Technology just gets better with 5G, writes Izwan Ismail
PRIME Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was among the first of Malaysians to experience the 5G-enabled autonomous car during the Malaysia 5G showcase in Putrajaya last week.
The driverless car, which uses a combination of sensors, cameras, radar and artificial intelligence (AI), “drove” him for about 100 metres, from in front of the Palace of Justice to the side of Perbadanan Putrajaya, for the official ceremony of the event. This was part of the showcase to show what is possible when 5G service is finally available in the country.
The whole scene was shot and transmitted live in 5K resolution using a drone to the audience who watched the whole thing on a giant U-shaped screen that took up half of the Seri Siantan Hall in the Perbadanan Putrajaya building. Dr Mahathir entered the exhibition area passing through a security checkpoint that uses a highly secured facial recognition system, and after delivering his keynote address, he was greeted by a hologram of Adik Aishah.
All these are examples of what can be enabled with 5G services, and Malaysia is one of the earliest countries in the region, and also the world, to start 5G service implementation.
DRIVING THE NATION
The technology and services, once available, is set to propel Malaysia into a high-tech nation and is seen as the catalyst towards Industrial Revolution 4.0 that will be able to generate better economic and social growth.
To ensure that the service will have a smooth rollout, the 5G technology is now undergoing testing for six months under the National Fiberisation and Connectivity Plan (NFCP), and a nationwide service may only come by 2021.
The change from 4G to 5G requires significant effort in research and development, industry collaborations, and the resources necessary to support that effort. However, earlier adoption of the technology will be in targeted industrial and selected areas.
Dr Mahathir, in his speech, said one of the key elements to enable and usher this new age is an advanced mobile wireless technology, the 5G.
The earlier generations of mobile connectivity enabled people-to-people communications, with some capabilities for different scenarios, while 5G on the other hand, offers much more than just speed.
“It promises a world where not only are people connected but all things are connected: From cars on the roads to robotic devices, and doctors able to perform surgeries from the other side of the world, to a fleet of drones that can fly over a field of crops, using sensors on the ground to sort, pick, feed, and water individual plants automatically. These are among the wonders and benefits that 5G connectivity can unlock and it requires massive increase in the level of connectivity,” said Dr Mahathir.
Meanwhile, Minister of Communications and Multimedia, Gobind Singh Deo, said 5G will most certainly amplify the country’s capacity to participate in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR4.0). “It will enable our industries to fully exploit the power of artificial intelligence, robotics, big data, virtual reality, and software engineering,” he said.
“Our daily life in the future will be made more convenient and more efficient — enhanced and enabled by 5G connectivity. We are talking of farmers being able to detect soil moisture and acidity in real time to maximise their yield and efficiency and fishermen being able to maximise their yield by precision techniques. We are looking at the police or firefighters substantially reducing risk to their lives whilst still being able to provide quick and precise responses through robotics empowered by 5G. These are just a few examples of what will be possible in future with 5G.”
5G SHOWCASE
On the exhibition floor of the Perbadanan Putrajaya building, players like TM, DiGi, Celcom, Maxis, UMobile, Huawei, Nokia and many more showcased the potential of 5G technology and the solutions they have in store.
TM, for instance, showcased the 5G capability in areas like smart commuting, where commuting can be made easier, safer and effortless with a 5G-enabled smart transportation system.
At its booth, the company showed how its Smart Traffic Management system helped address traffic congestion for faster travel time while accommodating the ever evolving daily traffic demands. The solution is also said to help to reduce fuel consumption, air pollution, and carbon emissions from vehicles.
Besides its Smart Traffic Management system, TM also showcased its SmartHelmet, which is created by TM Research and Development Sdn Bhd, its research arm.
It’s a data-driven safety helmet that provides live, wireless monitoring and array of sensors including accident detection and impact assessment, geolocation, violation detection and a video camera for remote coaching and emergency observation of the workforce, which can be used to perform various analysis towards creating a safer worksite.
With the 5G service, the Smart Helmet is ready to be deployed for industry players across various sectors such as oil and gas, construction, manufacturing and many more.
FOR EMERGENCY RESPONSE
As Dr Mahathir mentioned, 5G is more than just high speed Internet; its usage and benefits transverse across industries. Digi, for instance, showed how real-time emergency response can be implemented using 5G and drones, resulting in improved emergency response and human safety scenarios in a more coordinated and integrated manner in real-time.
Through a giant screen, the company showed an example of how the technology can be applied to smart cities.
The concept is to link the Command Centre Monitoring System (CCMS) to emergency locations (i.e. accident locations on the highways). The command centre, upon receiving a distress call, will immediately dispatch a drone with a high-density camera and live video feed.
Equipped with high-density video quality, the drone’s aerial view will be able to scout out road conditions, congestions, road works, road blocks and relay the data back to CCMS in real-time via 5G network.
And with vital real-time data, the CCMS will be able to deploy the nearest response unit to the emergency scene using the fastest route. It can also get feedback information via the drone footage on medical conditions of casualties to the designated hospital prior to arrival in order to prepare for and expedite necessary medical treatment.
MEDICAL PROCEDURES
Telemedicine, although talked about for many years, didn’t really materialise in the past because of the absence of 5G. But it is now possible. Data-centric telecommunications service provider UMobile showed how a surgery can be done remotely where a surgeon doesn’t have to be by the patient to do the procedure.
The surgeon can be in some location halfway around the world, but he or she will still be able to assist in operation because 5G has low latency, high reliability and can support a variety of devices, while enabling the translation of information from those tools into meaningful data points.
This impact will be significant on mission-critical care services. 5G technology will enable large imaging files like MRIs to be transmitted quickly to doctors, improving both access to care and quality of care to patients.
EDUCATION AND TRAINING
It can be applied for various educational aspects across different verticals as well, (i.e. factories for training purpose), and across tertiary and higher education institution.
The aim is to provide elevated educational audio and visual aspects that enable greater interactivity for educators and students beyond the current 2D visualisation from projectors or TV.
Armed with 5G and an AR goggle, educators and students will be able to visualise and interact more freely, enriching the learning experience by making it more fun and vivid.
Over in Celcom territory, a 5G hologram call was put on display. Visitors got to see how full-motion, three-dimensional (3D) real-time video conferencing is now possible because 5G provides ultra reliable low latency connectivity that is needed to process the data to create the 3D image and speed to transfer the image and audio in real time. Besides that, the company also showed its drone technology for agriculture purpose and its 5G smart car concept.
MANUFACTURING EFFECT
5G will also enable the Industry 4.0 revolution, which is the next big technological revolution. At the Nokia booth, a two-armed industry robot (Aisha 4.0) was put on display. It shows how Aisha 4.0 can be used in the assembling of a smart phone and it can adjust its behaviour accordingly when there’s a human around.
Huawei, meanwhile, showcased its smart manufacturing, smart agriculture and smart healthcare solution.
As a core component of Industry 4.0, a smart factory incorporates intelligence in design, manufacturing, equipment, business, and operations.
Huawei showed how 5G technology can be extended into local Malaysian enterprises and industries alike with its 5G-empowered robotic arms that can support full automation, flexible integration and precise collaboration in production work in a manufacturing environment.
THE NEXT GENERATION
Although the full rollout of the 5G service will only happen in 2021, its benefits and usage to people and the industry are huge.
It’s like the final Lego block that completes the whole next generation technologies and products that have been created like the IoT, self-driving cars, smart home, smart city, IR4.0, and many more.