Another day, another techno hub, and another carrier-sponsored effort this time. After Verizon and BT opened private-5G style demo rooms of various sorts in the last couple of weeks, Spain-based Telefónica has cut the ribbon on a new “open lab” in the name of mobile robotics – plus, of course, all the compute, networking, and analytics componentry it is most interested in selling directly. (There’s a line in a Half Man Half Biscuit song about “capturing the zeitgeist” while “they’re widening the motorway”. But anyway…)
The new mobile robotics hub is a joint venture between Telefónica’s digital services units Telefónica Tech and the Spanish Mobile Robotics Association (ARME), comprising majority Spanish-owned robotics vendors and consultancies. When it does actually open, it will be located within Telefónica Tech’s existing open lab, The ThinX, and will connect with a 200 square-metre robot test area in Torrejón de Ardoz, in Madrid, in a facility belonging to Spain-based industrial robot maker DTA.
As with all of these co-creation venues, the idea is to let companies research and develop solutions together – to “evolve the robotics sector”. A statement said: “Both institutions will cooperate on combining technologies related to communications, robots, software, navigation and localisation, as well as cloud, edge computing, cyber security, artificial intelligence and blockchain.” Cellular 5G is not mentioned, but is a given; IoT is clearly stated. The ThinX facility specialises in IoT and big data.
The new hub is for “companies from the technology and industrial sector”, and so squarely pitched as an Industry 4.0 project; it is expected to “boost the establishment of international mobile robotics companies in Spain”, with ARME providing a direct line to local workers (human resources), plus “legal support for the creation of subsidiaries of foreign companies in Spain”. Telefónica said the new facility will “serve as an international meeting point to generate and share knowledge”.
A statement said: “The alliance between Telefónica Tech and ARME will allow the business world to carry out robotic simulations in real conditions in this space before their massive implementation. To this end, both institutions will cooperate in the combination of technologies linked to communications, robots, navigation and localisation, and software…This international… hub aims to promote learning and employment in this discipline, meet the needs of future consumers of robotic solutions and promote environmental sustainability.”
Elena Gil Lizasoain, global director of product and business operations for IoT and big data at Telefónica Tech, said: “The creation of this mobile robotics hub will allow us to share knowledge and expand our capabilities in this field to develop the most innovative robotic solutions in demand in the market that help companies to digitally transform and gain in efficiency.”
Javier Miguélez, president of ARME, said: “We see the creation of the international mobile robotics technology hub as a key step towards Spain’s leadership in the world of mobile robotics. The hub will generate more and better technological developments in our country. It will also attract foreign companies, promoting employment in a key sector for our future.”
