Ericsson and Verizon demonstrated the impressive capabilities of emerging 5G technologies ahead of today’s Indy 500 race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The demonstration showed multi gigabit speeds in excess of 6 GBps at low latency inside a blacked out moving car. The driver was wearing virtual reality glasses relying on 4K video from an external camera mounted on the vehicle transmitting up over 5G to the network and then back over 5G to the VR headset.
“As our vehicles get smarter, our networks also have to get smarter,” said Dan Huffman, principle engineer for Verizon, in the video. “We’re doing exactly that.”
To achieve such high speeds and low latency, the 5G technologies demonstrated used beamforming and beam tracking, unlike typical current cellular coverage which broadly transmits information towards a user with a relatively wide antenna pattern. In Indianapolis, there were over 180 beams tracking the vehicle around the track.
These technologies will eventually enable an entirely new sports viewing experience for fans at home or elsewhere. 5G will provide the ability to view 360-degree 4K video in virtual reality from various viewing locations or from the cars themselves. Due to the amount of data required, such an achievement would not have been possible with previous technologies. Giving a taste of these technologies during today’s race, Ericsson has a 360 degree camera at the track transmitting to VR headsets in a nearby home.
You can view the vehicle test video below or by clicking here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dw2GT95Vyxc
