  This conceptual paper discusses how different aspects involving the
autonomous operation of robots and vehicles will change when they have access
to next-generation mobile networks. 5G and beyond connectivity is bringing
together a myriad of technologies and industries under its umbrella.
High-bandwidth, low-latency edge computing services through network slicing
have the potential to support novel application scenarios in different domains
including robotics, autonomous vehicles, and the Internet of Things. In
particular, multi-tenant applications at the edge of the network will boost the
development of autonomous robots and vehicles offering computational resources
and intelligence through reliable offloading services. The integration of more
distributed network architectures with distributed robotic systems can increase
the degree of intelligence and level of autonomy of connected units. We argue
that the last piece to put together a services framework with third-party
integration will be next-generation low-latency blockchain networks.
Blockchains will enable a transparent and secure way of providing services and
managing resources at the Multi-Access Edge Computing (MEC) layer. We overview
the state-of-the-art in MEC slicing, distributed robotic systems and blockchain
technology to define a framework for services the MEC layer that will enhance
the autonomous operations of connected robots and vehicles.
