H2020 Flame Project Continues to Blaze 5G Trail in Bristol

WILMINGTON, Del., March 26, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- InterDigital (NASDAQ: IDCC), a mobile technology research and development company, today announced that its service-based architecture (SBA) platform, at the core of the European-funded H2020 FLAME (Facility for Large-scale Adaptive Media Experimentation) project, has been used to conduct a smart tourism showcase in Bristol. The showcase, which took place on March 16^th in collaboration with 360° Virtual Reality (VR) platform provider Mativision, saw a group of users experiencing a guided tour of a designated site through VR headsets running on 5G technology.

The showcase, which is part of the UK-funded 5G Smart Tourism (5GST) project within the wider UK Department for Digital Culture Media & Sport (DCMS)-funded 5G program running until March 2019, demonstrated how 5G can be used to overcome the current obstacles that prevent multiple users experiencing shared and synchronized VR content. InterDigital’s SBA platform was used to deliver the content through Mativision’s VR platform and provided the synchronization that mimicked the tourist guide experience. The SBA platform delivered the multicast capabilities that are key to reducing the cost typically associated with delivering high-quality 360-degree video to multiple users by allowing the same VR content to be delivered to all users at once.

Launched in 2017, FLAME is a consortium-led project that seeks to transform the user experience by delivering faster access to media and new services through 5G. The SBA at the heart of the FLAME platform utilizes InterDigital’s FLIPS (Flexible IP Services) technology suite to combine multicast technology with content caching and enables HTTP requests to be routed on top of an SDN-based transport network. Through FLIPS, latenc can be dramatically reduced and throughput increased, resulting in higher resource efficiency and speed of delivery for IP-based services.

“This showcase is another exemplary proof-point of the value the FLAME platform brings to 5G development,” said Dirk Trossen, FLAME’s Technical Manager and Senior Principal Engineer at InterDigital. “We’re delighted to have been chosen to take part in this 5GST showcase with Mativision as we continue to be a part of the evolution of media delivery. The delivery of media services to multiple users has long been an obstacle for technology providers and this showcase demonstrates how we can leverage next-generation network technologies to overcome this challenge.”

This implementation of the FLAME project follows the SBA platform’s trial in a real-life, city-scale environment in 2017, showcasing the benefits of latency reduction for user-provided content and demonstrating the potential for cost reductions when replicating content throughout the network. The trial, designed as an internet-enabled treasure hunt, was open to anyone with an Android device and saw participants working in teams to uncover hidden treasures and solve riddles, delivered via video services. During the trial, users experienced significant video latency reductions.  In February 2018, FLAME returned to Bristol launching its 5G testbed for urban-scale trials to transform user experience through faster access to media and new services.

The SBA platform is being utilized in a number of upcoming FLAME trials, including one which recently took place in Bristol and which saw Belgian broadcaster, VRT, conduct a media trial with user-generated content for next generation media reporting.

About InterDigital^®

InterDigital develops mobile technologies that are at the core of devices, networks, and services worldwide. We solve many of the industry's most critical and complex technical challenges, inventing solutions for more efficient broadband networks and a richer multimedia experience years ahead of market deployment. InterDigital has licenses and strategic relationships with many of the world's leading wireless companies. Founded in 1972, InterDigital is listed on NASDAQ and is included in the S&P MidCap 400^® index.

InterDigital is a registered trademark of InterDigital, Inc.

For more information, visit: www.interdigital.com.

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