Robot barber shaves Lucifer star Tom Ellis in test of 5G network

21 May 2021, 06:44

Tom Ellis
Tom Ellis was shaved on Snowdon by a barber in London (Dominic Lipinski/PA). Picture: PA

The actor was shaved by a robotic arm controlled by a barber more than 200 miles away.

Lucifer actor Tom Ellis has been shaved by a robotic arm, controlled by a barber 250 miles away, in a new test of EE’s 5G network.

The demonstration sees a London-based barber use motion capture to remotely shave the actor – who is on Snowdon in Wales – with the barber’s movements tracked and sent over EE’s public 5G network to be mimicked by the robot shaver.

The test will be the subject of a new advertising campaign by the mobile network.

5G technology, which began rolling out in the UK in 2019, is capable of handling more data at once compared to previous generations of mobile communications, and as a result, is seen by experts as a pathway to the wider introduction of data-intensive innovations such as autonomous vehicles and remote surgery.

The TV advert created around the test will see Ellis appear alongside EE regular Kevin Bacon as an early example of the potential of remote robotics.

“It’s easy to take mobile connectivity for granted. Out of sight, out of mind – that is until it lets you down,” Lucifer star Ellis said.

“Getting shaved by a robotic barber is a pretty extreme way of showcasing the importance of a high-performing network, but I figured someone’s got to put their neck on the line.”

The robotic arm used for the test was developed by creative technology and visual effects agency The Mill.

A special glove laden with sensors was worn by the barber, and together with a number of motion capture and other trackers, enabled the shave to be simulated in a barbershop in Clapton, east London, while the robotic arm carried on the real shave on Snowdon.

Kelly Engstrom, brand and demand generation communications director at EE, said: “As the world begins to open up again, we want customers to feel inspired about what they can do when armed with the EE network.

“We shoot our campaigns live over our public network, to show what’s possible, no matter how extreme. No smoke and mirrors, this really happened.

“Go more places and do more of what you love, knowing that, like Tom, you can count on our high performing network in the moments that matter.”

By Press Association

More Technology News

See more More Technology News

A laptop

Millions of older people being cut off by lack of basic internet skills – Age UK

A computer screen

Leading AI figures awarded honours

AI warning

Essays written with ChatGPT feature repetition of words and ideas – study

A broadband router

Big four broadband firms beaten by smaller rivals in latest Which? survey

A person pressing on the Tik Tok logo on the screen of a smartphone

TikTok to launch online election centres to counter misinformation

A person using a laptop

Up to eight million UK jobs at risk from AI, report says

Smartphone showing apps

One in six adolescents have experienced cyberbullying, global study finds

An Uber Eats driver

Uber Eats driver wins payout over discriminatory facial recognition checks

Rishi Sunak visits Cumbria

Sunak says UK ‘more robust’ on China than most allies

Chinese President state visit – Preparations

Minister calls China ‘security threat’ after UK and US blame Beijing for hacking

China

UK and US accuse China of ‘malicious’ global cyber attacks

A hand on a laptop

Tougher action needed to combat copycat banking websites, says Which?

Dowden

Dowden guarantees UK elections will be safe from Chinese cyber attacks

A woman’s hand pressing a key of a laptop keyboard

Cyber security agency says China behind ‘malicious’ cyber attacks on UK

A young girl uses the TikTok app on a smartphone

TikTok Youth Council holds first meetings on better online safety for teenagers

Margrethe Vestager

EU opens competition investigations into Apple, Google and Meta