-->
Save your FREE seat for Streaming Media Connect this August. Register Now!

5G Seen as Crucial to the Development of Merged Reality

Article Featured Image

In the not-too-distant future, headset viewers will let people interact with both real and virtual spaces at the same time, a combined virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) approach called merged reality (MR). According to communications company Ericsson, 5G will be crucial to making that possability a reality.

Ericsson surveyed 9,200 VR-savvy consumers in the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Japan, and South Korea, collecting the results in a report called "Merged Reality." This MR future can't happen if people are tied to their computers or plugged into bulky headsets, respondents said. What's needed is 5G connectivity: 36 percent believe 5G will create a fast, stable, high-speed platform for mobile VR, while 30 percent of VR early adopters say 5G will lead to the creation of wireless VR headsets.

Latency has to be reduced for VR to become social, and 31 percent of early adopters believe 5G will help that happen. Respondents also see 5G reducing the lag that results in VR nausea, and helping increase headset battery life.

"Increased use of AR and VR will move us towards a merged reality where users no longer separate between what is augmented, virtual, and physical," the report says. "Merged reality will allow us to transition from an internet of information to an internet of ‘realities.'"

For more thoughts on the future of VR, AR, and MR, download Merged Realities for free (no registration required).

Streaming Covers
Free
for qualified subscribers
Subscribe Now Current Issue Past Issues
Related Articles

What Will 5G Mean for the Broadcast and OTT Video World?

The coming 5G cellular revolution will bring big changes in how consumers view content on-the-go, but even bigger changes in how creators produce it.

AT&T to Launch Standards-Based 5G Access Later This Week

Select individuals and businesses will get free access for 90 days. After that, they'll need a $500 hotspot and $70/month service.

5G Deployment Will Dramatically Increase Mobile Video Traffic

With higher resolutions and AR services coming to mobile, 90 percent of 5G traffic will come from video, predicts an expert council.

Verizon Launching Residential 5G in 4 U.S. Cities This Year

The telco is partnering with Apple and YouTube to bring streaming video to home customers, but hasn't yet offered price or plan details.

Learn Why Mixed Reality Studios Are the Future of Live Streaming

The rush is on to create mixed reality studios capable of creating immersive experiences that merge the real with the virtual. Here's how they operate.

Getting Ready for Video Over 5G: How Should the Industry Prepare?

With operators at risk of a ‘build it and they will come' approach, can a converged video contribution and delivery network monetize 5G?

Ericsson Looks to 5G's Future, Launches Platform for First Movers

It's time for operators to begin experimenting with 5G services, says Ericsson, so it's rolled out a platform that lets them test high-bandwidth offerings.