UK mobile operator EE has illustrated its 5G network with actor Tom Ellis receiving a shave by a robotic arm, controlled by a barber 250 miles away.
As part of its latest advertising campaign, the demonstration features a London-based barber using motion capture to remotely control the collaborative robot (cobot) arm.
The barber’s movements are tracked and sent over EE’s public 5G network with the cobot arm shaving Ellis’ beard while he sits on mount Snowdon, Wales.
The robot barber arm was created and developed by visual effects agency The Mill. While the barber wore a sensor glove featuring motion capture and other trackers, enabling the shave to be simulated in a barbershop in Clapton, east London, with the robotic arm carrying out the real shave on Snowdon.
Kelly Engstrom, brand & demand generation communications director at EE, said: “As the world begins to open up again, we want customers to feel inspired about what they can do when armed with the EE network.
“We shoot our campaigns live over our public network, to show what’s possible, no matter how extreme. No smoke and mirrors, this really happened. Go more places and do more of what you love, knowing that, like Tom, you can count on our high performing network in the moments that matter.”
The advert featuring the cobot shave will be broadcast for the first time on Friday 21 May.
