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The objective of this activity, designed to spread scientific and technological knowledge, and which includes a play in addition to the multimedia presentations, is to explore some of the foreseeable effects that 5G technology will have on people’s everyday lives. The theater piece tells the story of a couple in two parallel moments: in 2016, when they fall in love, and in 2016, when they are about to have their first child. “She is a computer engineer and works in the development of this technology; her passion is communication and connectivity. He, on the other hand, wants nothing to do with technology; he is afraid of the submission and control that those applications and devices imply,” explain the play’s writers, María Gómez Comino and Miguel Valentín, alumni of UC3M.  This humoristic, informative show includes musical interludes that play with irony so that “both children and adults can enjoy themselves and understand some of the concepts related to fifth generation mobile technology and the revolution that it can bring to our lives,” comment the playwrights.

The future 5G networks will significantly transform the way we relate to the world. 5G products and services are set to be introduced starting in 2020, with penetration and coverage expected to expand rapidly, explains one of the researchers who will be participating in the even, Arturo Azcorra, tenured professor in UC3M’s department of Telematics Engineering and director of the IMDEA Networks Institute. “They will allow over 6 billion people to be connected, which includes every inhabitant on the planet; in addition this will connect about one thousand objects for each of those people,” he states. This way, everyone will be permanently connected to their friends, co-workers, doctors, security services… but they will also be connected to their car, refrigerator, the subway, their favorite bakery, etc.

The number of connected devices will be complemented by an increase in the capacity of the network, which will transport a volume of mobile data that is one thousand times greater that what the 4G networks are currently handling. This massive capacity for communication will allow every person and object to access, send or exchange information almost instantaneously, according the researchers. The reduction in energy consumption is another key element of 5G networks. Therefore, the technologies being developed now will consume one tenth of what is currently used in order to minimize 5G’s environmental impact.

“I think that it is really important to spread scientific and vocational knowledge in our country,” indicates Azcorra in referring to this European Researchers Night event. “In the most developed countries, it is very clear to people that science means well-being, quality jobs, economic growth, competitive companies, better health and a cleaner environment... in our country, things aren’t that way yet and we have to work to make it so that science is seen this way by society.”

This activity is part of the European Researchers Night Madrid 2016, an event that is promoted by the Fundación para el Conocimiento madri+d (Foundation for Knowledge madri+d) of the Consejería de Educación, Juventud y Deporte de la Comunidad de Madrid (Autonomous Community of Madrid’s Department of Education, Youth and Sports). This project, which is held simultaneously in over 250 European cities since 2005, is financed by the European Union as part of the Horizon 2020 Program for Research and Innovation - Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions- through subsidy agreement number 721631.

Practical Information:

o Title of the Activity: 5G on stage: this technology is going to change your life (and you don’t know it yet)

o  Location of the celebration: Auditorium, UC3M Leganés campus

o  Schedule: 8:00 to 9:00 pm. Friday, September 30, 2016

o  Reservations necessary?: Yes

o  How to reserve: from September 19, on the web

o  Further information: www.uc3m.es/nocheinvestigadores2016