Mobile World Congress 2017 Recap: The Future of Connectivity

Epsilon Agency
March 5, 2017
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MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS 2017

Mobile World Congress 2017
MWC 2017 showcased the tools and technology that will further empower
consumers and shape the future of marketing. From the rise of 5G and it’s impact
on smart cities and entertainment to the convergence of artificial intelligence and
virtual reality to discussing the coming proxy web and system based journeys
during the Modern Marketing Summit.
The trends we covered at MWC 2017 outline the continual evolution of marketing
in 2017 and the acceleration of intelligent systems. Join myself and Ian Beacraft,
VP, Digital Strategy as we outline the trends we saw in Barcelona.  
We view trends through the consumer centric filters of connection, cognition and
immersion.
•  Connection – Trends that reimagine how we connect, enable and empower
consumers
•  Cognition – Trends where machine based intelligence will disrupt and
redefine data assets and how we work
•  Immersion – Trends that align technology and presence to evoke emotion,
entertain and power commerce
The technology featured at MWC 2017 aligns with our view of the coming
convergence toward an ambient computing future built on new data types that will
simplify complex tasks, predict need states and usher in new forms of computing
that will radically alter how we connect with consumers.
Tom Edwards
Chief Digital Officer, Agency
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Cognition
Connection Immersion
Zone of
Convergence
CENTAUR-AI
MACHINE LEARNING AS A SERVICE
PERVASIVE VOICE-BASED EXPERIENCES
BLOCKCHAIN + AI
AFFECTIVE DATASETS
SEARCH TO 1:1 PREDICTIONS
SIMPLIFIED CONVERSATIONAL EXPERIENCES
E-SPORTS
HOLOGRAPHIC COMPUTING
CONNECTED CARS
SOCIAL VR
VR COMMERCE
(RE) MIXED REALITY
THE DEMOCRATIZATION OF VR

Advanced Biometrics
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Connection!
Above: Eye lock demonstrated their infrared iris scanner which uses infrared light and can
see through sunglasses.
Previous: Biowatch scans a user’s blood flow for a pulse signature than can by used as a
pin code for various functions.
Most people are familiar with fingerprint biometrics ever since Apple
and Samsung embedded them on their smartphones, however,
biometric analysis has come a long way since their adoption by the
public.
With the aid of more powerful chipsets and artificial intelligence, the
various forms of biometrics that are now ready for public consumption
has exploded. From voice, to iris detection, facial recognition, palm
geometry, and even blood flow, these techniques may be baked into a
smartphone, smart watch, or Iot device in your near future. From
watches that use your blood flow as your debit cards pin code, to
smartphone camera's that can read your retinas through sunglasses,
the future is already here. It just hasn't been distributed yet.
Implications: With more and more of our information flowing online,
and the coming explosion of IoT devices, data security will reach new
levels of importance. Moving from a convention of using something
you know (a password) as a safeguard, to one or more defining
characteristics of who you are will significantly increase the security of
personal data, and eliminate the possibility of lost credentials.

Evolving Assistants
One of the key trends of the year so far has been the speed and
acceleration of virtual assistants and the proliferation of voice based
services.  
 
With most of the current systems focused on search and retrieval and
enhancement through skill development, at MWC we had the
opportunity to be hands on with Sony’s Xperia Agent Concept.  
 
With facial recognition, the ability to connect 1:1 via voice based calls
and seamless integration into utility based systems such as calendars,
we were able to get a glimpse at the next evolution of voice based
assistants.

Implications: Current assistants such as Alexa and Google Home
offer zero UI experiences and are 100% voice based. The Sony Xperia
agent shows a glimpse at how integrating features such as 1:1
communication may increase on-going engagement with voice based
platforms.
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Sony’s Xperia Agent concept is being positioned as a bridge between current voice-
based assistants and emotive robotics that are designed to interact in a personalized
way.
With facial recognition and the ability to connect via video conferencing this approach
boldly evolves beyond current voice-based systems.

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Voice Interfaces are quickly becoming the remote control for the
Internet of Things. One of the questions that has arisen is how to verify
that a person placing an order through a voice-based system is
actually the intended buyer.
Biometric technology enables you to analyze biological features of a
person such as ﬁngerprints and retinal scans. As for Voice Biometrics,
it is able to measure voices and compare them against each other in
order to identify a person or verify their identity.

