Enabling technologies II¶

Have you ever walked around the island of Cabrera? Since July 2026 you can do it from your phone: the Consell de Mallorca and the University of the Balearic Islands (UIB) published Mallorca Digitalitzada, a website and an app with 360-degree videos, 3D reconstructions and augmented reality for 50 heritage sites, from Bellver Castle to La Dragonera. The project cost 600,000 euros of EU funds. Is that virtual reality? Augmented reality? A digital twin? By the end of this page you will be able to tell.

The five technologies of the previous lesson were mostly about data. Today's six are more varied: some touch the physical world (robots, 3D printers), one connects (5G), and some change how we see or how we trust (augmented reality, digital twins, blockchain). They are the upgrades at the far end of the tech tree, and most of them need the first five as prerequisites.

Blockchain¶

A blockchain is a shared record (a ledger) copied on many computers, where entries are grouped in blocks linked by cryptography, so that nobody can change a past entry on their own without the others noticing.

A real case: in a pilot with IBM on Hyperledger Fabric, the US supermarket chain Walmart cut the time needed to trace a packet of sliced mangoes back to its farm from about 7 days to 2.2 seconds. Farmers, packers, transporters and the shop all wrote to the same ledger.

Robotics¶

Robotics is the design and use of programmable machines that do physical tasks, more and more often next to people.

Robots are described by a spec sheet (the manufacturer's technical data). The Universal Robots UR5e cobot, for example, lifts a payload of 5 kg with a reach of 850 mm. Closer to home, the Son Espases hospital in Palma uses a Da Vinci Xi surgical robot, and in August 2025 it performed the first robotic thoracic surgeries in the Balearic public health system.

Additive manufacturing¶

Additive manufacturing (3D printing) builds an object by adding material layer by layer from a digital 3D model, instead of cutting it out of a block or pouring it into a mould.

The famous case: GE Aviation's fuel nozzle for the LEAP jet engine. Printed in metal as one piece instead of 20, it is 25% lighter and five times more durable than the previous model.

Augmented and virtual reality¶

Augmented reality (AR) adds digital information on top of what you see (through a phone or glasses). Virtual reality (VR) replaces what you see with a simulated environment (through a headset). In between, mixed reality places digital objects that interact with the real room.

Mallorca Digitalitzada mixes several things: its 360-degree videos and 3D reconstructions are virtual experiences you watch on a screen, and the project also includes augmented-reality content in an experimental app. Limits: devices cost money, 3D content is expensive to produce, and long sessions tire people.

5G¶

5G is the fifth generation of mobile networks, defined by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) as IMT-2020.

The ITU describes 5G with three usage scenarios, and they are its real characteristics:

5G also allows private networks inside a factory or a port, and network slicing: several virtual networks on the same antennas, each with its own guarantees. In Spain the first commercial 5G service was launched by Vodafone on 15 June 2019 in 15 cities.

Digital twins¶

A digital twin is a virtual replica of a real asset, process, building or city that is kept up to date with real data (usually from sensors), so that you can monitor it, simulate changes and predict what will happen.

In the city-builder, the digital twin is the whole game: a live copy of the city on your screen, fed by the sensors. In November 2025 the Govern de les Illes Balears announced a Gemelo Digital de Baleares (about 4.6 million euros) to monitor the archipelago in real time and simulate scenarios for emergencies, water resources and tourist flows. It was an announcement: when you cite it, say so.

The six, side by side¶

In class: spec-sheet detective¶

Each member works on today's technologies of their own section of Deliverable 2, in the browser, and hands in one technology card per technology on Classroom (class activity, individual). No AI tools.

Each card has three fields: what it is and three characteristics, a real deployment with its source cited, and verdict for our company (fits / maybe / does not fit, with half a line of reason). With the minutes left, the group fills a table of the eleven technologies with the verdict of each one.

For your project¶

The cards of today and of the previous lesson are fields 1, 2 and 7 of your technology sheets in Deliverable 2. The group table of eleven verdicts is the first draft of the summary matrix of the group part. "Does not fit" is a good answer if it is reasoned: a software company hardly needs additive manufacturing, and saying so shows judgement.

Key takeaways¶

• Blockchain is a distributed, tamper-evident ledger; it only pays off when several parties that do not trust each other share one record.
• Robotics ranges from fenced industrial robots to cobots that work next to people; RPA is software, not robotics.
• Additive manufacturing builds layer by layer from a file: complex, custom and short-run parts, but slow for big series.
• AR adds layers to the real world; VR replaces it.
• 5G is defined by three scenarios: more speed, very low latency with high reliability, and massive numbers of devices.
• A digital twin is a replica kept in sync with real data; a 3D model without live data is not one.

Quick check¶

You now know the eleven upgrades of the tech tree. The next question is what comes out of them: new products, new services and markets that did not exist. Next: Products, services and markets.