with various people but what 5G is going to do is to connect people to everything,” said Sukhdev Singh, vice-president at market research and analysis services provider Kantar AMRB.
Read more:
Guide to Gitex Tech Week venue in Dubai
Try 'virtual flying'
Etisalat is showcasing Pop.Up next and Rinspeed Oasis concept cars, Robomart: self-driving grocery store experience, digital health and education experience, humanoid robots – Sophia, Han and Melvin, Robotic pharmacy experience, smart living and VR flying jet experience.
AI in focus
Artificial Intelligence-powered services, such as customer call management system and drone-based statistician, are being showcased at Smart Dubai’s pavilion of 59 government and private establishments at the Gitex Technology Week 2018.
Running till Thursday, at Dubai World Trade Centre, the five-day event features the establishments exhibiting their latest smart services to the public.
More than 200 government entities are taking part in the event, of which around 80 per cent are from the UAE.
5G: Up to 10 Gbps data rate
Telecom operators – Etisalat and du – also demonstrating 5G use cases covering healthcare, remote robotic surgery, AR/VR, IoT, autonomous technologies, cloud computing and more.
With 5G, data speeds will be 10 to 100 times faster than 4G and can provide up to 10Gbps transfer rates.
Previous generations of mobile technologies such as 3G and 4G were built for human interactions but 5G will be able to allow industries to cut cables to their machines with the intelligence of the cloud.
“5G is as big an innovation as electricity was to mankind. It is going to change the world much more than what 3G and 4G did. 4G took us to a level well connected with various people but what 5G is going to do is to connect people to everything,” said Sukhdev Singh, vice-president at market research and analysis services provider Kantar AMRB.
Platform for '4th Industrial Revolution'
He said that the 5G will be a platform for fourth industrial revolution.
In short term, he said the industries which will have a major impact will be media and will change the way how on-demand media is consumed.
In the long term, he said that healthcare delivery and services will see a significant change.
“5G will change the way information is happening when you have connected buildings, connected roads, connected cars, smart cities and catapult Dubai into a different stage. With AI also getting into the picture, it is going to be a game changer,” he said.
The World Economic Forum estimates that the global economic impact of 5G in new goods and services will reach $12 trillion by 2035 and will create more jobs.
When 4G offers a latency (the delay before a transfer of data begins) of 15-20 millisecond, he said 5G offers a latency of one millisecond
The use of 5G include the following 'verticals':
■ Autonomous vehicles
■ Health care
■ Virtual reality, and
■ Augmented reality
This is due to 5G's high speed and low latency, which is not possible in 4G network.
Apple's eSim
Dubai: Apple’s eSim technology for iPhones will be available on both Du and Etisalat’s network by the end of October, both telecoms have confirmed to Gulf News.
Saleem M. Al-Balooshi, the chief infrastructure officer at Du, said eSims technology for the Apple Watch will launch in the first quarter of 2019.
The announcement was made on the opening day of the 38th Gitex Technology Week.
what is eSim
eSim technology allows mobile devices to connect directly to a telecommunication networks without having to buy the plastic sim card that is standard in most phones. No subscriptions have been announced yet.
According to du, the technology will initially be only available for iPhones and Apple Watch. No android release date was announced.
Gitex Tech WEek is open to trade and business visitors only.
(With inputs from Naushad Cherrayil, Evangeline Elsa and Clint Egbert)
