On the first anniversary of commercialization, 5G became the ＂new engine＂ of China’s digital economy.
For the first time, the 5G signal covered the summit of Mount Everest, and China built the highest 5G base station in the world. Xinhua news agency
Shanghai Hongkou builds a new highland of "5G+ Industrial Internet" industry. Xinhua news agency
The 5G+VR isolated visiting system in Kunming, Yunnan Province was put into use. Xinhua news agency
editorial comment/note
On June 6, 2019, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued 5G commercial licenses to China Telecom, China Mobile, China Unicom and China Radio and Television, marking the official entry of China into the first year of 5G commercialization. The sudden global epidemic in 2020 has changed people’s lifestyle, and many activities have been moved online, which has greatly promoted the development of 5G and next-generation information technology. Applications such as 5G video conferencing, smart medical care and car networking have developed rapidly. With the gradual improvement of China’s 5G infrastructure, as a representative of "new infrastructure", 5G will extend more application scenarios, and the 5G industry will usher in new opportunities for great development.
As an ultra-wideband low-latency wireless communication technology, 5G can integrate the Internet of Things, data center, artificial intelligence and industrial Internet to form a complete new generation information infrastructure, and become an important part of the "new infrastructure". China proposes to promote the deep integration of Internet, big data, artificial intelligence and real economy, and accelerate the networking, intelligence and digitalization of manufacturing, agriculture and service industries. In the past year, a new generation of information technologies, such as 5G, have empowered new applications, promoted the development of a smart society, and supported the digitalization of industries, becoming the new engine of China’s digital economy.
1.5G seamlessly integrates the Internet of Things with cloud computing, big data and artificial intelligence.
"New Infrastructure" is to build a modern facility system that is intensive, efficient, economical, practical, intelligent, green, safe and reliable. Including three aspects: the first is the new generation of information infrastructure; The second is to integrate infrastructure; The third is to innovate infrastructure. Among them, the new generation information infrastructure can be divided into three aspects: first, the communication network infrastructure, including 5G, Internet, industrial Internet and satellite Internet; There are also new technical facilities and computing infrastructure.
Mobile communication has developed from the first generation of 1G, 2G, 3G and 4G to the present 5G. Similar to previous generations of mobile communication, 5G is a decade generation, and the peak rate has increased by 1000 times in ten years. 5G is different from previous generations. 1G to 4G is for personal communication, and 5G is for industrial Internet and smart city applications. There are three major application scenarios: enhanced mobile broadband, ultra-reliable low latency, and large optical coverage connection. Compared with 4G, 5G has improved in many performances by orders of magnitude. 5G mainly relies on the innovation of wireless technology, which is inseparable from the basic principles of communication. First, more base stations are made, and then more antennas are made. Of course, the improvement of frequency bands and physical machines is needed, which shows that the peak capacity of 5G for broadband is 30 times that of 4G, and the experience data is 10 times that of 4G. In addition, it supports high-speed movement and can achieve a transportation rate of 500 kilometers per hour. There is also a low latency, which is 40% lower than that of 4G. It supports large connections, and the connection area is 10 times higher than that of 4G, so as to achieve 1 million sensor networks in 1 square kilometer. Secondly, the energy efficiency density is 100 times higher than that of 4G.
The improvement of 5G network technology is not just smart phones and wireless access networks. 5G uses edge computing, and 5G places special emphasis on sinking the ability of cloud computing to the edge, so as to reduce the processing delay of sensitive services, reduce the bandwidth pressure to the central cloud, and improve reliability. Some of the edge calculations of 5G can also be placed near the station. Using edge computing for enterprises, according to IDC analysis, 50% of the data will be processed on the edge side this year, and the two-machine cloud saves costs than the single-machine cloud.
