12
June
2017
|
08:00
Europe/London

Suffolk steps into the technology spotlight as BT showcases cutting-edge innovation at Adastral Park

Summary
More than a thousand business leaders from some of the UK’s largest companies will join BT’s CEO Gavin Patterson at the BT Labs in Martlesham Heath, Suffolk, this week, as BT holds a major innovation event at its Adastral Park technology campus.

More than a thousand business leaders from some of the UK’s largest companies will join BT’s CEO Gavin Patterson at the BT Labs in Martlesham Heath, Suffolk, this week, as BT holds a major innovation event at its Adastral Park technology campus.

Innovation 2017, a showcase of the company’s cutting edge research and technology, will allow BT’s major business customers and over 2000 employees to interact with the latest innovations the company has scouted from around the world, as well as world-leading technology developments from the BT Labs at Adastral Park.

Guests will have the opportunity to hear from award-winning technologists, scientists and innovators, and take part in a range of live demos.

Amongst the highlights on show will be

5G: A virtual reality sports stadium experience delivered over 5G in BT’s smart connected home. BT and EE will also be showing how 4G and future 5G services can be delivered via drones to provide temporary mobile coverage.

Cyber Security: Exploring how Artificial Intelligence can proactively identify cyber security threats ahead of time to protect companies’ assets from cyber-attacks.

Future Entertainment & Communications: Discovering the evolution of UHD TV and how BT is using virtual reality to enhance the viewing experience.

Smart World: Exploring the Internet of Things, and how it can be used in smart cities such as Manchester and Milton Keynes, as we move to an ever-more connected world.

The Future of Customer Experience: The latest customer service innovations – for example how Openreach is using apps to keep customers connected to engineers and how big data and analytics are helping deliver more engineering jobs every day.

Agile Networks: Exploring the fastest optical fibre broadband and cutting-edge security technology with the world’s first quantum key-protected 100G transfer of data.

In addition, BT will also be hosting the UK’s CoSpace Junior Robocup finals for 250 children from primary schools across the country. The children, aged 8 – 11, will be working in teams with teachers, alongside technical experts and professors, to programme small robots in a variety of programming challenges.

RoboCup is an international initiative which aims to excite and engage young people in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects. The RoboCup competition is held annually, with the ultimate ambition of developing a robot football team capable of winning against the champions of the FIFA World Cup by 2050.

Tim Whitley, BT’s MD of Research & Innovation, said: “We’re really proud to host this major event and showcase the very cutting edge of technology right here in Suffolk. BT has been an innovation pioneer for over 170 years and here at the BT Labs in Suffolk we’re continuing to play a key role in keeping the UK a world leader in communications technology.”

“We are also delighted to be once again hosting the finals for the RoboCup competition. It’s vital for the UK’s economic growth that our children are equipped with the skills we need for the future, and STEM subjects have an important role to play. Many of our technical experts are sharing their insights into coding and computer science with teachers to help them with the curriculum. It’s great to see children at the start of the competition who have never done any coding – and by the end of the day they’re racing the robots they’ve programmed round the track.”