The testbed is supported by 5G infrastructure and private networks from BT’s EE mobile unit
BT Group will begin developing and testing extended reality (XR) applications at its new testbed, with a focus on immersive experiences in the areas of work, home, health and entertainment.
The testbed is supported by 5G infrastructure and private networks from BT’s EE mobile unit and according to Andy Gower, head of BT’s Immersive Content & Comms Research, help the company better understand what extended reality will “require from network service providers like BT Group.”
“These requirements will obviously vary depending on the particular use case,” said Gower. “At the extreme we might need to support a completely cloud rendered immersive experience which would require high-bandwidth and low-latency networks paired with new facilities such as network exposure functions that would enable a platform operator to request additional capabilities such as edge GPU compute or symmetric bandwidth provision that would optimise the end-user experience.”
BT has previously demonstrated its XR ambitions and savvy via services for the education, sports broadcasting and medical imaging fields. In May, for instance, BT launched a series of 5G-based augmented and virtual reality (AR and VR) showcases in the U.K. to provide private enterprises and public sector organizations with insight into how their industries will change with new digital technologies, and a sense of how they might leverage them to embrace this digital transformation. At the time, BT said the new facilities will create “virtual experiences inside operating theatres, buses, warehouses, supermarkets, building sites and arenas,” and were targeting “any business or organisation with a learning or development requirement.”
