This year's CeBIT is being held under the top theme of "d!conomy - no limits" and is therefore focusing on the opportunities presented by digital transformation: "Digital innovation opens up new possibilities for business and society. Recognizing and using these opportunities to ensure the success of your own company's digital transformation is the theme of CeBIT 2017," said Oliver Frese, Member of the Deutsche Messe Board of Management, in the run-up to the trade fair. To this end, the exhibiting companies will show several hundred concrete application examples. A total of over 3,000 companies from 70 countries are taking part in Cebit.

This year's top themes include artificial intelligence and cognitive computing. Drones will also be presented in various fields of application at Cebit. "In combination with comprehensive data analysis and other digital technologies, there is considerable potential for the use of drones and unmanned systems in the business environment. It is already possible to monitor industrial plants and deploy them in logistics and transportation with a high level of safety." The same applies to virtual reality. "This technology is still young, but it holds great potential for many branches of industry," said Frese. Specific applications of VR/AR technologies are to be addressed in a new Cebit area created specifically for this purpose.

Top topic 5G

Another topic is mobile networking - which will soon be even faster thanks to 5G technology: "The networks are getting faster and faster thanks to 5G, making the Internet of Things possible," said Frese. According to the organizer, this is supported by a data transmission rate that is 1,000 times higher than the LTE network, a peak of ten gigabytes per second and less energy consumption - all with a response time of less than one millisecond. The aim is for 5G to become the backbone for networking manufacturing robots, power plants, devices in operating theaters and LED street lamps. Exhibitors such as Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone and Huawei are making 5G technology a top topic. The "Internet of Things" and "Communication & Networks" exhibition areas in Hall 12 will showcase further use cases for pioneering mobile communications concepts.

One particularly promising market that relies on real-time data from the 5G network is autonomous driving - which Cebit visitors will be able to experience live: Swiss Post will be bringing its SmartShuttle to Hanover. The chauffeurless bus is already in regular use on public transport in the canton of Valais and will connect the west entrance with Hall 12 at CeBIT 2017.