Evolution of mobile technology has always brought with it new dimensions. Like the transition from 2G to 3G to 4G, the move to 5G will add a new element: the industrial Internet and it will enable much higher network performance than the previous generations.
The capabilities of 5G will span several dimensions, including tremendous flexibility, lower energy consumption, greater capacity, higher bandwidth, security, reliability, and speed, as well as lower latency and device costs. It will bring new opportunities for people, society, and businesses.
You would already know that 5G users can download a full HD movie in a matter of seconds or can stream 4K videos with no buffering. Well that’s where 5G will start changing your life!
Here are five other things which will happen when 5G arrives:
Immersive mobile gaming experience
5G will support augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) on mobile devices. The very low latency provided by 5G will allow users to interact with augmented and virtual environments seamlessly and without delay on their mobile devices. Not only will visual communication take place in ultra-high definition, but it will also make haptic feedback from your handset possible—which requires very low latencies—allowing consumers to feel as though they’re touching or holding objects in a virtual world. Reduced latency means that when the haptic feedback comes through, the sensation will feel as if it is happening at the same time as when you’re touching something in a virtual world or remotely.
Smarter manufacturing
5G technologies provide the network characteristics essential for manufacturing. Low latency and high reliability are needed to support critical applications. High bandwidth and connection density secure ubiquitous connectivity. These are requirements that manufacturers currently rely on fixed-line networks. The mobile 5G technology will allow for higher flexibility, lower cost, and shorter lead times for factory floor production reconfiguration, layout changes, and alterations. In our market research, we have identified the most crucial manufacturing use case categories that 5G will enable operators to address. These include industrial control and automation systems, planning and design systems, and field devices.
Self-driving vehicles
The economic benefits of autonomous vehicles are clear; travelling will be easier and transport will become streamlined and more profitable. But the biggest impact on our lives may be the massive increase in road safety. When self-driving vehicles hit the streets, they are sure to make our roadways safer than ever before. Today, Advanced Driver Support Systems technology is already helping drivers avoid accidents, but this is just beginning of a safe-road revolution that will be triggered by truly autonomous vehicles.
Smart transportation and logistics
As an integrated platform where man and machine work together, seaports are remarkable ‘smart spaces’ for 5G. Optimising transportation logistics is a key part of the Internet of Things (IoT), with the potential to connect millions of shipments and passengers. It could also track goods more accurately, efficiently and securely, as well as improve decision making with real-time analytics.
In many ways, 5G will change our lives and will help us realise the true potential of technologies that we have already designed and will become the basis of innovations which are not even imagined yet! Today, it’s not a matter of if 5G will transform our society, but when. We’d rather, it be sooner than later.
Views are personal
The author is head for network solutions – market area South East Asia, Oceania & India at Ericsson. Views are personal.