Pudong Airport gives a glimpse into the future of 5G
A 5G experience center at Terminal 2 at Pudong airport showcasing 5G applications.
Pudong International Airport has launched a 5G "experience center" in Terminal 2 offering a futuristic glimpse of such applications based on the super-fast network that will soon cover the whole airport. The center was jointly developed by the nation’s telecoms giants China Unicom and China Telecom.
It covers 60 square meters in the ticket hall of T2. Passengers experience several applications, such as virtual reality videos and an artificial intelligence robot through Sunday, the Shanghai Airport Authority said on Tuesday.
The 5G network is able to provide a peak single-user download speed of 1.6 gigabytes per second, nearly 16 times faster than 4G. The low latency — the gap between sending a command and it being implemented — of the 5G network is especially helpful for the Internet of Things.
Engineers at the center will help customers compare 5G and 4G. Ten gigabyte videos can be downloaded in just 10 seconds at the center. The center also shows the 5G brake reaction time of an automated vehicle is 2.8 centimeters compared with 1.5 meters under 4G.
The Pudong airport handles 200,000 passengers a day from both home and abroad.
With 5G, the airport will be developed into a “smart airport” to offer a more convenient and efficient travel experience.
A 5G experiencing center at the T2 terminal of the Pudong airport to showcase applications based on 5G network.
The newly launched center covered with greenery decorations also features two virtual reality game facilities and two screens playing 8k, or super high definition videos.
Customers can wear virtual reality glasses to watch the scenery of Lujiazui financial hub and riverbanks of the Huangpu River. The panoramic video was transmitted to the saver of the center through 5G network.
An AI robot named Xiao Bai (Little White) can talk with customers at the center and introduce news, weather, tourism attractions and guidance at the airport for customers.
Shanghai has accelerated its pace of development and testing of 5G services covering medical, industrial, manufacturing and entertainment applications. The next-generation mobile technology offers 20 to 50 times mobile Internet access.
The vastly faster speed it brings is expected to be a dramatic boost for industry and consumers — for everything from health care and manufacturing to smart driving, high-definition streaming and urban management, according to the Shanghai Commission of Economy and Informatization.
Shanghai’s latest move adds to a recent trend of Chinese cities adopting 5G networks to meet public demand.
In late January, an airport in south China’s Guangdong Province launched a 5G base station. An indoor 5G network will be installed in the Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station by the end of this year.
