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Mobile World Centre inaugurates Connected Beings, a set of
exhibits on connectivity applied to citizens' daily lives
•
An interactive model of Barcelona built with LEGO blocks, a connected garden
and an interactive installation with expert opinions are some of the features
that may be seen until July
•
InQBarna, the Catalonian company specialised in musical apps, offers a music
and light show using its Splyce application at the inauguration ceremony
Barcelona, 20 March 2015. - Mobile World Centre inaugurated Connected Beings
yesterday, a series centred on connected life and the value of shared information that may
be visited free until next July.
Curated by Mobile World Capital Barcelona, the exhibit offers a route looking at the
applications and all the potential connectivity when applied to people's day-to-day lives,
homes and transport systems. Through a permanent exhibition of interactive facilities and a
parallel programme of activities, Connected Beings invites one to reflect on technology as an
element transforming our model of society.
The inauguration ceremony drew over 100 people to the Mobile World Centre. InQBarna, a
Catalonian company specialised in the development of musical applications, offered a music
and light show using its application Splyce, regarded as one of the best musical apps in the
App Store in 2013, and the winner of a UN World Summit Award Mobile.
Connected Beings, or how technology makes us better
The Connected Beings exhibition area is made up of six interactive installations produced by
artists and creators at the national and international levels. The first, Connecting the dots
(Xavi Tribó) illustrates in a visual way the conveyance of digital information and the complex
interplay that connectivity generates. The piece reproduces the machine-to-machine journey
made trillions of times every day between the world's millions of connected devices.
The second installation, Iotorama, created by the London agency Alpha-ville, illustrates in
an entertaining way what the Internet of Things is and reflects on how we are designing the
world of tomorrow. By playing and interacting with six screens and an experimental Website,
the visitor discovers how to improve people's lives by combining data and technology.
Connected materials (The Curious Link – Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona
(CSIC) – La Salle Campus Barcelona-Universitat Ramon Llull) is an installation made up
of three components: "The sounds of the city" allows one to interact with a map of Barcelona
and discover the sounds of different areas around the city thanks to a conductive ink game,
electrical currents and electrons. "Music in the air," meanwhile, allows one to create music
with a multicoloured harp by placing his hands near the surface. The instrument features
nanosensors, developed at the Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona (ICMAB), which
detect differences between the ambient temperature and one's hand, activating different
sounds. Finally, "Colour-changing curtain" is a luminescent curtain featuring a fibre optic
fabric lit up with an LED light source.
The Connected City (Invenio, Learn by doing) is an interactive model of Barcelona built
with LEGO blocks that incorporate elements and sensors typical of the smart city. The
installation offers, in real time, services related to transportation and parking spots, and
shows how the IoT enhances urban services and citizens’ quality of life.
Facing Connectivity (HerraizSoto&Co) is an installation made up of four interactive busts
that explain their idea of an interconnected and ultraconnected world, ultimately allowing the
visitor to interact with his own bust. Finally, Jardí.net (The Curious Link/The Green
Effect/City of Barcelona) presents an indoor garden connected with sensors and devices
that allow its plants to live autonomously.
In addition to the six installations, Connected Beings includes an audio-visual selection of
documentaries, animations and videos that expose visitors to the cornerstones and key
areas of IoT.
Parallel activities
The new Mobile World Centre series also presents a programme of parallel activities.
“Jardí.net” organizes a workshop allowing horticulture aficionados to learn basic Arduino (a
free hardware platform) programming concepts. The goal is to integrate the technology into
urban orchards, optimising water and light resources. These sessions will take place on 24
April, 22 May and 12 June.
On the Saturdays of 28 March, 25 April and 23 May Connected Beings presents “The lost
treasure,” a family-oriented feature fomenting people's interaction with the city in which
participants will construct and program a robot to recover a treasure.
A window on the Congress
Connected Beings opened its doors on 2 March as part of the special programming
organized by Telefónica and MWCB on the occasion of the Mobile World Congress 2015.
Parallel to the exhibition, during the first fortnight of March Mobile World Centre showcased
a selection of the latest developments by Samsung, Sony, Microsoft, LG, HTC, Alcatel,
Huawei, ZTE and Motorola. This event allowed more than 40.000 citizens to find out about
the latest new products and features presented exclusively at the last Mobile World
Congress.
Mobile World Capital Barcelona
Changing together
Mobile World Capital presents a global vision aimed at expanding the use of mobile technologies that transform
our lives. It is committed to spreading the mobile experience throughout Barcelona, Catalonia and Spain with
strong support of the public and private sector.
Mobile World Capital is leading the mobile transformation with programme commitments in:
Entrepreneurship and Innovation programmes: Foster and promote local mobile initiatives through a
network of local and international agents.
mSchools, mHealth: Embrace mobile technology as an opportunity for change.
Smart Living: Support the development of mobile services for Commerce, Tourism, Transport and
Mobile Identity.
In addition to Mobile World Congress, MWCapital also offers an open platform and exhibition showroom
designed for community engagement. A place where citizens are able to understand and experience how mobile
is enhancing our lives: The Mobile World Centre, located in the heart of Barcelona on Plaza Cataluña is open to
the public Monday through Saturday from 10am to 9:30pm, admission is free.
For more information please visit: https://www.mobileworldcentre.com/
About Telefónica
Telefónica is one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world in terms of market capitalisation and
number of customers. With its best in class mobile, fixed and broadband networks, and innovative portfolio of
digital solutions, Telefónica is transforming itself into a ‘Digital Telco’, a company that will be even better placed
to meet the needs of its customers and capture new revenue growth. The company has a significant presence in
21 countries and a customer base of more than 341 million accesses around the world. Telefónica has a strong
presence in Spain, Europe and Latin America, where the company focuses an important part of its growth
strategy.
For further information:
Tatiana Viladomat - MWCB
[email protected]
+34 663 700 314
Dirección de Comunicación Catalunya
Telefónica S.A.
[email protected]
931234012/13
Adriana Ribas -Román y Asociados
[email protected]
+34 93 414 23 40/ +34 646 239 326