Lockheed, Verizon Test 5G-Enabled VR Streaming for Military Use Cases

Lockheed Martin Skunk Works and Verizon have demonstrated various 5G streaming use cases under an ongoing strategic collaboration designed to support the Department of Defense’s sustainment missions and advance the 5G .MIL program.

During the demo, the companies validated how 5G can be used for augmented, virtual and extended reality technologies; real-time 3D visualization and streaming; and edge device streaming capabilities. The companies used a multi-user, augmented reality experience across multiple geolocations, streaming a large 3D computer-aided design airspace engine in real-time, with the content displayed through the Microsoft HoloLens.

The projection was streamed through Verizon’s 5G Edge and Amazon Web Service Wavelength, Lockheed said.

The demo builds on several lines of effort from defense contractors to bring 5G technologies to warfighters.

In September, Lockheed delivered a prototype testbed version of the Open Systems Interoperable and Reconfigurable Infrastructure Solution to the U.S. Marine Corps. Testers will use the testbed to perform mobile network experiments and see how 5G networks and DOD platforms can work together.

In August, RTX secured a potential two-year, $6.6 million DOD contract to develop multi-hop, mobile ad-hoc networks that would provide 5G connectivity to forward-deployed warfighters.