Smart campus focused on 5G R&D
Canadian telecom operator Rogers Communications, together with the University of British Columbia (UBC), announced the launch of what it claims to be Canada’s first 5G-powered smart campus as part of their strategic partnership to advance 5G research in the country.
The smart campus, which includes 5G towers throughout UBC’s Point Grey campus and an edge computing enabled data centre, is being used by university researchers to test 5G applications in a real-world setting, the carrier said.
“With 5G at our doorstep, we’re focused on bringing together Canada’s brightest minds to research, incubate and commercialize applications that will transform the way we live and work,” said Jorge Fernandes, CTO, Rogers Communications. “Our work with UBC is helping design and test Canada’s 5G blueprint and today’s announcement is a critical milestone as we prepare our national network for commercial deployment in 2020.”
Last year Rogers announced a multi-million dollar partnership with UBC to fund academic research in 5G applications and applied sciences.
Rogers also announced new research projects that are underway using the 5G network on the UBC campus, including:
–Earthquake and tsunami detection technology that leverages the low latency of 5G sensors and machine learning to provide an early warning of an earthquake so people can take preventative steps to stay safe.
-Digital mining technology that makes the operations of mines safer and improves sustainability through autonomous trucks and predictive truck maintenance.
-5G Mobility as a Service (MaaS), a next generation mobile platform that brings together transit, bike rental, car sharing, car rental and other modes of transportations so consumers can easily get the best on-demand transportation options.
“Collaboration between universities and industry is critical to fully leverage the opportunities offered by 5G,” said Gail Murphy, VP, Research and Innovation, UBC. “Our partnership with Rogers builds on the strength of UBC’s campus as a living lab – providing students with opportunities to build the skills for tomorrow and supporting faculty research on 5G-based solutions to significant local and global challenges.”
In October, UBC students were among the first Canadians to work with a live 5G network at a hackathon hosted by Rogers. Students spent two days using the Rogers 5G smart campus network to collaborate on how 5G will advance augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and gaming applications.
Earlier this year, Rogers announced a partnership for the Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst with Ryerson University, and Communitech, focused on accelerating and launching 5G applications. Also, Rogers recently secured new 5G spectrum in every province and territory to build a national 5G network, which will be deployed in partnership with Swedish vendor Ericsson.
As it prepares for commercial deployment of 5G in 2020, Rogers continues to test 5G in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver, and upgrade its national 4.5G network with the latest 5G-ready technology.