There is also the intelligent Internet of Things. The perceived data of the Internet of Things includes the analysis of big data and artificial intelligence. Before 5G, the usual mobile network had a long delay, and there was no edge calculation at that time. Therefore, the delay of sending the sensor data to the background was long, and the real-time processing opportunity was lost after the decision came back. Now that 5G has come, 5G not only has a large bandwidth and low delay, but also shows that one square kilometer supports the networking of one million sensors, and the end-to-end delay is less than ten seconds. Therefore, it can be said that 5G will connect things. The integration of AI and IOT becomes the intelligent network of AIOT. AIOT is equivalent to connecting the cloud computing capability to the Internet of Things with 5G. Further, we can integrate AI chips, commercial AI software and development tools into the terminal of AIOT, and integrate them with the original modules of the Internet of Things. Of course, they are suitable for some IoT terminals with more complicated requirements and stricter requirements, such as ultra-high-definition cameras, robots and drones, which directly integrate the capabilities of artificial intelligence. Further, the terminal of AIOT can also move into the ability of blockchain, so as to ensure the security of access verification, device encryption and device control of IOT devices, and solve the problems of data confirmation and data capitalization.
2. "Empowering the cloud", 5G supports ultra-wideband and low-latency high-speed networks.
5G solves the problem of "enabling the cloud". Traditional video conferencing, games, digital culture industry and industrial collaborative design all need to download the core program to the local area, and the local area needs to complete the calculation, which requires a high memory cost for computing power. Now, relying on the computing power of the cloud server and the transmission capacity of the server, the two are connected, without downloading terminals and programs, plug and play, multi-screen integration, and smooth experience. There are two small videos in the upper right corner, one is on the mobile phone and the other is on the high-end PC. There is not much difference between them. Now the terminal is connected to the Internet through 5G and then connected to the cloud computing platform in the background. The terminal can send out the action of game control, immediately render the image and compress the picture in the background, and then stream the game. There is basically no delay, so it feels smoother. This kind of application is not only used in games, such as cloud office, cloud classroom, cloud video, cloud recruitment and cloud signing during the epidemic. Even after the epidemic, this kind of cloud application can save the cost of transportation and time, which is more convenient.
Another big feature of 5G is ultra-wideband, which can support ultra-high-definition 4K8K. Compared with traditional high-definition, the resolutions of 4K and 8K are greatly improved. The resolution of 2K is like this, 4K is four times that of it, and 8K is four times that of 4K. Not only the resolution is improved, the frame rate is 120 frames, and the multiple is from 8bit to 16bit. Because 5G can support high resolution, we want the screen to be bigger, but the screen is too big to carry around, so now the mobile phone with folding screen appears. Now the screen with folding screen is not that big, so now the smart screen appears. On the surface, it is a TV screen. In fact, it is the screen of a mobile phone. We can link with it through the mobile phone or flip the screen by touching, so that we can enjoy ultra-high-definition videos. It should be said that the development of 4K8K TV in China is still quite fast, and it is estimated that it will account for 40% and 5% of the total sales this year.
In addition, the feature of 5G is to support high-speed movement. When do you need high speed? We know that the speed of alpine skiing reaches 250 kilometers per hour. The difference between the Winter Olympics and the Summer Olympics is speed and art. For high-speed sports, 5G can play a role. We can install 5G cameras on athletes’ helmets and sledges. The audience outside the stadium can directly broadcast ultra-clear videos through 5G according to the height, difficulty, temperature and speed of the athletes in the stadium. China Unicom uses 5G to transmit the ultra-high-definition 8K table tennis match to the off-court, which can transmit the signals of multiple seats on the sports field to the outside, and then synthesize multiple seats outside, so the off-court audience can get a 360-degree scene experience. In the past, the ticket prices of our sports ground were different in different positions, and the viewing angles were different. When we broadcast live, everyone saw that the signal of the seats sent by the pilot was the same. With 5G, we can send out the videos of multiple seats separately, and the users can click on which seat. What do some merchants think now? Different seats can sell different money. For example, in Wimbledon, seats sitting at the angle of King Federer can sell more tickets, and the market for this kind of live broadcast is also great.
