Stranded in a remote community, a patient lies on an operating table, undergoing life-saving surgery. A doctor carefully sutures a wound shut \u2013 but through a sophisticated medical robot which she controls from hundreds of kilometres away.<\/p>\n
This is one of the many ways 5G could transform our lives. A collection of standards and technologies, 5G is an umbrella term given to the next generation of wireless internet that will connect smartphones, laptops, cars, sensors and a host of smart devices.<\/p>\n
The idea of a surgeon healing a patient via a remotely controlled robot sounds incredible if you recall the innumerable Zoom meetings you may have had over the past few years. Plagued as that technology is by lag and unreliability, it is fair to ask: How might we ever do things like remote surgery if we can barely make a video conference call work?<\/p>\n
That\u2019s part of the challenge. While 5G networks are up and running in Canada\u2019s major urban areas, the applications and devices to take advantage of them are still very much in their nascent stages. It\u2019s also an area of research for a significant number of Canadian academics. From how to make connections more reliable to how to bridge the digital divide, what they hope is that 5G will usher in a brighter future \u2013 if it\u2019s done right.<\/p>\n
Among those focusing on the technologies is Ekram Hossain, a professor in the University of Manitoba\u2019s department of electrical and computer engineering. He has worked extensively on 5G since the early 2010s, focused on using modern cell networks to enable machines \u2013 that is, sensors, industrial equipment, vehicles \u2013 to communicate with one another wirelessly. \u201cThere are three types of service with 5G,\u201d Dr. Hossain said. \u201cMachine-to-machine communication, mobile broadband, and ultra-reliable low latency.\u201d<\/p>\n