Deutsche Telekom Laboratories is the research and development unit of Deutsche Telekom
About
At Telekom Innovation Laboratories (T-Labs), the passion for innovation and technology drives 300+ international experts and scientists to work together in the three core fields of Decentralization, Intelligence and Experiences. T-Labs is the R&D unit of Deutsche Telekom and is in close partnership with Technische Universität Berlin. At its sites in Berlin, Darmstadt, Beer Sheva, Budapest and Vienna, T-Labs sits amongst a world-class host of universities, startups, investors, research institutes and corporate innovation hubs to jointly shape the future of communication services.
The T-Labs team is engaged to live the entrepreneurial spirit and focus on developing Proof of Concepts (PoC) and Minimum Viable Products (MVP), which highlight future technology applications. In that way, T-Labs fosters its agility to adapt to a fast-changing and vibrant environment and always pursues cutting-edge technologies.
From Idea to MVP – The Players
T-Labs’ method of work follows a collaborative approach combining the work of visionary disruptors, business strategists and creative makers, working together to produce MVPs for its business partners in Deutsche Telekom. Each project team works in close cooperation with internal stakeholders, academic partners and external companies (startups), to develop MVPs that solve concrete customer problems.
Innovation Ecosystem Enabler
Keeping in mind the enterprise mission, T-Labs fosters an open-minded, forward-thinking and inclusive culture. This open innovation approach incorporates chairs of several universities, the vibrant startup community, research institutes and other corporate innovation facilities.
New technologies will shape and model the corporations as well as the social environment. In this context, T-Labs as innovation unit aims not only to explore the latest technologies, but also to act as a social enabler, contributor and trusted partner for sustainable social development, which ultimately reveals the impacts and opportunities of innovations. T-Labs takes the driver’s seat as an innovation leader, fostering the benefits of open cooperation between various ecosystem partners and bringing new technologies to stakeholders and market.
Decentralization
Decentralization deals with the process of dissolving centers and distributing authority or data among multiple players. Corporations and individuals alike have recognized the immense potential of distributed ledger technologies, which allow decentralization. Blockchain in itself is defined as a digital, decentralized ledger that keeps a history of all transactions made over a peer-to-peer network. Due to the simplicity of the technology and the diversity of its use cases, blockchain can be considered a disruptive technology. A variety of initial projects has already proven its reliability and cost-effectiveness.
Intelligence
Intelligence relates to all aspects of teaching cognitive abilities to machines. The resulting Artificial Intelligence (AI) is defined as the imitation of human intelligence or intellectual processes by computer systems. These processes include learning, reasoning and automatic correction. Telekom has continuously to evaluate the current tremendous developments in AI to inspect how they can make communication for both people and devices (Internet of Things) easier and more effective. This goes far beyond obvious things, such as speech interfaces and includes every part of the value chain and innovative services. Improvements in operating communications networks, internal processes and comprehensive security solutions all result from these innovative developments.
Experiences
The core field Experiences refers to enhancing user interaction with technical systems. T-Labs concentrates on two focus topics: firstly, improving user interfaces for media applications and individualizing content and secondly, shaping experiences in the context of smart cities. The first point relates to integrating existing media technologies with new technologies, such as virtual and augmented reality, while making use of artificial intelligence methods. Convenient and exciting media experiences mean seamlessly integrating consumer devices, platforms and networks into smart media environments for the customer, whether at home or on the move.
