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Tag: MEC

  • Honda and Verizon Working Together to Use 5G to Improve Road Safety

    Honda and Verizon Working Together to Use 5G to Improve Road Safety

    Verizon and Honda are working together, in cooperation with the University of Michigan’s Mcity, to improve road safety with the help of 5G.

    Honda has been on the forefront of autonomous vehicle research, recently releasing the world’s first Level 3 autonomous car. The company is working with Verizon to see if 5G and mobile edge computing (MEC) can improve road safety, while reducing the need for onboard AI processing.

    The goal is to use 5G and MEC to help vehicles better communicate with other vehicles, road infrastructure and pedestrians to better avoid collisions. For example, if a pedestrian is crossing the road, but obscured from view by a building or parked vehicle, smart intersection cameras could alert oncoming drivers of the danger.

    “Honda’s research collaboration with Verizon is an important step in our multi-year effort to develop connected vehicle safety technology to realize our vision for a collision-free society,” said Ehsan Moradi Pari, Ph.D, research group lead at Honda’s Advanced Technology Research Division. “While the research is preliminary and not intended as a product feature at this time, 5G-enabled vehicle communication and MEC have the potential to advance safety for everyone sharing the road.”

    “The ability to move computing power to the edge of our 5G network is an essential building block for autonomous and connected vehicles, helping cars to communicate with each other in near real-time and with sensors and cameras installed in streets and traffic lights,” said Sanyogita Shamsunder, vice president of Technology Development and 5G Labs at Verizon. “When you consider that roughly 42,000 people were killed in car accidents last year and 94% of accidents are caused by human error, our new technologies including 5G and MEC can help drivers ‘see’ things before the human eye can register and react helping to prevent collisions and save lives.”

    The collaboration is further evidence of the far-reaching impact 5G, AI and edge computing will have on a wide range of industries.

  • Verizon and Dreamscape Partner on 5G Virtual Reality

    Verizon and Dreamscape Partner on 5G Virtual Reality

    Verizon and Dreamscape have announced a partnership to deliver 5G-based virtual reality (VR) innovations.

    Dreamscape is one of the leading VR companies, and helped pioneer multi-person, real-time VR. VR is one of the industries that stands to benefit the most from 5G, as the wireless technology can deliver the speeds and low-latency necessary to create immersive, fluid experiences.

    Verizon and Dreamscape’s partnership will initially focus on using 5G and mobile edge computing (MEC) to create immersive-learning and training experiences.

    “Verizon’s partnership with Dreamscape shows how innovative tech built on our 5G network can revolutionize industries,” said Tami Erwin, CEO of Verizon Business. “Using 5G and Edge computing, we are creating immensely powerful and complex VR experiences using lower-cost, tetherless VR hardware, and advancing VR education and training simulations beyond what was previously thought possible. This opens the door to new experiences and makes VR training more accessible for students, trainees, and professionals.”

    “Dreamscape is founded on the premise that we can think beyond physical limitations to create new ways for our world to learn, play, and work. With Verizon as our partner, we’re able to push the limits of VR. Together, we’ll set the standard for VR innovation and application in every field,” said Walter Parkes, CEO of Dreamscape.

  • Verizon and Unity Partner On 5G, MEC and Digital Experiences

    Verizon and Unity Partner On 5G, MEC and Digital Experiences

    Verizon has announced it is partnering with Unity to help drive 5G-powered digital experiences and mobile edge computing (MEC).

    5G is the next generation of wireless technology that promises revolutionary speeds, opening up a whole new world of digital possibilities. Augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), gaming, autonomous driving and much more all benefit from the speeds 5G can provide. Edge computing and MEC is another area where 5G can make a big difference, allowing data to be processed faster at or near the point of collection.

    Verizon has been investing heavily in its 5G network. Until recently, it had primarily focused on the fastest variety of 5G, the high-band mmWave, which Verizon calls Ultra Wideband. The company has also spent big at the FCC auction for coveted mid-band spectrum, often considered the sweet spot for 5G, offering a good combination of speed and coverage.

    Unity, on the other hand, is the maker of the popular Unity game engine, as well as the creator of the popular Fortnite game. Unity’s engine is also one of the leading VR platforms. This portfolio makes Unity a natural choice for Verizon to partner with to provide 5G content.

    “We are entering an era of technology-led disruption where 5G and MEC will not only transform the full enterprise lifecycle, it will change the way consumers experience gaming and entertainment,” said Tami Erwin, CEO of Verizon Business. “Every business is accelerating the shift to digital for their employees, supply chain or end-customer experience. So whether you’re an enterprise reimaging how you do business using predictive real time insights, computer vision, machine learning and artificial intelligence, or a mobile gamer who simply wants to download the hottest new game in seconds and enjoy data intensive, multiplayer games conventionally reserved for consoles, the future is happening right now.”

    “We know the world is demanding high-speed, AAA content, whether it’s an educational augmented reality application or a robot running a simulation of a digital twin,” said Ryan Peterson, VP, Solutions, at Unity. “5G is the key piece for us to facilitate these real-time 3D experiences broadly and to better meet the demands of the real-time economy.”

    This partnership further illustrates the emphasis wireless companies are placing on providing content that aligns with their core business. In October, T-Mobile announced TVision, its foray into streaming TV. Similarly, AT&T has its own streaming service. In an industry known for its churn — where customers switch from one company to another — providing high-quality digital experiences may play a big role in increasing brand loyalty.

     

    Image Credit: Unity & Verizon

  • Hewlett Packard Enterprise Unveils as-a-Service 5G Portfolio

    Hewlett Packard Enterprise Unveils as-a-Service 5G Portfolio

    Hewlett Packer Enterprise (HPE) has announced the availability of an as-a-service 5G portfolio to help telecom companies roll out 5G networks.

    According to the company, by making its portfolio of hardware and software solutions available as-a-service, it will help telcos rapidly deploy 5G networks and start turning a profit, by reducing the initial cost. The “edge-to-cloud, platform as-a-service strategy is uniquely positioned to help telcos capitalize on the 5G opportunity, by leveraging a cloud-native software stack for 5G core, optimized telco core and edge infrastructure blueprints, and Wi-Fi 6 enabled services. Built on open and interoperable platforms combined with carrier grade infrastructure and modular software components, the portfolio of offerings allows telcos to incorporate more automation, become more agile, and deploy new 5G services faster across the telco core, the telco edge and into the enterprise.”

    With the increased emphasis on edge computing and the potential of 5G networks, HPE’s solution is designed to overcome some of the problems with previous generations of network equipment, especially those posed by proprietary equipment. By basing its solution on open source technology, HPE’s 5G portfolio will help telcos more fully realize the potential of the next generation network.

    “Openness is essential to the evolutionary nature of 5G and with HPE 5G Core Stack telcos can reduce operational costs, deploy features faster and keep themselves open to multiple networks and technologies while avoiding being locked-in to a single vendor approach,” said Phil Mottram, vice president and general manager of the Communications and Media Solutions business unit at HPE. “HPE has one of the broadest 5G portfolios in the market and is uniquely positioned to help telcos build an open multi-vendor 5G core, optimize the edge with vRAN, and deliver connectivity and new compute services to the enterprise using MEC and Wi-Fi 6.”