2019 Field Trial Results: Part 2
Field Trial
Group 3

Field Trial
Group 4

Field Trials of Use Cases Exploiting 5G Ultra-highspeed Communications in Urban and Suburban Settings
Field Trials of Use Cases Exploiting 5G Ultra-highspeed Communications in Indoor Environments
Akira Matsunaga

Hiroyuki Yokoyama

Mobile Network Technical Development Division
KDDI

Advanced Telecommunications
Research Institute International

1. Introduction
The FY2019 5G Comprehensive Demonstration Tests[1](hereinafter referred to as “5G Field Trials”) initiated by the
Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC)
included field trials of use cases leveraging the features of the
5th generation mobile communications system (hereinafterreferred to as “5G”). These field trials were part of a “contractfor investigating technical criteria of a 5th generation mobile
communications system capable of u ltra-high-speed
communications exceeding a bit rate of 300 Mbps on average inthe uplink from a terminal in an urban or suburban environment
consisting of multiple base stations and multiple terminals”(hereinafter referred to as “field trials of use cases exploiting
5G ultra-high-speed communications in urban and suburban
settings”) and of “achieving ultra-high-speed communications
exceeding a bit rate of 300 Mbps on average in the uplink from aterminal in indoor environments” (hereinafter referred to as “fieldtrials of use cases exploiting 5G ultra-high-speed communicationsin indoor environments”). This article provides an overview ofthese field trials. Videos of these field trials have been placed on
the Web.[2]2. Field Trials of Use Cases Exploiting 5G
Ultra-high-speed Communications in Urban
and Suburban Settings
Field Trial Group 3 KDDI:
Akira Matsunaga, Satoshi Nakano,
Masahiko Nakao, Yuki Shida,
Seiichiro Sakai
Envisioning four use cases exploiting 5G, we conducted fieldtrials in collaboration with partners (Table 1). The technical objectiveof these field trials was to achieve ultra-high-speed communications
in uplink communications from user terminals in an environment
consisting of multiple base stations and multiple terminals.

2.1 Invigorating the new sporting event of“slacklining”
The promotion of new sporting events suffers from a numberof problems due, for example, to the inability of spectators tounderstand the rules of the game or the difficulty of the skills
required. As a result, the appeal of new sports has not beenadequately conveyed and a sense of unity has not been createdamong spectators as well as between spectators and athletes. The
purpose of this field trial was to revitalize regional communities
by giving a boost to sporting events rooted in regional areas.
Specifically, we conducted a field trial of a new viewing experience
for the new sporting event of “slacklining” exploiting the ultrahigh-speed and low-latency features of 5G at the 2019 Slackline■ Table 1: List of use cases
Use case
Invigorating the new sporting event of “slacklining” *Discovering potential distress and sharing information in a
mountain climber observation system *Frequency
Implementers/partners
band
28 GHzKDDI, Goolight, Asobism, Japan Slackline Promotion Organization, Obuse
Town
28 GHzKDDI, Shinshu University, Chuo Alps Kanko Co., Ltd., Komagane City

Promotion of tourism using high-definition omnidirectional VR 28 GHz
video *

KDDI, Tokai University, Air Camera, Agrid, Minamiaso Village

Integrated management system of construction work

KDDI, Obayashi Corporation, NEC Corporation

28 GHz3.7 GHz

Note: Use cases marked with an asterisk (*) were top winners in the 5G Utilization Idea Contest held by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications in FY2018[3].

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■ Figure 1: Slacklining competition

with the slackline and transmitted that sense of vibration tovibration seats installed in the spectator seating area via 5G. We
were able to transmit this vibration information with a delay of
41 – 50 ms by exploiting the low-latency characteristics of 5G.
This enabled spectators to feel the impact of a jump synchronizedwith what they were seeing with their own eyes and to feel a senseof unity with the player. Spectators that experienced this sensation
offered comments such as “I felt as if I was jumping in the air! I’dlike to try slacklining” (Figure 3).
This field trial demonstrated that a transmission systemleveraging the ultra-high-speed and low-latency features of 5G
could promote understanding of important game rules and thechallenge of certain skills while contributing to new and exciting
experiences for spectators.

■ Figure 2: Configuration of field trial for promotion ofslacklining

2.2 Discovering potential distress and sharing information
in a mountain climber observation system
In recent years, the number of disasters and accidents
involving mountain climbers has been on an upward trend
thereby increasing the workload of rescue operations. To solve
this problem, we have developed a mountain climber observation
system that can detect the location of a mountain climber byhaving mountain climbers carry a Low Power Wide Area
(LPWA) terminal with a built-in GPS function and transmittingthat GPS location information to alpine rescue headquarters by
LPWA at the time of an accident.
The purpose of this field trial was to help improve rescue
operations by first obtaining accurate information on the locationof the victim through the mountain climber observation systemand to then transmit high-definition video of the accident scenefrom a drone having a compact airframe and excellent mobility
using the 5G feature of ultra-high-speed communications in the
uplink. The first step in this trial was to capture the reactionof the victim when hailed from the drone equipped with a 4K
camera, loudspeaker, and 5G terminal. The next step was to relaythat 4K high-definition video to a monitor at the alpine rescue
headquarters and a tablet-type 5G terminal held by the rescue
team (Figure 4). To test the feasibility of these operations, we
conducted this field trial in the vicinity of Hotel Senjojiki at Mt.
Komagatake in Nagano prefecture in October 2019.
Prior to testing this use case, we evaluated the 5G radio
performance by equipping the drone with a 5G terminal andmeasuring uplink throughput at 15 points (Figures 5 and 6). Based■ Figure 3: M onitor video and vibration seat at venue

