Year after year, landlines, pagers and then flip phones have become obsolete. And despite the current monopoly of the smartphone on our communications, some are preparing for the future. A future that could include holograms.
Deutsche Telekom’s “Concept T”, presented at Mobile World Congress (MWC), combines new technologies – such as AI, hologram telephony, Wi-Fi sensing, computer vision and Web 3 – to create a concept of what the future of communication could look like.
“Concept T is investigating how hologram telephony, among other things, could become a reality,” said Deutsche Telekom board member Claudia Nemat. “It won’t be on (kitchen) shelves tomorrow, but it is in our heads and our laboratories today.”
A hologram to discuss shopping
The first version of Concept T is called “Concept view”. It features Emma, an AI-powered avatar that users could chat with via a hologram to provide assistance in all aspects of their lives, including shopping, choosing the perfect piece to complement their outfits , and even the management of their cryptocurrencies and NFTs.
Deutsche Telekom
Emma can also support the connectivity needs of Deutsche Telekom customers, taking into account the customer’s order history, products and contracts to provide the best support.
The second prototype takes the concept of router as we know it to profoundly modify it. The base of the router can be customized with additional elements such as a cylindrical screen with an AI voice assistant and a cone-shaped module that provides WiFi detection with room monitoring.
Deutsche Telekom
A “friendly butler”
Each of these modules would be powered wirelessly and contactlessly via WiFi charging. The base could also charge other devices, including smartphones and smartwatches, in the same way.
Finally, in design study 3, the “concept buddy” is a small robot with a smiling face. The “friendly butler” is mobile, has a projector and can move around the house to make sure everything is going well, for example by checking the air quality in the rooms.
Deutsche Telekom
This sector is particularly complex to work in for tech players.
Already in 2019, Deutsche Telekom, together with Orange, attempted the adventure of the connected speaker with Djingo. The adventure was ended barely a year later. The historic operator had in the meantime had to decide to implement Alexa, Amazon’s voice assistant, in order to make it more attractive to the general public.
Other companies are still trying the adventure. Of course, Amazon’s Astro is now discontinued, but Samsung’s Ballie should arrive on the market later this year.
Source: “ZDNet.com”