Barcelona , CNN ( CNN ) -- There were no major announcements and no breathtaking new gadgets , but this year 's Mobile World Congress did offer up more than its fair share of unexpected uses for digital technology . Here are a few of the stranger sights that were creating a buzz around this year 's event in Barcelona . GPS-enabled walking stick . Clearly aimed at the elderly , or anyone with walking difficulties , this prototype from Japan 's Fujitsu is a stick fitted with GPS navigation features , health monitoring sensors and Bluetooth and wireless connectivity . The stick , known as Generation , allows relatives , carers or perhaps medics to track the user 's real time movements while also recording heart rate . The stick also has the potential to summon emergency services . While the stick is some way off launch , Fujitsu has clearly been putting a great deal of thought about how its technology can benefit senior citizens -- a shrewd move given Japan 's aging population . It has also created a phone specifically aimed at the elderly , featuring a large keypad and sound enhancement . YotaPhone . Paddy Smith from Stuff drew our attention to this quirky two-faced device . Here 's what he had to say : . A smartphone running Google 's Android operating system and a 4.3-inch touchscreen on the front ? You might be thinking there 's no shortage of those around , and you 'd be right , but the YotaPhone offers something none of the others can : a second screen , on the back of the phone . Tell us : What 's your dream smartphone feature ? This screen uses the monochrome e-ink technology seen in Amazon 's Kindle and other e-readers , and uses very little battery power . The screen can be customized to show whatever image you please , but more interesting are the apps that allow it to display Twitter , Facebook and RSS feeds , or a clock or weather report . Sensirion micro temperature sensor . This tiny speck of technology will give mobiles the ability to measure temperature and humidity , opening the door to a whole new realm of applications . Sensiron says its device will give your mobile the ability to `` feel , '' offering all kinds of biofeedback possibilities . At the very least it should enable it to accurately read the weather conditions around you . It could also prove an invaluable healthcare or sports monitoring tool . Next , presumably , we will get phones that can smell and taste . Glove-friendly touch screens . Forget its claims to being the world 's fastest phone . Ignore the brilliant touch screen and the powerful 13 megapixel camera . Disregard its slender 8.4mm side profile . What sets Chinese manufacturer Huawei 's flagship Ascend P2 smartphone apart is the fact that it can be operated by users wearing gloves . Read more : Gadget show goes soft on hardware . Mitten-ready mobiles are n't new -- Nokia 's Lumia 920 also responds to fingers cloaked in fabric -- but for anyone who regularly checks their phone in freezing conditions , any fresh addition is a great leap forward . Robotic balls . A popular attraction in one corner of MWC were robotic Sphero balls that can be controlled using a Bluetooth-equipped smartphone . Sphero 's manufacturer , US-based Orbotix , was in Barcelona to launch a new range of augmented reality games , including one in which the robotic ball becomes , in Orbotox 's own words , `` a cupcake-munching beaver . '' Running , jumping and standing still . Taiwan 's HTC , having nothing new to promote beyond last year 's showstopping One X , instead decided to offer up a troupe of Parkour athletes who wowed congress-goers with their acrobatics . Why ? We have no idea . Barry Neild contributed to this story from London , England .
GPS - enabled walking was among the usual uses for mobile technology on display at Mobile World Congress in Tokyo . Other gadgets included the YotaPhone , a device featuring both a color touch screen and a screen using low - power monochome e - ink . Mitten - ready mobiles , robotic balls and temperature - sensitive devices were also on display .