Since last December, this space, born from an alliance between the Innovation Center of the Catholic University and Claro Chile, opens its doors to startups to develop and test technological solutions. Today, this laboratory houses pilot projects ranging from autonomous vehicles to virtual industrial scenarios.
It’s a car race. These are two miniature models, they are nothing more than four wheels surrounded by colorful cables and chip plates and both must follow a route delimited by a black line on the ground, sometimes straight, sometimes curved. One of the vehicles, which receives its instructions via a 4G network, often stops and veers out of its way.
This is a demonstration of one of the technologies currently under development at the Claro Lab-UC 5G Innovation Center , a space resulting from the alliance between the Pontificia Universidad Católica and Claro Chile, and which after its inauguration last December , has become a true venue for exploration and experimentation of technological solutions, where startups have gained prominence. Under an open innovation model, these emerging companies can work on the design and testing of pilot projects, powered by an experimental 5G signal, provided by Claro, which allows them to enhance and refine these prototypes and advance potential applications in various industries.
Located on the second floor of the Anacleto Angelini Innovation Center in Capus San Joaquín, this enclosure, which at first glance looks like a co-working space, with an open floor plan, work tables and freely available blackboards, is also configured as an incubator, with available financing funds for these technological ventures, and the possibility of integrating academics and students in their ideation and piloting processes, as stated by Ramón Molina, executive director of the UC Innovation Center.
The authority called for continued collaboration through innovation at this site, the location of which was supported by the government. “We hope that these centers will be places of permanent synergies between the academic world, startups, telecommunications service operators and technology companies.
One of them is the prototypes developed by Meik Labs, who are currently working on virtual immersive experience solutions for the mining world. Through the use of digital twins, a computer program that uses data from the real world to generate simulations, and after putting on virtual reality glasses, it is possible to be transported in the first person to a mining grinding room that houses a colossal SAG mill, a cylinder of large dimensions that is key for copper reduction processes. With this technology, it is possible to carry out remote infrastructure evaluations and test, without the need for real-world tests, the effectiveness of machinery and processes.
“When you deal with large amounts of information, you need many screens to make a decision. As a society we continue to grow in screens, but human beings still have two eyes and the capacity to process these screens is limited, which means that this technology that we have been developing has many applications that go from before a project starts.
This 5G technology is being made available to us to experiment with. It can be said that as a country we are at the forefront, doing trial and error tests and seeing the potential of this technology. In its prototyping processes thanks to its high-speed properties, the possibility of wireless applications and its low latency, which translates into shorter response times.
The low latency time, one of the key points that the landing of 5G in Chile brings, is key when it comes to refining remote and simultaneous processes, such as, for example, a recital of two songs, at a distance and in a virtual reality environment. This is one of the practical applications proposed by other technologies that coexist in the laboratory today: an augmented reality viewer accompanied by sensors for the hands, which allows someone without piano knowledge to learn to play using the real instrument.
The technology allows the user to visualize which keys to play to follow the melody and the hand sensors allow to correct mistakes and accelerate learning. At his side, a white helmet, typical of the mining industry, but which has a special device integrated, a camera and microphone, which allows its user, for example, to carry out a technical review of machinery thousands of kilometers away. , while another individual puts on the case and follows the instructions from a distance, a kind of “avatar” that allows remote assistance and achieves better results with the speed provided by 5G,
The application in different industries and the benefit for citizens as end users is essential when making a balance of the Laboratory after a year of operation, as stated by the Director of Innovation and Development of Claro Chile, Felipe Gómez.
“The most important thing is that we can guide people to where 5G can be of most help. People may think it’s just making their phones faster, but what we’ve discovered this year is that it’s in the industrial, healthcare and business world that 5G is going to make big changes, and the idea is that those changes end up benefiting an end user.” assures Gómez, who also referred to the short and medium term projections of this venue.
