Shanghai explores 5G applications for better city life

Xinhua

5G technology is reshaping urban life in Shanghai, as the city's first 5G video call was made, and 5G innovations are springing up.

Faced with uneven medical resource allocation, the city has been exploring ways to benefit all with its medical experts and cutting-edge techniques.

With the 4K HD live streams of surgeries supported by the 5G network, the operating rooms in Huashan Hospital, which is affiliated with Fudan University, now become learning bases for doctors nationwide.

The hospital, famous for its neurosurgery, now can broadcast the entire process of operations via the 5G network. Trainees across China can watch and learn without being on site.

"Neurosurgery is often carried out in a narrow space in the human bodies, and even the surgeon's vision can be limited," said Mao Ying, deputy director of Huashan Hospital, "However, 5G live streaming has offered an innovative solution to the remote education of medical techniques."

"Live streaming surgeries is very practical for doctors in primary-level hospitals like us," said Huang Lide, a neurosurgeon at the People's Hospital of Baise in southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region who is studying neurosurgery at Huashan Hospital.

The low-latency image transmission of the 5G network also benefits patients in urgent need of experts nationwide.

The Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital established a laboratory combing ultrasounds with the 5G network to support remote consultation.

Real-time ultrasound images of local patients can be transmitted to Shanghai without delay for an expert consultation, whether the patients are from cities in northwest or southeast China.

The cutting-edge technology has not only contributed to the medical system but has also been put into use in the entertainment industry.

In April, live streams and VR games using the 5G network showcased on the 1,000th race of Formula One held in Shanghai, which allowed the audience to experience another kind of high speed.

Instead of simply watching racecars rush by, the audience was able to watch real-time movements of the racecars and contestants' subtle expressions.

The delay in traditional Internet live streaming was shortened to a few hundred milliseconds, with the realistic transmission of multi-angle images.

"Combining 5G with live streaming, VR and games, which attract young people, is a good start for the commercialization of 5G," said Li Meng, chief expert of the industrial economy research project of the Shanghai Academy.

The municipal government signed a framework agreement for deepening the 5G network construction and innovative applications with China Unicom late last month. By 2021, China Unicom will invest 15 billion yuan (US$2.2 billion) in the city to further promote the deployment and innovative applications of the 5G network.

In 2019, more than 10,000 5G base stations will be built in Shanghai to achieve deep coverage of 5G networks.