Rakuten conducts 5G trial at Rakuten Seimei Park Miyagi

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Rakuten Mobile Network on Friday announced the successful completion of a large-scale trial of technologies that demonstrate the capacity for 5G (5th generation mobile communications systems) to transform industries and the customer experience. The trial, conducted on Thursday, included remote unmanned delivery robot operation, drone-based identity verification and 8K VR video streaming through the utilization of a 5G network, to realize a “smart stadium” experience.

The “smart stadium” concept utilizes advanced technologies to create new viewing experiences for sports. Stadiums utilizing technology to improve the experience for fans can be found worldwide, with examples including the use of apps to order food and drink in the stadium or in paperless ticketing systems, and the use of VR video streaming to offer fans outside the stadium a more immersive viewing experience. Rakuten Mobile Network said that 5G, in combination with Rakuten’s diverse range of services and technologies, can play a role in creating a more enjoyable and convenient sports viewing experience.

The over-the-air (OTA) 5G trial was carried out at Rakuten Seimei Park Miyagi in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, in collaboration with Nokia and Intel Corporation, making use of Nokia’s AirScale base station and the Intel 5G Mobile Trial Platform. Nokia leveraged its services expertise to optimize deployment of the base stations.

Video captured by a drone was transmitted via the 5G network and used to identify individuals in the stadium. The trial demonstrated the potential of 5G for providing personalized services such as deliveries at major sports or entertainment events.

In the trial, which made use of the high transmission capacity of 5G, 8K VR footage taken in the stadium with a 360-degree camera was transmitted via the 5G network and streamed live. The trial highlighted how 5G can enable real-time, immersive viewing experiences for fans located remotely.

“As Rakuten builds the world’s first end-to-end cloud native network and advances toward launch of our LTE network in 2019, we have the future and our customers top of mind,” said Tareq Amin, Chief Technology Officer of Rakuten Mobile Network, Inc. “5G will be no different: Rakuten is on track to be able to offer customers the truly transformative, 5G network they deserve. This milestone is a first step in moving 5G development from labs into the field, expanding 5G mmWave radio performance and propagation testing into a real world environment.”

“Working with Rakuten we are pleased to highlight the capabilities of 5G in this successful trial. It shows how by leveraging the Nokia AirScale radio technology, our customers can support innovative services that transform operations and deliver an enhanced experience for end users,” said Marc Rouanne, President of Mobile Networks at Nokia.