Wireless carrier Verizon recently took part in the first-ever real-time transatlantic holographic collaborative meeting at Mobile World Congress Las Vegas. The 5G Future Forum (5GFF) and MATSUKO, which created the world’s first real-time software-only solution for holographic presence, led the meeting, which connected multiple people as holograms.
The holograms were connected from New York using Verizon’s 5G network, from Toronto using Bell Canada’s 5G network and from London using Vodafone’s 5G network.
The demonstration was viewed at GSMA’s Open Gateway Zone. The GSMA Open Gateway initiative, launched at MWC Barcelona currently has more than 30 signatories from leading mobile network operators (MNOs), representing more than 60 percent of mobile connections worldwide.
“This demonstration shows how Verizon via the 5GFF continues to drive Open API industry momentum with real-life use cases while also accelerating ease of use for developers,” said John Nitti, SVP, Strategy, New Business and Partner Development for Verizon.
“Edge Discovery Service APIs provide us a simple way to find the optimal Edge servers for our application,” said Michael Szakala, DevOps Leader from MATSUKO. “We’ve seamlessly connected visionary operators like Bell, Verizon, Vodafone, pioneering a monumental leap in communication through the holographic call. By incorporating the API into the deployment process, it is very simple to ensure interoperability and a steady connection among the operators.”
Szakala also noted the impact of elevated network capabilities. “It amplifies product performance, such as reduced latency, expanded bandwidth, which provides enhanced holographic experiences for our customers,” he said.
The benefit of communicating with real human holograms, versus avatars, is they can convey the individual’s full range of emotions, and people can feel the real presence of their colleagues. Advances in connectivity, thanks to 5G and edge computing technology offered by telecom operators, make it possible to achieve smooth and natural movement of holograms, allowing for a range of possible use cases.
MATSUKO’s solution uses a single camera to stream holograms in spatial computing (VR/AR). Its technology to stream holograms in real-time creates the feeling that people are together and brings physical presence to remote communication.
“Multi-party holographic calling can make people feel more connected and productive, whether collaborating across classrooms, offices, hospitals or at home,” said Giorgio Migliarina, Vodafone Group Director of Business Products and Services. “The smooth and natural movement of these holograms will become more prevalent with the growing availability of 5G and edge computing technology.”
“Through its active participation in the 5GFF, Bell continues to support the developer community to access 5G MEC technologies and to ensure their solutions take full advantage of Bell’s 5G network in Canada, and to globally interoperate,” said Costa Pantazopoulos, Bell’s VP of Product. “This holographic video call demo illustrates how Bell – with partners Vodafone and Verizon – is innovating to make it easier for developers to leverage 5G capabilities to achieve their application goals.”
