SELF-driving cars, drones, and better phone networks will come under the spotlight at an international summit this month.
The future of the the web and connected devices could be written at the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) 5G Summit.
Set to take place at Strathclyde University in Glasgow on May 14 – the first time it has been held in the UK – the event will welcome researchers, industry figures and policy makers.
Previous host cities include Austin, Dresden, Tianjin, Berlin, Seattle and Delhi.
Speakers will discuss the prospects for the fifth generation of mobile networks, which promises the fastest speeds, widest coverage and most reliable networks.
They will include figures from tech and communications giants Nokia, Cisco and Qualcomm discussing the potential for agriculture, healthcare and other areas.
This includes its use in media broadcasts.
In a statement, Strathclyde University said 5G – which will succeed the 4G systems currently in use – will “enable large networks and IoT (internet of things), alongside the communications required for autonomous vehicles, high-speed transport and drone-based aerial communication platforms”.
Professor Bob Stewart, of Strathclyde University, said the country was well placed to host an event dealing with issues relating to the delivery of new communication networks in remote settings.
Efforts to plug gaps in the provision of broadband outwith urban areas are currently under way.
Some areas also lack mobile phone signal years after the widespread adoption of the technology.
Stewart, of the university’s department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, commented: “The first IEEE summit was held at Princeton University in the USA in 2015 and since then there have been a number successful summits all over the world, but this is the first in the UK and we are excited to be hosting it.
“Scotland has first-hand experience of the particular geographic challenges faced in taking new technologies to rural areas and alongside a plenary session the event will feature two focused tracks, one on 5G IoT and one on 5G rural, and considering not just the technology but also the new business models that might be needed.”
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