Nokia Bell Labs Teams Up with Technical University of Munich
5G Haptics-Ready Network
It wasn’t long ago that the idea of being able to experience the sense of touch via a computer or robot was science fiction, but as the fields of networking and robotics continue to evolve, haptic communication is becoming more mainstream.
Having successfully worked together in 2016 to develop record-breaking optical transmission speeds, Nokia Bell Labs and the Technical University of Munich (TUM) are teaming again, this time in search of ways to improve the transmission of tactile and force feedback over a 5G network. The project will harness Nokia Bell Labs’ 5G networking expertise and equipment along with the advanced robotics and tactile Internet resources of TUM’s Center of Competence Communication (CoC COM). Researchers will share labs at TUM and Nokia’s Munich Digital Creativity Lab facilities.
“The more delay we can remove between the time a robot touches an item and that data is transmitted across the network to the teleoperator, the more accurate the sense of touch will be,” said Peter Merz, Head of End-to-End Mobile Network Solutions Research, Nokia Bell Labs.
“5G haptics will enable such things as medical training, remote industrial operations and virtual prototyping,” said Prof. Eckehard Steinbach, Chair of Media Technology at TUM and one of Europe’s foremost authorities on haptics. “We are excited to be working with Nokia Bell Labs on such an impactful technology.”
The project is one of many Nokia Bell Labs’ initiatives to interface the digital and physical realms, exemplifying Nokia Bell Labs’ mission to automate life and create time.
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