Adaptive 5G Low-Latency Communication for Tactile InternEt Services

• Published in: Proceedings of the IEEE Vol. 107; no. 2; pp. 325 - 349
• Main Authors: Sachs, Joachim, Andersson, Lars A. A., Araujo, Jose, Curescu, Calin, Lundsjo, Johan, Rune, Goran, Steinbach, Eckehard, Wikstrom, Gustav
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York IEEE 01.02.2019; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: 5G mobile communication; Automatic control; Cloud computing; Communication; Computer architecture; Distributed cloud; Drones; Evolution; fifth generation (5G); haptic communication; Haptic interfaces; haptics; Hazardous areas; Industrial applications; Internet; long-term evolution (LTE); Low latency communication; low-latency communications (URLLC); Mobile communication systems; network orchestration; new radio (NR); Robot sensing systems; Tactile; Tactile Internet; teleoperation; Teleoperators; ultrareliable; Web and internet services; Wireless communications
• ISSN: 0018-9219; 1558-2256
• DOI: 10.1109/JPROC.2018.2864587

The tactile internet will enable a new range of capabilities to enable immersive remote operations and interactions with a physical world. Tactile internet use cases span over many fields, from remote operation of industrial applications in, e.g., hazardous environments, via remote-controlled driving in a fully automated intelligent transport system, to remote surgery where the unique expert skills can be delivered to different locations in the world. Fifth-generation (5G) communication will play a fundamental part in this tactile internet vision, as it will provide necessary capabilities for the demanding communication needs in terms of reliability and low latency, for operators or teleoperated systems that are connected wirelessly. This paper provides an overview of tactile internet services and haptic interactions and communication. The 5G functionality for ultrareliable and low-latency services is described in depth and it is shown how 5G new radio (NR) and the evolved long-term evolution (LTE) radio interface can achieve guaranteed low-latency wireless transmission. The costs for providing reliable and low-latency wireless transmission in terms of reduced spectral efficiency and coverage are discussed. The 5G system architecture with a software-based network design based on a distributed cloud platform is presented. It is shown how the 5G network is configured for tactile internet services via multidomain orchestration.