Verizon and network partner Samsung recently tested an AI-powered sensing technology that could help improve public safety and the visitor experience at large-scale live venues like concerts and sporting events.
The trial used integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) technology at a recent international soccer fan event in Dallas. The software technology was embedded into virtualized radio access network (vRAN) and virtualized core (vCore) updates already planned to increase network capacity at the event, with those systems deployed on Samsung’s Network in a Servier (NIS) platform to consolidate network functions and accelerated compute into a single server.
This server was attached to a Verizon 5G-embedded cell-on-wheels (COW) that used a sensing receiver supporting 40-megahertz of spectrum in the Consumer Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) band. This receiver was able to capture channel variations in transmission from a commercial 5G device, data that was analyzed to provide a visual crowd density heatmap that could map device movement within the coverage area.
This basically used variations in the radio signals received by the antenna to map the distance and movement of the devices within the COW’s coverage area. This is similar to how radar systems use radio frequencies to determine the location of an object.
Samsung touted the service as being able to provide attendees with insight into less congested food and service facilities at the venue, allow event organizers to better manage resource distribution, and provide public safety with insight into potential overcrowding conditions.
The companies also attempted to downplay the seemingly intrusive nature of the technology by stating: “The crowd sensing demo measures crowd density which is the number of people in a given area, at any given time. Individual users or objects are not identified. No information is obtained about the identity of the individuals.”
Verizon CTO Yago Tenorio in a statement linked the trial to extracting real-world use cases from increasingly complex network architectures.
“Verizon’s strategy has always been focused on building an intelligent, AI-native network that translates into meaningful real-world value for our customers,” Tenorio noted. “Our early investments in flexible, software-driven vRAN architecture are paying off today, giving us the agility to engineer and trial groundbreaking 6G concepts like ISAC over our existing infrastructure. This field trial with Samsung proves that the network of the future will do far more than just transfer data — it will actively perceive and interact with its environment to transform venue management and public safety.”
Verizon’s latest trial with Samsung builds on long-standing work between the two companies. Samsung has been providing 5G-related equipment to the carrier dating back nearly a decade. That work includes a vRAN-specific relationship with going back to early this decade and has run up to Verizon’s recent launch of its 6G Innovation Forum.
Network sense #
Network sensing technology is increasingly being trialed across networks. These efforts underpin 6G standards work toward the use of radio signals to help map the physical surroundings of an environment.
Cohere Technologies was recently awarded a $28 million contract by the Department of Defense (DoD) to develop an ISAC-supporting multiwaveform RAN prototype. Specifically, Cohere will build a sovereign and mission-critical ISAC capability to deliver continuous air and ground monitoring masked as standard mobile network data.
It’s also being used by home Wi-Fi providers, as in the case of Xfinity’s WiFi Shield service. This offering uses an in-home Wi-Fi system to detect motion within that environment as part of a home security offering.