Stars of the digital world - Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), Satay Nadella (Microsoft), Gini Rometty (IBM), Dara Khosrowshahi (Uber) -, welcoming Pepper robots and a myriad of start-ups involved in artificial intelligence or connected objects: organised for the third time at the Porte de Versailles exhibition centre by Publicis and Les Echos, the Viva Technology trade fair set about shaping the future of the digital world. the world of tomorrow.
Opened by a keynote address from Emmanuel Macron, this VivaTech 2018 certainly mobilised a presidential cast, but the other star of this third edition was none other than the vehicle of the future. Seabubbles, Airbus, EVA: the mobility of tomorrow was worthily represented, and did not fail to arouse the legitimate curiosity of visitors. The message from each of the players was the same: this is no longer a time for fantasy novels, but for the realisation of finished projects.
After a few setbacks linked in particular to the problem of its cruising speed, the arrival of the SeaBubbles on the Seine seems to be taking shape, and could come into operation as early as next year. This four-seater water taxi, on which visitors were able to take a seat at the show, was recently refurbished and is now ready for operation. tested in Paris after Geneva and Copenhagen and is attracting interest from other major business destinations around the world. SeaBubbles is also working on larger models, for around twenty passengers, which could appear by 2019-2020.
The other well-advanced project, poised to revolutionise urban mobility, is called EVA, an acronym for Electric Visionary Aircrafts. Contrary to what its name might suggest, the epicentre of the project is Toulouse, and it is taking on a new dimension. in the form of an air taxi - or to use the technical name of an E-VTOL (Electric Vertical and Take-OFF Landing). Priced at 250,000 euros, the EVA X01 is intended both for a clientele of luxury individual owners, particularly in Asia, and for collective use in the form of flying taxis. There is talk of a first manned flight as early as next March.
But it was perhaps the Airbus stand that aroused the most curiosity, with the presentation of a an imposing modular vehicle. Developed with Audi and ItalDesign, the Pop.Up Next takes the form of a capsule car to which an XXL drone is attached, enabling it to gain altitude. The project could take off in at least six to seven years, not least because of the need to overhaul regulations and infrastructures.
While we wait for the sky to be covered with flying taxisUrban mobility is also taking on more concrete forms. At the show, the SNCF, RATP and the Ile-de-France region announced that they would be trialling a long-awaited innovation this autumn: purchase and validation of tickets via smartphones. As part of the Smart Navigo programme, "frequent and occasional travellers alike will be able to buy their tickets in just a few clicks on their smartphone, and download them onto the SIM card thanks to Wizway technologysays Guillaume Pépy, Chairman of the SNCF Board of Management. No more queues at ticket offices or ticket machines! With Navigo Lab, we're going to make life easier for the people of Ile-de-France, giving them even more freedom when they travel."Initially, residents of Ile-de-France with compatible Android mobiles will be able to try out purchasing and loading T+ ticket books and Navigo Month and Week passes on smartphones using NFC technology via the Navigo Lab application. The commercial service is due to be launched in summer 2019.
On its stand, the SNCF presented an eco-system of high-tech players such as Blockchain Partner, which is working with SNCF Réseau to enable automatic ticket refunds in the event of delaysor Prevision.io, software that creates extremely accurate predictive models to improve both the yield management of the rail carrier, but also the management of the network in the event of overcrowding. This also makes it possible to carry out predictive maintenance, a subject on which other start-ups are also working. Also of note is the Heasy robot, a futuristic mobile version of the interactive terminals designed to guide passengers through stations.
For its part, AccorHotels welcomed 32 start-ups to its stand, which could one day contribute to the customer experience offered by the hotel group. Present alongside AccorHotels last year, Sensor Wake, which offers customisable olfactory atmospheres for a gentle wake-up call, and Skinjay, creator of shower capsules scented with essential oils, both participated in the design of the Smart Room, a room concept designed primarily for travellers with reduced mobility. This year, the players present represented several themes: the Internet of Things, with CareOS for example, a connected mirror which, thanks to facial recognition of customers, can give beauty tips while providing useful information such as the weather; new services and meeting experiences such as that offered by Hackeo, an augmented reality treasure hunt solution designed for team buildings, or Snap Event, for booking venues adapted to events; or, in a more leisurely vein, welcoming and entertaining younger travellers. Other innovations include the Bright Lock connected lock, which uses the light from a smartphone to trigger the opening of doors, and the start-up Destygo, which already manages the Messenger interfaces of the RATP, Thalys and the Paris and Lyon airports, and is working on improving the bot of the Feel Welcome hotel group.
