You will be expecting to see a concert as shown in the following video if you attend the Eminem concert this year.

With the launch of Eminem Augmented app at Coachella in April, fans are able to experience a stronger audio-visual feast than ever before. Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive experience that displays digital images in a real-world environment. After downloading the Eminem Augmented app, fans will see plenty of computer-generated imagery and 3D effects, like rockets, flags, and bombs, which enhance their visual experience to see a live music by holding a smartphone in their hands.

Imagine a concert with 50,000 audiences, it used to be the case that people who sit in the last few rows have to watch the stage through the LCD screen during the whole concert. People who would like to share photos or videos on social media also suffer from the similar problem that they cannot take good photos or record good-quality videos from a distance. With the AR technology, concerts are becoming more attractive. Audiences’ sense of participation will be increased, even for those sitting far away from the stage. Furthermore, photos or videos will be more interesting to anyone who views the shared content. I agree with what Paul Rosenberg said in an interview, who is the Def Jam chief executive and Eminem manager, “if the phones are going to be there and people are going to be putting them up in the air and looking at them anyway why don’t we provide a way to maybe change the way they’re perceiving the show”.

This year, we have seen some industries also use the AR technology to enhance the audience engagement, for instance, the sports industry. I have a question for readers: do you know other industries that are affected / will be affected by AR? and in which way?

Sources:

1. https://techcrunch.com/2018/04/16/the-eminem-ar-show/?guccounter=1
2. https://venturebeat.com/2018/08/21/social-medias-future-is-live-event-ar/

Yesterday, Verizon’s 5G Home internet service launched in 4 big cities of the United States that are Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles and Sacramento. Verizon claims that the current peak data speed will reach 1.45Gbps using LTE advanced technology and still have much room for improvement. Therefore, Verizon becomes the first carrier in the world starts providing the 5G commercial service. Its 5G mobile network service is expected to be launched in 2019. Not only Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint are also working on providing 5G service to their customers.

How fast the 5G network will reach in the future? Thinking about 10-100 times faster data download and upload speeds than your Wi-Fi or cellular connection. If you are a movie lover, a Blu-ray movie with dozens of gigabytes can be downloaded in a second. Furthermore, 5G will have up to 10x lower latency and up to 100x higher coverage. It is able to solve the biggest problem of 4G that is poor coverage and reduced speed at crowded locations such as big festivals or stadiums. In other practical applications, 5G is needed for the development and use of virtual reality, self-driving cars, remote surgery and a touchy-feely internet. But meanwhile, devices must develop along with the technology of 5G. For example, current smartphones are not able to support the 5G technology even if Verizon plans to launch the 5G mobile network service in the next year.

I am excited to see the 5G revolution in the near future. How about you? Do you think what kinds of revolution the 5G network will bring to our lives or change the current industries?

Sources:

http://fortune.com/2018/09/11/verizon-launching-5g-home-broadband-service-oct-1/

https://www.networkworld.com/article/3289550/techology-business/5g-more-than-just-a-wireless-upgrade.html

https://www.cnet.com/news/5g-not-just-speed-fifth-generation-wireless-tech-lets-you-do-vr-self-driving-cars-drones-remote/