Implications: We see the evolution of voice-based biometric solutions
as one of the ways to match true identity with voice-based purchasing.
With security a growing concern for some IoT solutions, having
methods for authentication that verify consumers across voice-based
systems can increase conﬁdence.
Voice Biometrics
STC highlighted their VoiceKey platform during MWC. This platform provides voice and
face-matching biometric tools and technologies that developers can integrate into their own
platforms or systems.

Plug and Play IoT
Building an IoT device comes with a host of challenges, not least of
which is managing the devices connection, and how the data moves
back and forth. While these concepts seem simple, there’s an
enormous amount of work that goes on behind the scenes, and can be
a daunting proposition for developers both on small and large teams.
This year, we saw a number of companies with solution platforms that
help take a lot of this grunt work out of the equation, allowing IoT
devices makers to spend less time working on the backend, and more
on the design of the hardware.
Implications: this could have enormous implications for speed of
development, and barriers of entry. Developers who previously
couldn’t entertain the idea of building IoT devices due to lack of
resources, necessary knowledge of network infrastructure, or time are
starting to see these barriers fall. This could lead to a surge in the
number of IoT devices created by startups and enterprises alike.
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Wia.io takes all the guesswork out of the backend cloud services for IoT device makers,
giving them plug-and-play functionality across dozens of APIs.
Previous: Soracom makes it easy to monitor and manage devices while ensuring easy
and secure connectivity of devices across the network.
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5. Smartphone Augmentation!

Smartphone
Augmentation
Motorola isn’t the first phone maker to announce mods and add-ons to
their phones, but this year’s announcement of twelve new mods to
come in 2017 made it clear that they’re betting big on the concept.
Motorola demoed their existing mods of a Hasselblad camera, JBL
speakers, and a projector, while teasing a Nintendo Switch-style
gaming controller, and other mods to come in Q2 2017. The quality of
these mods is high, and definitely targeted at the premium market, but
it signals and interest to go beyond what consumers have become
accustomed to in terms of traditional smartphone functionality and
quality.
Implications: While smartphone features improve year after year,
having extremely high fidelity with certain features and a modular,
adaptable feature set makes these phones extremely versatile. We
may also see the popularity of some of these mods dictate which
features are baked in to future handsets from all manufacturers.
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Above: Motorola has announced 12 Moto Mods for 2017. At the Congress they demoed
an extremely high quality Hasselblad camera Mod, JBL speaker Mod, Mophie battery
pack, and a projector.
Previous: a spokesperson demonstrated the physical zoom feature of the Hasselblad
camera mod.
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Cameras to Eyes!Search to 1:1 Answers !Centaur Intelligence !
6. AI Generated Content!
8. Streams to Channels!9. Conversational Experiences +
Assistants !
10. Smartphones becomes optional!
15. VR Commerce !16. Mixed Reality !
6. Technonostalgia!

Technonostalgia
Smartphone makers seemed to yearn for simpler days with multiple
announcements to bring back old models, previous form factors, or
even give people the option of a secondary dumb phone for when they
want to disconnect from the constant ﬂow of technology. Given all the
coverage of the Blackberry and Nokia received at this year’s Mobile
World Congress, we’ll be watching closely to see if the public adores
these phones as much as the press did.
Implications: Smartphones have become a homogenous sea os
sameness with very little to differentiate them. Moving to older form
factors brings new variety to the marketplace and pays heed to the
various use cases phones can have. If these endeavors succeed,
they’ll surely be followed by other manufacturers, and varied device
types could proliferate rapidly. Ultimately, this could bring back some
of the fragmentation headaches experiences by content providers in
from 2010-2014.
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Above: The Blackberry KeyOne was unveiled at Mobile World Congress as an Android phone
with a physical keyboard and many of the signature Blackberry software features.
Previous: Nokia garnered enormous buzz for bringing back its 3310 model, which will retail at
$50 and maintains the iconic form factor of years past.

Machine Learning 1:1
Having the ability to process large amounts of unstructured
data is key to designing data centric solutions that can save
time, identify new strategic territories and enhance multiple
facets of business from customer service, product innovation
and consumer marketing.
At MWC 2017 we met a team that is providing a very focused
approach to machine learning. This system is focused on
aggregating user feedback from surveys, reviews, emails and
even internal support systems and applies continuous learning
and detailed sentiment.
Implications: Machine Learning and other Natural Language
Processing systems as well as AI-Powered analytics engines
will fundamentally redeﬁne our ability to process large
amounts of information and derive meaningful insights for
products, programs and experiences.
With the rise of conversational experiences and commerce,
having conversational agents that collect data in a highly
modular approach while having the ability to align intent and
perform entity extraction at scale will accelerate consumer
marketing.
1917
Combining demand signals from third-party unstructured data with
first-party data assets unlocks our approach to data design.

