After returning from this year’s Mobile World Congress , Stephan Tual, the founder and COO of Slock.it , concluded that there are five objects in which you will soon find blockchain.

Here’s a quick selection of what was on display at MWC and what to expect in the coming months.

1. The Ethereum Computer

(Obviously!) — our very own Ethereum Computer prototype was running Ubuntu Core on top of a Samsung Artik 5 for the duration of the MWC. It was demoed opening doors (handy to rent access to an apartment or an office space) as well as turning a nearby light bulb on and off to demonstrate its flexibility.

The work on the Ethereum Computer is progressing nicely and we’ll soon announce a proposal to the DAO to take it to production.

2 . D-SLAMs

This D-SLAM by Keymile — the type you’d find inside your local phone exchange, connecting DSL lines — was running Ethereum — not in the future, but today.

Think using the blockchain to transparently track bandwidth, share the DSLAM resources, etc. And because the Ethereum Framework is accessible via a simple app store (pictured above), it’s now easier than ever for developers to integrate blockchain solutions as part of their products.

3. Industrial IoT Gateways

The Dell Edge Gateway 5000 was demoed automating various objects while aggregating sensor data. This would make a very good example of areasonable Internet of Things and we look forward to experimenting more with the platform.

4. 3D Printers

Our friends at 3DPlex were demoing an Ubuntu-core driven 3D printer, printing cases and toys for the duration of the show. Running Ethereum here would enable the rental of machine time — conveniently and securely through a single smart contract transaction.

5. Everything else

I’m not exactly sure how they managed to pass that thing through custom, but CloudPlugs was demoing a rather intriguing padded suitcase, complete with samples of just about everything you might be want to become IoT enabled — mains plug, lights, a sinister looking LCD screen and all sorts of SCADA and Building Management (BMS) systems.

We’re strong believers in the potential of Blockchain in the industrial sector, especially with regards to supply chain management. We can’t wait to put our hands on CloudPlug’s magic suitcase!

Fun extra: Drones & Robots

It’s no secret I have a personal obsession in bringing the blockchain to drones — (this will be the subject of a future blog post, around automated service discovery).

So imagine how pleased I was when I spotted these UAVs sporting the now familiar Ubuntu Core logo, ready to load up Ethereum and coordinate around a shared blockchain state, rather than follow instructions from unreliable, centralized base stations.

This post was originally published over at Slock.it.