Space-enabled virtual worlds bring new dimension to events
Engineers at ESA’s 5G/6G Hub in the UK are boosting access to professional conferences by creating bespoke metaverses that are connected over satellite and terrestrial communications networks.
In the past year this project has enabled thousands of conference attendees to participate from afar, demonstrating how the secure and high-capacity connectivity delivered by space-enabled 5G is set to transform the way people enjoy events.
The 5G/6G team – based at ESA’s European Centre for Space Applications and Telecommunications (ECSAT) in Oxfordshire – is currently working on a digital world to support ESA’s Space2Connect conference, which will be held in Matera, Italy, from 7 to 9 June.
This metaverse is open to everyone and will stream a forum focusing on non-terrestrial networks as well as a live technology demonstration on 9 June.
It will also feature a satellite-enabled video call with ESA’s soon-to-open 5G/6G Hub at the agency’s European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in the Netherlands. The call will be connected from ESA’s flagship 5G/6G Hub in ECSAT.
The Space2Connect metaverse builds on the success of previous virtual environments built for COP27 – which took place last November in Egypt – and the Mobile World Congress, which was held in Barcelona earlier this year.
In total, some two thousand people entered these virtual worlds to explore interactive exhibits, enjoy live demonstrations, and network with other attendees.
The metaverses were connected over both terrestrial infrastructure and the private satellite network hosted by ECSAT’s 5G/6G Hub, to test the connection delivered by converged telecommunications networks.
The project forms part of wider efforts at the 5G/6G Hub to explore and realise the huge potential of space-enabled 5G and 6G technologies.