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AI Becomes a Service !Cameras to Eyes!
Emergence of General
AI Assistants !
Search to 1:1 Answers !
8. Deep Learning Image Recognition!

Deep Learning Image
Recognition
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The most impressive VR demonstration of the convention came from a
company that isn’t even in the VR space. EtherSec a video
surveillance service that uses 3-dimensional convolutional neural
networks (nerd speak for really fancy AI) to search video in real time
for the presence of humans. The trick that stopped us in our tracks,
however, was their ability to recreate what their algorithm saw in a
virtual environment in real time, recreating, not only the image, but
representing depth as well while using a single Kinect camera -
something we’ve never seen done before.

Implications: This technology was developed for security purposes,
but the use cases for depth sensing and real-time re-creation of
physical environments in VR are profound. In the near future, we may
be able to broadcast VR experiences using a simple mobile phone
camera and generate immersive telepresence experiences from a
device that ﬁts in our pocket.
Above: EtherSec’s technology uses the image coming from a single Kinect camera to analyze
and reproduce 3-dimensional space in a virtual reality environment in real time.
Previous: A representation of what the EtherSec AI sees through the camera.

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Assistants !
9. Inﬁnite Touch Screens!

Infinite Touch Screens
Light-based screens projected onto various surfaces were found
earlier this year at CES and again at Mobile World Congress. These
projectors allow nearly any surface to become a screen, with many
incorporating motion sensitive cameras that can emulate the feel and
interactivity of a touch screen.
At MWC, the Xperia Projector was featured as a gesture controlled
surface projector as well as a television replacement with high levels of
ﬁdelity for gaming with the PS4 as well as a projected interface as well
as a family communication center.
While touch-responsive projected screens aren't new, the size, variety,
responsiveness, and cost provide a welcome upgrade from previous
generations and makes them far more appealing for multiple use
cases.
Implications: We're likely to see a proliferation of screen "form
factors" in everything from consumer devices to in-store retail
experiences. The ability to turn any surface into a screen provides
incredible ﬂexibility and endless possibilities for interactive content.
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Sony's Xperia projector turns any surface into an interactive touch screen using a motion
sensing camera to understand movement and gestures.
What made the MWC experience unique was the display of multiple use cases from gesture
control, family communication and PS4 Remote Play

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Assistants !
10. The Body as an Interface!

The Body as an
Interface
At CES in January this year we saw several demonstrations of
technology that allowed the body to be used as a controller in various
scenarios; from VR, to self driving cars. Several demos we saw at
Mobile World Congress took the technology a step further by providing
these types of interfaces in a wireless, mobile form factor, without any
need for external processing.
Implications: technologies and platforms like VR, AR, will rely on
controls from technologies like eye-tracking, object recognition, hand
mapping, and others. As these technologies become more feasible on
mobile devices that do not require high powered computers to power,
we’ll see a massive spike in adoption and an increased focus on
providing branded content.
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Above: Superb Reality demos a hand tracking system that relies solely on the smartphone’s
camera.
Previous: Leap Motion hand sensor embedded in a wireless VR headset. Leap Motion will be
included in several upcoming mobile headset releases.

Brain Interface
We saw a few impressive brain-interface demonstrations in the halls
this year. From making cars race around a track, to controlling basic
video game functions, brain-interface controllers are beginning to
prove a viable form of interaction with digital experiences.
Implications: While brain interface is a ways away from acting as the
single source of control in digital experiences, mixed with other control
systems like eye or gesture tracking they could provide some
incredibly immersive, engaging, and intuitive experiences. As these
technologies progress brands will be faced with the challenge of not
only creating content across channels and platforms, but for various
forms of interaction as well.
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Above: the Kundalini project from Arimac Sri Lanka allows the wearer to control basic video
games and computer functions using only their thoughts.
Previous: Hamamatsu demos their PocketNIRS infrared tissue oxygenation monitor by
having participants drive slot cars around a racetrack with their thoughts.

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12. 5G Will Change Everything!