World Cup Japan FULL COMBO held at Obuse Park in Nagano
prefecture in September 2019.
Slacklining is a sport that lets players compete in acrobatic
skills while jumping on a 5 cm wide line and that involves
competition in terms of trick difficulty, proficiency of movements,
etc. (Figure 1).
In this field trial, we installed two 5G base stations at a heightof 5 m above the ground and set up three 5G terminals to conduct
two separate field trials as use cases (Figure 2).
In the first field trial, we transmitted 4K high-definition videoof the competition by 5G together with information such as theheight of a jump automatically determined from the video of amotion camera and trick level, number of consecutive jumps, etc.
determined by a judge. We then combined all of this informationin the video and relayed it in real time to a large monitor at thevenue so that spectators could better understand trick level andother aspects of the sport. Next, in the second field trial, we
used inclination sensors installed on the slackline to detect the
instantaneous vibration that occurs when a player makes contact

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■ Figure 4: Configuration of field trial of mountain climber
observation system

■ Figure 5: External view of drone■ Figure 7: M easurement results■ Figure 6: Measurement points■ Figure 8: S cene of field trial of mountain climber
observation systemon the results of these measurements, we inferred, for this fieldtrial configuration, that the maximum range for achieving 30
Mbps in the uplink as required for this use case involving 4K video
transmission was approximately 200 m from the 5G base station(Figure 7).
Next, we successfully transmitted 4K high-definition videofrom the drone to both the alpine rescue headquarters and rescue
team by 5G and showed that the accident scene could be grasped
in greater detail in this way (Figure 8). The rescue team thatparticipated in this demonstration commented that they looked
forward to actual implementation of the system because, in theirwords, “We could obtain a better understanding of the victim’s
situation.”
2.3 P
 romotion of tourism using high-definition
omnidirectional VR video
Since the Kumamoto earthquake in 2016, the revitalizationof tourism to ignite a recovery in tourist numbers has been amajor issue for Minamiaso village. However, many tourist sites
in the Minamiaso area such as the Mt. Aso crater and colonies
of rare plants have become off limits or severely limited from theviewpoints of safety or environmental protection. As a result,traditional approaches to tourism have not been sufficiently
conveying the charm of this region. In this field trial, we flew
two drones each equipped with a high-definition omnidirectional
virtual reality (VR) camera over such tourist sites and presented
the video to individual tourists visiting the area in real timethrough a head-mounted display (HMD). In this way, we

envisioned a use case that could provide a means of tourism thatwas safe and not environmentally destructive and that could
convey the beauty and charm of the Minamiaso area (Figure 9).
In this field trial, we installed two 5G base stations at roadsidestation “Asobou no Sato Kugino” in Minamiaso village andconducted the field trial in December 2019 (Figure 10).
We flew the two drones each equipped with a 5G terminalover two overlapping areas each covered by one of the base stationsin an airspace ranging as far as 67 m from the base station. We
captured high-definition omnidirectional VR video on the twodrones and transmitted the video in real time to two HMDs,
respectively (Figure 11). We also supplemented this live video
transmitted from the drones with prerecorded video of structural
remains from the earthquake that are now off limits as well as
regional images and seasonal images and enabled tourists toswitch between the video and images via a HMD as desired.
■ Figure 9: Overview of field trial for promoting tourism
using VR video

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■ Figure 10: 5
 G evaluation environment■ Figure 12: Configuration of field trial of integrated
management system of construction work

■ Figure 11: S cenes of field trial

The president of “Asobou no Sato Minami-Aso,” a company
involved in local tourism and a collaborator in this field trial, said
“Aerial sightseeing by helicopter, which was popular in the past,
is now on hold due to noise issues associated with flights, but I
feel that this demonstration that included scenes from below andbehind may even be better. Image quality is good and I expect
further improvements to be made.” This comment underscores thepossibility of creating attractive sightseeing services using 5G.
2.4 Integrated management system of construction work
The purpose of this field trial was to deal with the shortageof on-site workers in construction work and to achieve realtime management of massive amounts of on-site work data to
make the entire process more efficient. We conducted this fieldtrial simulating road construction at a dam construction site
exploiting the 5G features of ultra-high-speed and low-latency
communications.
As part of the 5G Field Trials, trials examining the remotecontrol of construction machinery using 5G began in FY2017
and the successful remote control of a single machine wasdemonstrated in the same year. Then, in FY2018, a field trial
envisioning the work of recovering from a landslide disasterwas conducted. This trial involved the rapid deployment of a
5G network in the disaster-hit area, the remote control of two
machines that work together, and the removal of landslide debris.
Next, in FY2019, with an eye to applying remote control togeneral construction work based on construction drawings, an“integrated construction management system” was created thatcombined the remote control system with a machine guidancesystem for determining machine working status and 3D laser
scanners for measuring work results. Using this system, a field trial
simulating road construction was conducted at Kawakami Dam in
Mie prefecture in February 2020. In the trial, road construction
was performed by three pieces of machinery (backhoe, crawler
dump, and bulldozer) remotely controlled via 5G and by an

