KDDI and Samsung Electronics, announced today that together with KDDI Research, Inc (KDDI Research), Okinawa Cellular Telephone Company and Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International (ATR), it has successfully completed a real-time free-viewpoint video streaming test using 5G-supporting devices.

The test was conducted during a professional baseball game held in Okinawa Cellular Stadium in Naha and used Samsung’s 5G end-to-end solution comprised of virtualized core, virtualized RAN, one of the smallest 5G access units and 10 sets of 5G tablet devices. A total of 16 cameras were used to shoot the hitter from different angles and produce free-viewpoint video in real-time for successful transmission towards Samsung’s 5G tablets.

“KDDI has been continuously working toward developing a wide range of new 5G use cases that can elevate the everyday lives of our users,” said Yoshiaki Uchida, Member of the Board, Executive Vice President at KDDI. “Together with Samsung, KDDI will continue to explore ways to provide unprecedented experiences by integrating communications and life design.”

“It is exciting to see how 5G technology can transform our lives,” said Youngky Kim, President and Head of Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. “5G is now a reality. We will continue working with KDDI to explore how the technology can be further developed and applied in our homes and cities.”

Real-time transmission of high-volume videos to mobile devices or large screens is expected to take viewing experience to a whole new level in crowded entertainment and sports venues. By allowing simultaneous transmission of high-volume videos, 5G enables what the preceding mobile technologies were incapable of realizing.

By showing that audiences are now able to view sports games from any angle of their choice and at incredible resolution, today’s test verified that the viewing experience has been taken to a whole new level. It will add a much greater depth to the traditional viewing experience on television broadcast.

Free-viewpoint video is a technology developed by KDDI Research that enables users to view a video from any viewpoint via reconstructing 3D model for human objects and background objects such as the stadium field.