Another feature of 5G is that it not only supports high definition, but also has extremely low latency. AR/VR requires high bandwidth, especially low latency, which can’t be done in 4G, but can be done in 5G. Huawei once predicted that 10% of global enterprises will use AR/VR by 2025, and IDC reported last year that the market of AR/VR in China will reach $65 billion by 2023. For example, the Forbidden City is open, and many treasures can’t be touched by hand and seen at close range. Wearing a 5G VR helmet in the Forbidden City can personally feel the treasures. You can wear a VR helmet at a tourist spot to have a more thrilling feeling. When watching plants in the botanical garden, you can see the cloud search content of this flower through the helmet.
3. Digital creativity, smart medical care, smart education, and car networking … … There are more and more integrated and innovative applications in the 5G industry.
The 5G industry, integrating innovation, will be widely used in the future. For example, digital creativity can also be greatly improved by the development of 5G industry and 5G, in which we can analyze the movements of athletes and the movements of our martial arts films. In the future, we don’t need to spend money to invite expensive "small fresh meat" when making movies and TV shows, but actually "draw" one.
5G terminals are not limited to ordinary terminals, and mobile phones can also be used as glasses and as 5G terminals. For ordinary people, the screen can’t be concave and convex. You can read a camera on your finger, read which word you mean, and even translate it. Some people also say that the terminal is made into a pair of glasses, which is worn in reverse. We can have a look. AR/VR is not only worn on your head, but also can be installed on the ground camera. The camera takes pictures of your body. When you say to change a color, it automatically changes a color according to your body, not only changing colors, but also changing clothes.
It has a good application in smart medical care. In March last year, a doctor in a PLA General Hospital in Sanya remotely controlled the manipulator in Beijing 301 Hospital by 5G, and completed the craniotomy for Parkinson’s patients. There are many examples of 5G remote consultation and remote surgical guidance during the epidemic. In addition, VR can be used to train medical workers, and it takes a long time for general surgeons to go to the operating table. Using VR can speed up the training process. Now, judging whether COVID-19 is diagnosed or not mainly depends on nucleic acid detection. Nucleic acid detection can’t immediately confirm that the patient is positive, and there are false negatives. CT photos are still ugly. We can fuse them into three-dimensional lungs through big data artificial intelligence technology, and then look at the periphery of the lungs. Using the doctor’s experience of seeing COVID-19 and putting it into the artificial intelligence big data in the background, the doctor at the scene can transmit the medical images to the background, and can use the comparison in the background to find out which CT images have big problems, which greatly shortens the time.
Wisdom education, during the epidemic, many children have online classes at home, and 5G and AR/VR technologies are very helpful not only for children but also for adults. Understanding the micro-world in biology, the macro-celestial operation and how the world will change in the next 2300 years can present intuitive feelings, and many scenes can be simulated by using AR/VR helmets.
To detect water pollution, you don’t have to go through satellites. Now, you can take pictures of ground pollution and water pollution by using drones equipped with 5G terminals and high-definition cameras. In addition, the feature of 5G is large connection, which is especially suitable for detecting the environment.
On a farm in Shaanxi, during the flowering season of apple orchards, a drone with a 5G camera sweeps an apple orchard. Apples generally bloom for only one week. After sweeping down, through the analysis of big data artificial intelligence in the background, you can clearly count how many flowers each tree has and which flowers can bear fruit. It can be said that the output of apple orchards is predicted three months in advance, when futures can be sold. The 5G high-definition camera can also detect the fertilizer, drought and crop growth of farmland soil, and can also judge where we are affected.
The Internet of Vehicles can be said that 5G was born for the Internet of Vehicles, and the Internet of Vehicles is rejuvenated because of 5G. Traffic is sensitive to safety, because the time delay is strict, and the time delay is too large in the 4G era. 5G plus edge calculation can ensure the air interface delay of 1 millisecond, and can ensure the communication between the car and the traffic lights, the car and the people. In the past, we relied on radar, but we will use it in the future, but we don’t need such accurate radar, not only smart cars, but also smart roads. The combination of the two can improve traffic efficiency, ensure traffic safety and reduce exhaust emissions. Moreover, the Internet of Vehicles was originally an industry. McKinsey predicted that in 2030, the car networking, in-vehicle electronics and car networking services would add up to a global scale of 1.5 trillion, and now the global automobile industry will be about two to three trillion. Huawei predicts that the Internet of Vehicles will be embedded in 15% of the world’s vehicles in 2025.
