In today’s rapidly evolving technological landscape, the ability to demonstrate advanced solutions in demanding environments is crucial for industry leaders. At the 2024 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Canon exhibited its innovative Free Viewpoint System (FVS), a volumetric video capture technology, by leveraging Virewirx’s state-of-the-art VX60 wireless connectivity solution. This case study explores how Virewirx’s VX60 technology solved critical connectivity issues, enabling Canon to deliver a never before-seen multi-user free-roam XR experience in the most challenging wireless environment.
THE CHALLENGE
FVS is designed to capture volumetric video of large areas in arenas, stadiums, and production studios Using more than 100 Canon Cinema EOS-based 4K cameras and lenses, FVS creates a moving 3D model that allows viewers to see the action from any perspective Canon’s goal at CES was to show their groundbreaking volumetric video in virtual reality, placing fans on the court of a real-life professional basketball game for the first time ever The system can generate a wide breadth of views, from drone-style shots swooping in and around the players, to close-up angles that place viewers right in the middle of the action
Because of the limited compute available onboard the VR headsets worn by users, each user’s unique perspective would be rendered on a top-of the-line server on premises. However, sending 4K video at 90fps to each user presented a significant challenge for transmission via Wi-Fi, even under optimal conditions. These challenges included:
- High Density of Users and Devices: The crowded environment at CES led to intense competition for bandwidth, resulting in frequent coverage drops and slow service on both Wi-Fi and cellular networks.
- Need for Reliable, High-speed Connections: Supporting multiple simultaneous users and the bandwidth-intensive nature of the FVS VR content required a robust and dependable data transmission infrastructure.
- Costly Custom Deployments: Implementing tailored solutions to meet these demands further complicated the deployment process.
In the past, the only way to achieve 4K quality on a VR headset was with a heavy PC backpack or a wired connection to a desktop PC Either of these options would have disrupted the unparalleled immersive user experience of standing on a basketball court in the middle of the action.
INDUSTRY
High Tech / IT
USE CASE
Tradeshow / Wireless Communications
CHALLENGE
Delivering high data rates in a challenging wireless environment
SOLUTION
Use VX60 from Virewirx to leverage the 60GHz band for massive throughput
KEY POINTS
1. Virewirx’s 60GHz technology effectively overcomes common tradeshow connectivity challenges.
2. The partnership between Canon and Virewirx demonstrates the power of combining next-gen content with advanced networking solutions.
3. Reliable, high-speed wireless connectivity is crucial for the successful demonstration of bandwidth-intensive technologies at tradeshows and similar events.
THE SOLUTION
To address these challenges, Virewirx, formerly known as XCOM Labs, provided Canon with a mobile installation of VX60, its proprietary wireless networking technology furnishing visitors with a photorealistic, free-roam XR experience
The VX60 system offered:
- High-speed, low-latency wireless connectivity capable of supporting multi-user shared XR experiences
- Interference-free data transmission in a crowded tradeshow environment with hundreds of Wi-Fi networks and thousands of 5G devices
- Utilization of the unlicensed 60GHz frequency band within the booth
IMPLEMENTATION AND RESULTS
By leveraging Virewirx’s VX60 technology, Canon successfully navigated a complex wireless environment to showcase its cutting-edge volumetric video captured on its FVS, and achieved:
- Seamless streaming of high-quality, interactive video to 8 simultaneous users, which was critical to both maximizing exposure to visitors and enhancing the social experience
- Consistent, high-performance connectivity within the booth
- Enhanced security with no data spillover outside the designated demo stage
Tsuyoshi Wakazono, Project Lead for FVS at Canon USA, commented on the success:
“Virewirx’s innovative wireless technology was the linchpin in the success of our CES demonstration. Their solution allowed us to showcase the full potential of volumetric video and our Free Viewpoint System without any connectivity issues, even in the crowded and challenging tradeshow environment. No other wireless system would have sufficed. This partnership has truly elevated our ability to deliver immersive, multi-user XR experiences.”
LOOKING AHEAD
The successful collaboration between Canon and Virewirx paves the way for future innovations in the XR space and beyond. As businesses continue to seek immersive, high-quality content delivery solutions, partnerships that address both content creation and reliable connectivity will be crucial in pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in multi-user XR experiences and other bandwidth-intensive applications.
ABOUT VIREWIRX
Founded by the wireless executives that led the global 1G to 5G transformation, Virewirx consistently attracts the best engineering talent to build its superior technology assets. Our patented technologies leverage the unlicensed 60GHz spectrum to enable seamless and secure extended reality (XR) experiences, as well as best-quality wireless data transfer speeds for location-based entertainment, autonomous vehicles/drones, remote collaboration, industrial automation, learning, training, smart warehouses/buildings, telemedicine, and visualizations.
CONTACT US
sales@virewirx.com; linkedin.com/company/virewirx
