Unveiling the future: From reinventing smartphones to life-like robots, top inventions from MWC 2024

I magine shaking hands with a humanoid robot or having artificial intelligence seamlessly integrated into your phone’s every function. These aren’t just pipe dreams anymore; at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2024 in Spain, they became tangible realities. Even jewellery got a tech boost — think smart rings with features that could revolutionise health monitoring and contactless payments.

From the familiar form factors like smartphones reinvented, to completely new categories like robot companions, MWC 2024 painted a picture of a future brimming with exciting possibilities. Here are some of the top highlights:

1. A WRAPAROUND PHONEStill at the concept stage, the bendable phone showcased at the Motorola booth is straight out of a sci-fi movie. This is a smartphone that can be moulded into different shapes and can even wrap around your wrist, opening up an entirely new avenue for wearable tech.The concept sets a new benchmark in smartphone design, taking it far beyond the current foldable designs in the mainstream. The bendable concept can be propped up at various angles, like a tent or a stand, and the user interface adjusts dynamically to accommodate the form factors. Smartwatches have already become ubiquitous and almost a wardrobe staple. Shape-shifting smartphones wrapped around the wrist can be the next intriguing fashion statement. However, questions around comfort during extended wear still remain, which is perhaps why this is still only at the concept stage. 2. AI-POWERED HUMANOIDWhile such robots are not quite new, Ameca standing at the Etisalat booth has been brought to life using artificial intelligence. The humanoid has almost life-like facial expressions, especially the eyes that are capable of conveying emo - tions. A mec a was also quite witty with its replies, its conversational skills powered by OpenAI’s GPT-4, the most advanced conversational AI model right now. It had an answer for almost anything, even complimented a visitor’s dress, recognising the colour and style.Created by UK-based Engineered Arts, Ameca is being claimed as the world’s most advanced humanshaped robot. Just don’t ask what it eats, but in case you are wondering, it’s microchips.

3. USING AI IN REAL TIME Imagine conjuring up any scene or product, real or merely just possible, with just a few touches on your smartphone, and then witnessing it in front of you. That’s exactly what I did with a demo phone at the MediaTek booth, with instantaneous results.

Using an AI engine that can dynamically create images in real-time based on text prompts, I conjured up Tim Cook promoting Android phones, just by spelling it out in as many words.

AI processors in the present-generation mobile chipsets are capable of dishing out such results in realtime, allowing users to instantly visualise their ideas and concepts. But Generative AI can do even more. A second device had AI summarising a long report into digestible bullet points, which on the surface, looked accurate, while another generated videos from text prompts.

4. SEE-THROUGH LAPTOP Perhaps the coolest piece of technology I saw at MWC 2024 was the transparent laptop on display at the Lenovo booth.

While its utility still eluded me, it nonetheless seemed straight out of a Black Mirror episode. You can peer through the transparent screen of this concept notebook and let the screen not be a distraction from observing the world outside.

The laptop uses a microLED display that goes semitransparent when the pixels are turned off, but becomes more and more opaque when the display lights up.

This translucent display aside, the laptop also had a completely flat touch keyboard instead of physical keys, adding to the sci-fi touch. While its use case may not quite be mass-market, it can perhaps appeal to digital artists who can see the world through the screen while sketching it.

5. AN AI ASSISTANT Move over smartphones. It’s time for wearable, AI-powered assistants that can see all and tell all. At the Qualcomm booth at MWC, an AI Pin from the Silicon Valley-based startup Humane was unveiled. The device clips to your shirt, has a camera to scan the world around, and uses generative AI to answer questions. There’s no screen, but a tiny laser projects text onto your palm that one can interact with.

The Humane AI Pin is the answer to smartphone addiction, stripping the computer to its bare essential needs, while keeping its utility and mobility intact. The technology is designed to fetch your emails and appointments and quench your curiosity about the world around you.

For one, it could tell that I was standing at the Qualcomm booth by scanning the signage and described the surrounding as being an indoor exhibition.

That said, the gadget did feel like a work in progress. For one, each response was peppered with long pauses, which is understandable because most of the AI is handled on the cloud, but it was slowed even further by the event’s spotty connectivity.