In fact, the application of 5G is not only in the automotive field, including vertical industries, but also in the financial field. It can be seen that 2G comes out with online banking, 3G comes out with mobile banking, 4G comes out with digital banking, and 5G comes out with smart banking.
5G can also help train workers. This worker can’t repair the car. He can repair the car with 5GAR glasses. So you can see both the virtual and the physical, and repair the car step by step. We also use it in China. Gangneung cars in Jiangxi let workers wear AR glasses, which reduced the error rate.
In industrial application, there are 3.5 million workers in China who visually inspect the product quality by eyes every day. Although the workers are serious, the detection accuracy is still not high. Now, the photographed products are directly connected to the edge computing center cloud and artificial intelligence by using 5G high-definition cameras, and compared with the pre-stored qualified and unqualified pictures, so that the ability of machine vision is more than that of human beings. Qingdao Port uses a 5G remote control crane to realize millisecond delay and high-precision positioning, which improves the efficiency by 30% and reduces the staff by 70%. Shandong Weichai Power used 5G to coordinate R&D centers in Weifang, Hangzhou and France, which improved R&D efficiency by 25%.
Robot drones can be made more sensitive by using 5 G. When the drone is bought back to be programmed, the average enterprise may not have this ability. Now we have installed a 5G camera on the manipulator to see how the people next to it move, and it will be trained automatically. Huawei predicts that by 2025, every 10,000 manufacturing employees in the world will work with 103 robots, which means that by 2025, there will be one robot for every 100 workers.
Not only in production, but also in corporate finance. Many small and medium-sized enterprises are now facing some difficulties, including credit difficulties, because they have less real estate and less things to pledge, and their credit records are not so perfect. But all enterprises, no matter how small, will have warehouses for semi-finished products and finished products. Even if this warehouse is rented, finished products and semi-finished products will be stored in the warehouse for a while. We add a camera to the warehouse and send the video of the camera to the bank. The bank watches the camera and knows that these movable property becomes temporary real estate, which can be used as the target of pledge. Therefore, the bank dares to lend to the enterprise. Of course, the enterprise must remember to repay the loan before leaving the warehouse, and the bank can also manage the blockchain. In this way, the current loan interest rate is only 1.5 percentage points higher than the normal bank interest rate, while the private lending interest rate in the past was as high as 15%, more than twice as high. Not only things in the warehouse can be pledged, but also accounts receivable and orders can be pledged. Due to the emergence of 5G artificial intelligence big data, many enterprises have provided more data with credit certificates.
In short, the emergence of 5G will have many new applications. 2G started in the world in 1991, and China in 1994. SMS appeared in 1992, and then QQ and Alipay came into being. 3G Global was licensed in 2001, and China was licensed in 2007. 3G’s outstanding performance is its data transmission ability. After 3G appeared, there were mobile phones, mobile e-commerce, Weibo, O2O and WeChat. WeChat didn’t exist until four years after 3G was released in China. It can be said that these applications were not expected at all when 3G was commercialized. 4G, the world started in 2010, and China started in 2013. The main capability of 4G is broadband. After the emergence of 4G, there will be short videos such as scanning code payment, sharing economic network car, social e-commerce, intelligent search, Tik Tok, etc. These are also impossible for us to think of when 4G is commercialized. Now China’s 5G is commercialized synchronously with developed countries’ 5G. The main feature of 5G is the fusion ability of cloud intelligence. Now it is predicted that 5G will support 4K, 8K ultra-high-definition video, AR/VR, Zhilian, and industrial Internet. 5G will certainly produce new applications that we can’t imagine yet.
(Author: Wu Hequan, academician of China Academy of Engineering)