5G Will Change
Everything
5G was everywhere at this year’s MWC, and rightfully so. With speeds
more than ten times what current networks, zero latency, much higher
reliability and accessibility to the billion of IoT devices that will come
online in the next few years, 5G will enable new use cases we never
even imagined possible.
From downloading a 4K movie in ﬁfteen seconds, to live streaming VR
experiences, to connecting autonomous cars to billions of sensors in
the environment, the new connectivity standard will enable all sorts of
advances in technology.
Implications: Many of today’s entertainment and brand experiences
are forced to work within the conﬁnes of relatively slow mobile speeds
and small data plans. As 5G rolls out in late 2019 and 2020, bandwidth
will no longer be a concern and will enable incredibly rich and highly
detailed immersive experiences.
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Ericsson’s President and CEO shows off a 5G chip at last year’s Mobile World Congress.
This year, similar chips found themselves inside several of the phones presented at the
Congress.

In-between
Autonomous
One of the recent trends by car manufactures is to now unveil new
concepts, especially connected and autonomous designs at Mobile
World Congress.
Peugeot turned heads when they unveiled their autonomous concept.
What was unique is they positioned it as a bridge between human
drivers and an autonomous future by introducing various driving
modes.
This shows that some manufactures are keeping an eye to the future
while also preparing for the reality of today.
Implications: As we continue to monitor the evolution of cars as the
next mobile platform a more realistic approach such as the one
undertaken by Peugeot to offer modes that mirror driving behavior of
today while evolving autonomous elements of tomorrow will serve as
the key to unlocking adoption.
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Peugeot unveiled their latest autonomous concept at Mobile World Congress. They are
focused on developing a bridge between human based driving of today and autonomous
driving of tomorrow.

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AI Becomes a Service !Cameras to Eyes!
Emergence of General
AI Assistants !
Search to 1:1 Answers !Centaur Intelligence !
8. Streams to Channels!
8. Streams to Channels!
9. Conversational Experiences +
Assistants !
14. Edge Computing!

Edge Computing
To oversimplify things; if the cloud is a portable, real-time storage
center for our data and files. However, as technology adds artificial
intelligence to millions of applications, and self-driving cars incorporate
200+ cpus, the Cloud simply can’t support the data and calculation
needs of these devices. Enter Edge Computing, which supplies data
processing power away from the network and closer to the devices
that need it, instead of shifting tons of data to the cloud to be
processed and sent back. This will be a critical enabler of autonomous
cars which have been dubbed “data centers on wheels” and engaging
experiences where high density makes signal a challenge like sports
stadiums, for example.
Edge computing will enable artificially intelligent objects to process
immense data while certain data types are shuttled across the network
in more intelligent ways.
Implications: In combination with 5G, edge computing will allow the
computation and transmission of unfathomable amounts of data,
making the technological progress of the past few years pale in
comparison to what we’ll experience in the next five.
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Above: Next VR cameras film a soccer match. With Edge computing live-streaming VR will
be easy for networks to accommodate.
Previous: A Nokia concept for Edge computing at a stadium, allowing lightning fast download
speeds and multiple camera angles at a densely populated event.

Closing Remarks
While CES has transformed from a product showcase, to a playground
for brands and agencies, MWC’s roots as a highly technical tradeshow
meant for players in the Telecom industry were still visible. With
industrial heavyweights like Qualcomm and Ericsson claiming flagship
roles in the conference the show had a decidedly pragmatic approach
to the romantic future visions displayed on the floor. While the
excitement of near-term possibilities permeated the conference, there
were plenty of opportunities to stare deep into the guts of the systems
that would make these quixotic visions a reality. Rather than stop at
the what, there was plenty of discussion about how.
Thinking back to how strongly the theme of connectivity figured into all
of the technology demos and predictions about 5G, I’ve come to see
the the pillar of Connection as a multiplying force for Cognition and
Connection while also acting as the glue that binds them together,
enabling the momentum toward a future of ambient computing.
The future is here. It just hasn’t been downloaded yet.
Ian Beacraft
VP, Digital Strategy
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RealFiction makes in-store displays for brands to showcase their products. The
display comes preloaded with holographic animations or brands can customize
the animations to fully amplify the display effect.

GET GROWING
Questions or inquiries can be sent to !
Tom.Edwards@epsilon.com and Ian.Beacraft@epsilon.com!
!
!
Survey data based on marketers response to how Familiar, Excited, and useful !
they think the trend will be for consumers. !
The overall number is the mean score of excited and useful. !

Mobile World Congress 2017 Recap: The Future of Connectivity

Mobile World Congress 2017 Recap: The Future of Connectivity

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