MONTRÉAL—In a development that could have important implications for tech collaboration and even TV news, Bell Canada, Verizon, Vodafone and Matsuko announced that they successfully conducted the first live transatlantic holographic collaborative meeting. The meeting connected multiple holographic people in Canada, the US and the UK using 5G and multi-access edge computing (MEC) technology.

The participants said that interacting with holograms of humans rather than avatars can provide a more personal experience for many applications such as remote healthcare, collaborative working, and education but the technology could also be applied to television news, tech collaborations or even live events streamed to users of virtual technologies. 

The call was enabled by the speed of 5G combined with the quick response times of MEC, which moves the necessary computing closer to the edge of the network. This ensures a more reliable and consistent hologram by removing delays resulting from multiple hops between different locations and across the internet.

Holograms of employees located in three different countries were connected from Toronto, Canada, using Bell's 5G network; New York in the US using Verizon's 5G network; and from London, UK, using Vodafone's 5G network. They were created using Matsuko's real-time software and just a single camera and were then streamed thanks to spatial computing, an immersive technology which combines virtual and augmented reality. Matsuko's patented technology uses its presence app on a smartphone coupled with a XR (Extended Reality) headset to stream holograms instantly, creating the feeling that people are in the same room as you.

"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 interoperate globally," said Bell's Costa Pantazopoulos, vice president of product. "This holographic video meeting demo illustrates how Bell - with partners Verizon and Vodafone - is making it easier for developers to leverage 5G capabilities to innovate and achieve their application goals."

"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," added John Nitti, senior vice president of strategy, new business and partner development for Verizon.

The smooth and natural movement of these holograms will become more prevalent with the growing availability of 5G and edge computing technology,” predicted Giorgio Migliarina, Vodafone group director of business products and services. 

Bell Canada, Verizon and Vodafone came together under the auspices of industry body, the 5G Future Forum (5GFF) for this first-of-its-kind demonstration. They are showing the transatlantic conference meeting and the technology behind it at the Mobile World Congress exhibition in Las Vegas (Booth #1533, located in GSMAs Open Gateway Zone).

Matsuko was able to connect to the fast 5G networks of Bell Canada, Verizon, and Vodafone by using 5GFF's Application Programmable Interface (API) – called 5GFF's Edge Discovery API – which allows developers and ISVs like Matsuko to discover the nearest edge to their end users, so their applications perform optimally with a consistent service across mobile networks. Network APIs are a set of interfaces based on industry-wide open standards that allow developers to plug into and use the low-latency benefits, speed, and scale of 5G and MEC.

5GFF also said that it is inviting independent software vendors (ISVs) globally, who either currently use 5G MEC or have it on their development roadmap, to apply to join the organization's acceleration program and work closely with some of the world's leading telecommunications companies to shape the API development process. The program is designed to expand and interconnect the global MEC ecosystem by partnering and engaging with developers.

In addition, the 5GFF works closely with GSMA's Open Gateway initiative, which launched earlier this year and now has over 30 signatories. Open Gateway is a framework of common network APIs designed to provide universal access to operator networks for developers and works closely with Linux Foundation's CAMARA which develops API specifications.

For more information, visit https://www.5gff.org/5g-mec-acceleration-program/.  

BUCHAREST, Romania—As thousands of rock fans gathered in Bucharest for a Vita de Vie music concert at the Romexpo and others prepared to watch online, they had no clue they were about to witness a spectacular world-first. The four guitarists, a drummer and a keyboardist were preparing to perform in perfect sync on stage. What if I told you only three of the four guitarists were actually standing on that stage, and that one of the guitarists was in fact a life-size ultra-realistic hologram standing in a studio a couple of miles down the road?

Let me explain how this was made possible. The short answer is the power of Vodafone Romania's 5G network. The longer answer involves an exciting combination of Dejero’s state-of-the-art mobile transmitters and receivers, Musion 3D’s Eyeliner display, a leader in ultra-realistic, life-sized, interactive 3D holographic video shows and effects, and last but not least Vodafone Romania’s rock-solid 5G network.

The hologram technology was created using projection or high-pitch LED to give the illusion to the audience through reflection, light, shadow, movement and contrast.

At Vodafone Romania, we have been spearheading the rollout of 5G worldwide, launching and extending our first 5G network subscriptions across the country throughout 2019. When Luca Mihail, a talented 11-year old guitarist with severe stage fright, was asked to join rock band Vita de Vie in front of hundreds of rock fans during their performance, the production team called on us to help out. We had to find a way Luca could still perform without the intimidation of a live audience. So, with the help of Dejero and Musion 3D, Luca was placed, over our 5G network, on the stage holographically while he played in a private studio two kilometres away.

We relied on a Dejero EnGo mobile transmitter equipped with Smart Blending Technology for uninterrupted transmission of Luca’s hologram over the 5G network. The signals were synced to both the venue and a return video and audio feed to Luca in the nearby studio. Dejero also assisted the production team with its renowned technical support during project conception, setup and live production.

The image capture room utilized Musion 3D’s patented Holicom Film technique that included a monitor for Luca to see the audience without feeling the pressure of actually being there live, on stage. Musion 3D designed the stage with considerations about how the illusion would look to those in the audience and those streaming the event live on television and social media.

5G offers a significant improvement in performance, especially in cases where cellular networks become congested. In this case, the 5G technology guaranteed the high quality of image and audio transmission that was needed to deliver this spectacular display, something that would not have been possible before. This project involved moving a large amount of data across our 5G network between the two locations—where Luca was located and the live concert. Latency became the driving concern as without absolute synchronization between the audio and video channels, the effect would fall flat. Even the slightest delay would cause a ripple effect between hearing the audio and seeing the visual representation of Luca on the stage. There was essentially no room for error.

Our collaborative effort didn't miss a beat, creating the perfect synchronization of image and sound that is required to enable the audience to suspend their disbelief. Any glitch and the illusion is shattered. It was a tall order and we succeeded. All in all, this event allowed us to demonstrate that next-gen 5G networks with higher uplink speeds can support more demanding, high-bandwidth content.

A stunning world-first project that one journalist compared to “Armstrong’s first step on the moon”, the event gathered thousands of fans, was live-streamed on Facebook and became Vodafone’s 2019 flagship television commercial in Romania—with over 2 million YouTube views to date. The project was also nominated for three awards at the 2019 International Broadcast Convention (IBC), winning an IABM BaM award in the Project, Collaboration or Event category, and a CSI Magazine award for “best 5G project or innovation.”

Although holograms have appeared on stage at live events in the past, the cost, technical restraints and setup time previously involved have rarely made it justifiable. Now, with the use of 5G combined with holographic technology, we will see it taking center stage not just in the field of live concerts and entertainment, but also in TV production, keynote speeches and other industries around the world.

Catalin Buliga is a seasoned senior technology leader with 30 years of experience in the Fixed and Mobile Communications Industry, out of which 14 years have been spent with Vodafone and 7 years with Liberty Global. Passionate on how technology developments can improve people’s life, he headed up the launch of the Vodafone Supernet 5G network in Romania in July 2019.