2. 5G assistive backpack

New York University’s 5G research facility has been studying the technology in Brooklyn since 2012 and has since developed countless projects, including, according to the center’s website, a “very intuitive” prototype of an assistive backpack with modules that sense the space around the wearer before transmitting data to a headset or haptic-feedback belt. The team is also studying how 5G could help outsource the computing power for a robot’s artificial intelligence.

The center counts Dell, Qualcomm, Sony and Nokia among its affiliates and operates as a convening place for students, faculty and the university’s industry partners to do tech research. About 100 faculty and students from NYU’s engineering, medicine and mathematics schools are part of the center. Some are researching terahertz spectrum frequencies that could pave the way for a 6G wireless standard.