Samsung unveils 5G-powered drone, industrial robot with Cisco, Orange
A demonstrator in the Orange booth controls an outdoor drone remotely using a 5G tablet, which simultaneously displays a high-quality video feed captured by the drone and transmitted over a 5G network at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Tuesday. / Courtesy of Samsung Electronics
By Jun Ji-hye
Samsung Electronics demonstrated a drone and an industrial robot, cited as two promising industrial applications for fifth-generation (5G) networks, in cooperation with Cisco and Orange at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2019 in Barcelona, Tuesday.
The Korean tech firm said the three companies gave a demonstration of the 5G-equipped devices at the world's largest mobile show for the first time.
The demonstrations showed industrial use cases powered by the low-latency and high-capacity of 5G.
During the demonstration, a drone, carrying a high-quality video system, was piloted from the Orange booth. Located outdoors at an Orange data center, the drone carried a 5G router used to transfer commands to the drone and transmit a high-quality video feed with low latency.
An autonomous robot carrying manufacturing parts sent live video taken by a 360-degree camera and a full high-definition camera.
The video streams allowed operators to monitor the robot's environment remotely. Operators were also allowed to react and control the robot when its autonomous operation was interrupted by any obstacles in its path.
The demonstration was carried out in cooperation with Acciona, a global company specializing in the development and management of infrastructure and renewable energy.
For the live demonstration, Samsung used its 5G systems including virtualized RAN, one of the smallest 5G access units, as well as multiple indoor and outdoor 5G routers.
“5G has the potential to transform industry and society by unlocking creative business models,” said GY Seo, a senior vice president and head of Global Sales and Marketing, Networks Business at Samsung Electronics.
“By leveraging our commercially proven 5G solutions, we will continue collaborating with global partners to accelerate real-world use cases powered by 5G, ultimately impacting our everyday lives.”
Kishen Mangat, a vice president and general manager of Service Provider Mobility, Cisco, said his firm is continuing to expand 5G trials with Samsung Electronics and Orange to help Orange explore various use cases.
“Showcasing our drone and robot here at the Mobile World Congress demonstrates the impact 5G can have when paired with virtualization and automation technology to help businesses maximize resources,” Mangat said.