Find new testbeds In 2018, the highest number of robots ever shipped deliver food to students around the school and in population of just 22,000, has historically been among 50 went to non-automotive businesses in North America. nearby neighborhoods. Someday the robots may be the last to receive new technology infrastructure. Mining companies are using unmanned machines fully autonomous, finding their own routes. But for now, But Orkney is betting big on 5G as not only a way to increase safety and efficiency, with Komatsu’s Front the Kiwibots are guided by remote human operators to improve their own connectivity, but also to drive Runner autonomous haulage system moving large who plot “waypoints” and send the bots instructions business engagement and investment. A consortium quantities of surface material 24 hours per day without at five- to ten-second intervals.55 backed by a government grant is operating a private sending human operators into dangerous sites.51 5G network across the islands targeted at local In agriculture, autonomous tractors have improved Companies are also beginning to explore the industrial needs: “If we can drive industrial use then data collection, planting efficiency and accuracy; value of 5G in enabling a larger impact through there will be more demand, which means more New Holland’s autonomous tractor lets farmers take robotic migration, and they aren’t waiting for 5G revenue, which means more capacity,” explains Greig full advantage of good weather by operating at any rollouts to come to them. In the US, AT&T and Badger Paul, an academic member of the consortium.57 52,53 time of day. The trend is underway globally as well. Technologies—the product arm of manufacturing FlyZoo, Alibaba’s 290-room hotel near its headquarters services company Jabil—are partnering to accelerate Similarly, the Chinese city of Chongqing opened the in Hangzhou, China, is almost entirely autonomous, retail automation with 5G-enabled, in-store robots. first 5G-enabled open-road autonomous vehicle pilot with robots delivering room service and fresh towels, Badger’s robots can identify out-of-stock, mispriced zone in the country. Local automaker Chang’an is using and mixing drinks for guests in the hotel bar.54 or misplaced inventory, and AT&T’s in-building 5G the 4.3-kilometer-long area to test self-driving vehicles, and edge-computing solutions provide the robots reportedly working on building robotic taxis and an Businesses that are new to this space are finding with the computational power and lower latency automated parking system.58 unique ways to manage the demands of open-world needed to function efficiently.56 autonomy. On busy streets, crowded sidewalks, remote terrain or even inside homes, safe operation means Cities are also finding they can attract innovation reacting to irregularities instantly. At the University of and opportunities by rolling out 5G, turning their built California, Berkeley, Kiwibots—four-wheeled delivery environments into today’s newest and most valuable vehicles approximately the size of an ice cooler— testbed. The Orkney archipelago in Scotland, with a