5G is rapidly becoming the default technology for cellular wireless networks. New variants of 5G also offer an opportunity to replace wired WAN. As 5G availability continues to expand, so do the opportunities to use its high bandwidth and low latency for new and exciting use cases.
One area of growing interest is 5G’s support for augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). Let’s take a look at five ways you can use 5G in AR and VR.
1. Customer Service and Support
Today, most customer engagements consist of calls or text messages with contact center agents. By leveraging 5G speeds and AR and VR applications on mobile devices, businesses can provide real-time guidance to their customers.
For example, a customer trying to assemble a complex piece of equipment can get live help via AR that overlays specific instructions on top of what the customer is looking at. In this scenario, a product expert can guide the customer through the required steps.
Another possibility is to use AR for product demonstrations. For example, customers can see how they will look before purchasing clothes. Alternatively, you could see how the paint color will look before applying it. Anyone considering a kitchen remodel can see the final design overlaid on top of their current kitchen.
Additionally, sales representatives can explain every aspect of the product before purchase. Imagine being able to take a guided VR tour of a new car, including its interior and its features, without having to go to a showroom.
In either case, the combination of the right hardware and 5G technology opens up possibilities for improving customer experience and sales activity.
2. Healthcare
The healthcare industry has many options for using AR and VR over 5G. In training scenarios, an instructor can use his VR to remotely demonstrate new procedures and techniques to medical students, doctors, and nurses wherever they are, saving on travel costs. Instructors can use AR in addition to live instructions to point out steps or points of interest. Alternatively, you can use VR to bring remote participants into the operating room or exam room so they can observe and ask questions.
From a patient perspective, AR and VR over 5G provide an opportunity to enhance telemedicine, giving healthcare professionals the opportunity to conduct remote exams, highlight areas of patient concern, and even provide instructions to patients prior to their appointment. Provides a function to guide you.
5G-enabled AR and VR devices, such as wearable glasses, allow healthcare professionals to bring remote experts directly into the exam room, potentially saving time, money, and ultimately lives. . For example, consider the case of a surgeon who encounters a problem during a surgery. 5G-enabled wearable devices make it easy to show what you’re looking at to remote experts. Using AR, experts can guide local healthcare providers during the procedure.
3. Meetings and employee experience
AR and VR conferencing have been in development for many years. However, so far these scenarios have failed to achieve critical mass due to poor UX and high bandwidth needs. 5G can address these issues by providing high-quality, high-bandwidth network services to remote participants.
One area that is poised for growth is virtual meetings and training sessions. In these cases, AR and VR technologies can support higher quality and more engaging experiences for remote participants, rather than simply displaying content on a 2D screen. A virtual meeting room allows attendees to view her 3D presentation, meet each other through avatars, and closely inspect virtual representations of physical items.
In this example, 5G enables VR access through mobile devices regardless of attendees’ location.
4. Training and education
AR and VR over 5G offer the potential to deliver high-quality immersive education and training to remote participants anywhere in the world. Educational scenarios that currently require in-person instruction, such as lab experiments, can be done using VR and AR, making education more accessible and less costly.
Reduce the cost of training field personnel on new products and technologies by eliminating the need to take field personnel to in-person training classes or send trainers to conduct in-person training on-site . Using AR and VR over 5G for training is particularly attractive for industries operating in remote locations such as mines, drilling sites, and other areas that do not have access to high-speed wired network services.
5. Construction
The potential for AR and VR over 5G to support construction use cases includes many of the scenarios previously described.
From a design perspective, architects and engineers can share plans with site personnel via AR, which overlays blueprints on top of live images of the construction site. VR experiences show builders what the completed site will look like and allow them to visualize construction goals. On-site construction personnel can also use VR and AR to collaborate with remote designers to address issues that arise or address potential change requests without in-person consultation. You can
5G AR and VR limitations
Despite the many potential benefits of using AR and VR with 5G, there are also limitations. The biggest limitation is the unavailability of 5G and faster 5G variants, especially in remote areas.
Data aggregation company BroadbandNow estimates that 62% of U.S. households have access to 5G. This may require building a private 5G network for some use cases, such as construction sites.
5G availability may be limited in urban areas, especially inside buildings. Also, the available bandwidth may be limited by the number of his 5G users constantly competing for network resources. 5G AR and VR applications can be limited by the processing power and battery life available within mobile devices.
AR and VR over 5G offer great potential to deliver new and innovative capabilities to customers and employees, and reduce training and customer service costs. A proactive approach is required to identify use cases that are applicable to any organization.
Irwin Lazar is President and Principal Analyst at Metrigy, where he leads coverage of the digital workplace. His research interests include unified communications, VoIP, video conferencing, and team collaboration.
