“The next great technological revolution will be defined by Spatial Intelligence and humanoid robotics”

In this interview, Joan Folguera analyses how the union of software, spatial intelligence and physical execution is driving a new technological revolution. We talk about intelligent interfaces and INVELON's strategic commitment to robotics as one of the great levers of transformation of the next decade.

Question: Joan, what exactly is changing in the relationship between humans and technology?

Answer: The convergence of Artificial Intelligence, Extended Reality and Robotics is giving rise to a new digital layer over the physical world: an ecosystem where knowledge stops living on screens and is integrated directly into space, transforming the way we work, learn and evolve. Traditional interfaces have reached their limit and a new paradigm is opening up before us, one in which INVELON has long been immersed, anticipating where the sector is heading and how we can support society, people and companies through these advances.

Q: So, what kind of interfaces will we see in the future?

A: In fact, we are already seeing them. Interfaces such as screens, apps or control panels, which allow us to interact with machines and devices, are going to become obsolete.
We are entering the era of spatial and intelligent interfaces, interconnected systems that will continue to show us information and receive commands through multimodal interactions, but that will also be able to understand context, interpret the user's intent while learning from them, and adapt dynamically to that interaction in real time.

In the near future any intelligent interface will include products such as virtual reality headsets, smart glasses, curved screens, immersive projection, smartphones with augmented reality, holograms and robots. In this new paradigm robotics is going to play a very important role, providing a physical and operational layer that, combined with the capabilities of AI and XR technology, will allow us to enter the next great technological revolution: the spatial one.

Q: The technologies you have just mentioned have evolved independently and in parallel for years. What has changed?

A: It is precisely in that space of interconnection and hyperconvergence between these technologies that the next revolution will take place. AI currently helps us to understand, provides reasoning capability, interprets, reasons and helps us make decisions. XR in any of its forms gives us the ability to visualise and contextualise the environment, and possibilities for simulation. If we add robotics as a third layer, we are able to act on the physical world, transferring everything learned and simulated into the real world, harnessing and materialising the vision of Spatial Intelligence in its broadest sense. Without robotics, Spatial Intelligence can understand and assist. With robotics, we can carry out actions on it and with it.

Q: What is the next step? Where will this new technological revolution begin?

A: Programming humanoid robots with virtual reality devices. The person performs the task with a virtual reality device (VR glasses, haptic controllers and gloves, motion tracking, cameras…).. These tools, connected to the system, record the position of the head, the movements of the arms, the rotation of the wrists, the gestures of the hands and even the strength or intent of the grip. The system translates the human movement to the robot's body, transfers the information and replicates human movements in real time. We can also use teleoperation technologies, natural language programming or direct programming, such as ROS, MATLAB, C ++ or Python.

Q: What tangible benefits will robotics bring when applied in a real-world setting?

A: This new paradigm allows us to automate complex tasks in industrial, logistics and operational environments with greater precision, efficiency and scalability. As a result, we will achieve greater productivity in carrying out repetitive, heavy-load or high-precision tasks, freeing up human talent for activities of greater strategic value. It also helps us achieve higher safety standards, reducing human exposure in dangerous or repetitive tasks or in critical environments. And finally, it takes training and knowledge transfer to the next level, relying on XR simulation to train more quickly and effectively.

Q: To finish. What will we be talking about in 10 years, and what role will INVELON have played in that progress?

A: Without doubt the next decade will be defined by the digitalisation of space, allowing people, organisations and machines to share a common understanding of their environment and collaborate in real time. It is in the space where technologies converge that a large part of the value of the coming years will be generated. We firmly believe that this is where the market is heading. That is why it is essential for INVELON to strengthen our robotics division with new partnerships and new talent in our teams. We are going to add new technological capabilities to our portfolio and complete the value proposition that will allow our clients to close the full cycle of digital transformation. We are going to keep breaking down barriers to accessing technology, and this is the true potential of convergence and spatial intelligence.