5G Standalone trial makes TUS Athlone most connected campus in Ireland

Researchers ready to find researchers newuse cases for high speed, low latency network

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Pictured: Stephen Mulligan andKarl McDermott, Three Ireland; Prof Vincent Cunnane, TUS; Robert Stack, Ericsson Ireland and Dr Enda Fallon TUS

Technological University Shannon (TUS), Athlone Campus, is set to become the nation’s most connected campus thanks to a new partnership with Three Ireland which will see it used as a testbed for 5G Standalone (5G SA).

The Three Ireland 5G SA trial, powered by Ericsson and tested using the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, will include 5G SA being deployed across the entire campus with additional 5G hardware for indoor coverage being installed in TUS Athlone’s engineering building and applied polymer technology lab in 2024, with hopes of extending the technology outwards across the campus thereafter.

TUS Athlone researchers are now poised to explore use cases for 5G SA, leveraging its next generation capabilities, such as its improved speed, ultra-low latency and increased connectivity.

“5G Standalone is an immensely powerful technology in search of problems to solve; we have barely scratched the surface on use cases for its capabilities,” said Dr Enda Fallon, head of the Dept of Computer & Software Engineering.

“We’re going to be looking at user scenarios – how can 5G SA be used in people’s everyday lives, using the campus as a testbed for this technology, and from that design and evaluate solutions to problems that have yet to be conceptualised.”

Initial ideas for how the technology might be applied across campus include the creation of immersive collaboration spaces for students, staff and researchers, 5G-enabled polymer labs and sports facilities, connected health sciences, and even remote real-time music collaborations with sound engineering students.

The use of 5G-enabled drones for real-time performance feedback in high-performance sports and enhancing runner safety through object detection and risk analysis, as well as remote surgery through robotics and automation are just some of the use cases under consideration.

Karl McDermot, head of connected solutions at Three Ireland, said: “5G Standalone is the next evolution in 5G technology, as we move fully away from a reliance on 4G and into 5G core technology. We are delighted to partner with TUS, working alongside them to advance these use cases and explore the possibilities for powering advanced technologies, supporting greater connectivity for all kinds of devices and user experiences.”

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