8,000 Mile Auto5Graph: World’s first 5G autograph signing l #UniteThePride l Vodafone Ireland

We conducted the world’s first 5G shirt signing, connecting rugby fans in the UK with the British and Irish Lions players in South Africa, 8,000 miles away.

Rugby super fans Rocco Lock, Mark Probert, Mel Dee and Graham Bartlett all met their Lions heroes and shared personal words of encouragement, before the 5G powered robot, being controlled by the Lions players in South Africa, wrote a personal message and signature directly onto their jersey, live in front of their eyes.

Using a precision robot, motion control technology and Vodafone’s low latency 5G network, the Lions players signed jerseys live for fans, from over 8,000 miles away. As the player makes contact on a tablet with a stylus in South Africa, a robot arm stationed in London mirrors the player’s hand movements, allowing them to write directly onto the fan’s jersey in real time, while chatting on a video call.