The global tech industry’s annual confab, the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2024 is ongoing in Barcelona. It is a hub of activity for over 95,000 attendees and 2,400 exhibitors showcasing their products and innovations until February 29.
The movers and shakers of the UK’s tech scene unite under a single roof for MWC 2024. As many as 60 companies from Britain and Northern Ireland are exhibiting, speaking, and showcasing in Fira Gran Via for the 2024 edition of the MWC. They are showcasing innovation across the metaverse, AI, IoT, wireless, 5G, machine learning, broadband, and LiFi at the UK Pavilion of the event.
The UK has published a roadmap to become a world leader in tech by 2030 and the Department for Business & Trade (DBT) is working with event organisers – Tradefair and sponsors techUK (the trade association for the UK Technology industry) to promote the best of British in the UK Pavilion.
MWC is no longer dominated by gadget news the way it has been in the past. Businesses in the British corner of MWC 2024 will be showcasing solutions that go beyond expectations of what telecoms and mobile can do, eliminating limitations and building a new era of connectivity. Some of these innovators include AccelerComm, a London startup, which optimises 5G radio access network performance, and Speechmatics, a Cambridge-based speed recognition tech scaleup.
Here is a list of innovative companies from the UK that are sizzling at the MWC 2024 and 4FYN, Europe’s most influential startup event that partners with MWC.
Game for mental health of the elderly
A London-based group operating a network of learning businesses, Sandbox Group will launch a smart game designed to enhance the mental health and well-being of senior users at the MWC 2024. Currently, Sandbox Group’s brands include PlayKids+, the first edutainment app that grows with the kids, Focus, a cognitive training app for users over 40, and Leiturinha, Brazil’s No1. kids book subscription service.
AI-powered physical health app
London-based MoovBuddy offers easy-to-do and affordable health solutions to treat musculoskeletal disorders and prevent them in the early stages. Beyond being an exercise app, MoovBuddy is a powerful motivator that will keep you engaged and inspired throughout your well-being journey. It offers targeted programs to relieve pain, to improve your posture, and to increase strength. Irrespective of your level or previous experience, the AI-powered preventive and curing physical health app adapts to you, ensuring a personalised plan that will challenge and inspire you.
A keyboard accessory for iPhone
Clicks Technology brings a real keyboard to your iPhone. The Clicks Creator keyboard for iPhone offers an iPhone case with a compact physical keyboard that attaches to the bottom port of the phone without Bluetooth. It lets you type as if you were using a BlackBerry phone. This keyboard accessory comes in variants that are compatible with the iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 14 Pro Max, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max. Also, new keyboards are coming to France and Germany that will feature QWERTZ and AZERTY layouts.
LiFi for redefined connectivity
Leith-born telecoms equipment supplier PureLiFi, portrays some incredible wireless technology that uses light to transmit data between devices. PureLiFi showcases how LiFi is ready to unleash a wave of bandwidth, speed, and reliable communication, supporting the industry in extending connectivity to everything and everyone.
Among the highly anticipated products to be unveiled is the LINXC Bridge™, a collaborative project between PureLiFi and Solace Power. This solution addresses the challenge of providing robust connectivity indoors, particularly for 5G mmWave signals. By leveraging wireless power and LiFi, the LINXC Bridge™ significantly reduces costs and logistical challenges associated with signal transmission from outside to inside buildings.
Enterprise-grade cybersecurity solutions with AI
Cyber threats are constantly evolving. BlackDice offers enterprise-grade cybersecurity solutions to telecom operators and their subscribers. Its AI-powered technology is designed to meet the unique challenges you face across the entire digital ecosystem, ensuring robust protection for your customers on any device, any network, anywhere.
BlackDice offers comprehensive protection against evolving cyber threats, and its cybersecurity solutions have gained recognition for their unique approach toward proactive and preventative threat detection, advanced threat intelligence, and state-of-the-art encryption technologies. The company aims to empower organisations and consumers to safeguard their sensitive data and critical assets, ensuring a robust defence against cyber attacks.
AI-driven facial animation
Edinburgh-headquartered Speech Graphics specialises in computer facial animation with automatic and accurate lip sync. The company created a new enterprise-facing brand Rapport, which developed a platform enabling customers to create highly personal interactions with digital avatars anywhere such as on the web, game engines, or apps. The Gen AI platform automates character animation from speech and other vocalisations, making it easy for businesses to combine artificial intelligence, conversational UI, text-to-speech (TTS), character/avatar creation, automatic speech recognition (ASR), and analytics, to deliver meaningful conversations with end-users.
Recently, in collaboration with researchers at UC San Francisco and UC Berkeley, the company helped a paralysed woman in the US communicate using a digital avatar controlled via a brain-computer interface (BCI). The research was able to decode the woman’s brain signals into three forms of communication: text, synthetic voice, and facial animation on a digital avatar, including lip sync and emotional expressions.
Turbine technology for small-scale wind power
Crossflow Energy, a renewable energy technology specialist, based in Port Talbot, helps businesses across the world leverage the power of ‘small wind’ to support the roll-out of clean, reliable energy solutions. The company believes that small wind can become as mainstream and commonplace as solar power in the race to net zero. Its unique turbine technology places small-scale wind power as a viable option for embedded renewable generation. Its turbine is easy to install on-site, efficient, and reliable.
An app to stream content on all screens
Netgem TV is an entertainment service providing a wide range of content, delivered via over 15 Internet Service Providers in the UK and Ireland. It offers access to a comprehensive line-up of the most popular TV streaming services on all screens in and outside the home, through a single application. Netgem TV offers a remarkable selection of entertainment options that will keep you entertained for hours on end, all at an affordable price. Say goodbye to expensive pay TV bills and hello to a cost-effective solution that doesn’t compromise on variety or quality.
Scalable LTE and 5G core network
AttoCore develops ultra-mobile core network software technology that can be deployed in consumer, professional, government, and enterprise scenarios. It can be deployed as a standalone network, or interconnected with existing network services to extend wireless services anywhere in the world. AttoCore’s patented mesh technology can link these networks and enable them to expand automatically, with self-healing. Coupling applications such as Push-To-Talk creates a Network-in-a-Box solution for deployment in public safety, military, and enterprise private networks.
Recently, the company announced AttoNGC, the next-generation core network, supporting both 4G and 5G and designed as a platform for future 6G. The AttoNGC provides a future-proof upgrade path and an extremely flexible deployment.
Sustainable customer satisfaction with AI
Artiwise is an AI-powered voice of the customer platform that drives sustainable customer satisfaction. By delving into call center calls, surveys, live chats, social media, online reviews, and support tickets, Artiwise presents a holistic approach, providing 360-degree insights. It employs root-cause analysis to pinpoint key issues and sentiment analysis to assess customer emotions. The company empowers businesses to make informed, strategic decisions regarding customer management, ensuring a positive impact on customer satisfaction.
