Boston Dynamics’ robotic dog Spot is causing a stir at Mobile World Congress (MWC). At the IBM booth, he entertains passers-by with his mechanized pirouettes. Enough to forget that one of the first real applications of this technology will be surveillance. Thanks to next-generation 5G networks.
Robots are not their first appearance at MWC. In 2018 and 2019, they illustrated all the benefits of 5G networks which, three years later, are still to come. More precisely: the virtual absence of “latency” in the transmission of information on these wireless networks, and the possibility of integrating supercomputers into the antennas.
Latency is the short amount of time it takes for information to travel from one point in a network to another. 5G in its optimal version promises a latency of less than 10 milliseconds. Honestly, we would be happy with a latency of 50 or 100 milliseconds. As a rough guide, it takes about 400 milliseconds to blink an eye.
The shorter this delay, the more it will allow robotics and autonomous systems applications to be brought to market. All it takes is a handful of supervisors gathered in a control room to keep an eye on and correct, if necessary, the actions of hundreds of robots deployed over a territory that could cover several hundred square kilometres.
Robot-surveillance
We see a new generation of robots on the floor of the 2022 edition of the MWC. In addition to Spot, you can also come across CyberDog from the Chinese company Xiaomi, another robotic best friend of man who promises to show off and show off. Other companies, more obscure and not necessarily present in Barcelona, are also developing their own cyberdog. A manufacturer called Ghost Robotics has developed a robot dog used by the US military in Florida, among others.
Currently, the US Department of Defense is funding young robotics companies working on their own version of a robot dog, which will provide surveillance of US military bases. The border separating the United States from Mexico is obviously the next logical step for Uncle Sam, part of whose population still dreams of seeing a wall of a few thousand kilometers to stem immigration from the south.
Already, these robot dogs can cover ten kilometers in nearly three hours. They then need to find a “niche” where they can recharge their batteries. They can move from point A to point B relatively independently. If they are faced with a situation deemed abnormal, they send a video signal, which a human controller will watch. It will be up to that human to solve the problem.
This is what the promoters of this technology assure, who roll their eyes when told of the ethical questions associated with the use of robots in remote monitoring. We have probably seen too many post-apocalyptic films and television series, they argue.
Edge Computing
It may seem contradictory, then, to see IBM and Boston Dynamics letting a robotic dog run around their stand powered by another technology, which promises to make computer systems even more autonomous. It’s edge computing, a term that will put off less tech-savvy people, but will likely have quite an impact on everyday life despite that when it comes into use sometime in the next decade.
What is called theedge computing in English is a cross between cellphones and cloud computing. Except the servers aren’t stored by the thousands in a huge data center somewhere in Virginia or Texas. They are installed directly on the antennas of the 5G network.
The promise of this infrastructure is to bring the power of a supercomputer as close as possible to users and the public. It will be, we promise, like having an artificial intelligence (AI) in your pocket at all times.
For business computing infrastructure giants like IBM, this will be the next big evolution in the business model. IBM, which is slow to catch up in cloud computing with its rivals Amazon, Microsoft and Google, is counting on its arrival as soon as possible in 5G to regain lost ground.
This on-demand AI will make self-driving cars smarter. It will improve many interactive applications, such as video games and the famous metaverse.
And, yes, it will facilitate the automated decision-making of certain robots. It is possible, if not almost assured given the growing proximity between IBM and Boston Dynamics (which is now owned by the Korean company Hyundai), that these robots are quadrupeds and that they will be used to replace security guards a little everywhere, in factories, on campuses, in shopping malls… and, one can easily imagine, near certain borders.
This report was financed thanks to the support of the Transat International Journalism Fund.The duty.