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autonomously operated machine (road roller). This was combinedwith high-precision management of completed work importantin general construction work and with real-time remote quality
management of compactness, which is the most important factor
in road construction (Figure 12). The results of this field trial
revealed video transmission latency of 140 ms – 220 ms. The
standard target for transmission latency for achieving remote
operation without discomfort or confusion is no more than 200
ms, so from an operator’s viewpoint, these results showed thatwork could be sufficiently performed.
This field trial also showed that the state of earth levelingby the bulldozer, the number of surface compaction runs by theroad roller, etc. could be displayed on machine guidance system
screens in color-coded schemes and that the results of measuring
unevenness of the constructed road by the 3D laser scanners
could also be displayed. In short, it was possible to present thestate of construction work to construction supervisors in real time
(Figure 13).
In this field trial of road construction, we measured work timein relation to transport and construction and compared measured
values with labor productivity standards of the Ministry of Land,■ Figure 13: D eviation from targeted height after road
construction

Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT). Construction
work by remote control is generally considered to require 1.5 – 2.0
times the corresponding labor productivity standards, but in thisfield trial, we obtained work times of approximately 1.4 times
those standard values, which was a favorable outcome. The reasonsfor this were (1) the transmission of high-definition video could be
integrated with supplementary information such as that from 3D
laser scanners and (2) operators working together could control
their machines sitting side-by-side in the management room
within the remote control area and could therefore communicatesmoothly with each other, which would not normally be possible
at a noisy construction site. Operators involved in this remote
operation were impressed with “a sense of operation without any
discomfort or confusion” and evaluated the trial positively withcomments like “I could perform construction in a comfortableenvironment through remote operations.”
At this construction site, the work surface was prone tounevenness due to the cohesive and soft soil of the foundation,
and we found that leveling the soil by bulldozer via video-assisted
remote control was quite difficult since this type of work requires
sensitive operations. We therefore determined that there wasroom for system improvements with respect to work that requires
a finished form. In the machine guidance system used in thistrial, the operator controlled the bulldozer’s blade for soil levelingand the direction taken by the bulldozer. However, if a recently
automated system were to be introduced, the operator could
concentrate on only bulldozer direction and entrust this automatedsystem with blade operations that are highly difficult in remotemanual control. In this way, we can expect the required level ofprecision to be achieved even in remote operations.
This f ield trial demonstrated the feasibility of road
construction by remove control of construction machinery using
5G and the possibility of applying 5G to general construction
work. At present, the construction industry assumes that all
construction work must be carried out on-site since it is notpossible to concentrate operations in the manner of amanufacturing hub in the manufacturing industry. However,remote control as demonstrated by this field trial opens up the
possibility of consolidating at least part of the construction
process in a permanent hub and revolutionizing construction work
including worker roles and production management.

3. Field Trials of Use Cases Exploiting 5G
Ultra-high-speed Communications in Indoor
Environments
Field Trial Group 4 Advanced Telecommunications ResearchInstitute International:
Hiroyuki Yokoyama
Envisioning four use cases exploiting 5G, we conducted fieldtrials in collaboration with partners (Table 2). The technicalobjective of these field trials was to achieve ultra-high-speed
communications in uplink communications from a user terminal
in indoor environments.
3.1 Sports viewing to enhance sense of unity between players
and spectators
With the aim of revitalizing regional sports stadiums, we
conducted a field trial of a new sports-viewing system at the
Hanazono Rugby Stadium in Higashiosaka, Osaka in October
2019. This system exploits the 5G feature of ultra-high-speed
communications to share players’ vital data and the level ofspectator cheering and bring about a sense of unity between theplayers and spectators. It enables degree of player fatigue, levelof cheering, etc. obtained from sensor data to be visualized anddelivered to 5G terminals and the main stadium screen after being
synthesized with the live video (Figures 14 and 15). In the trial,
spectators were encouraged to cheer on the players when they got
tired, and at halftime, the spectators themselves participated in acheering competition that included game-like elements.
These new sports viewing technologies powered by 5G canenhance the sense of unity between players and spectators, andincrease the number of people attending regional stadiums.
■ Figure 14: Concept of sports-viewing field trial■ Table 2: List of use cases

Sports viewing to enhance sense of unity between players andspectators *Frequency
Implementers/partners
band
28 GHz
ATR, KDDI, Jupiter Telecommunications, Data Stadium, Knows,
TECHTUITE

Streamlining of diary/livestock industry *28 GHz

ATR, KDDI, Waseda University, University of Miyazaki, Kamishihoro Town,
Tokachi Murakami Farm

Support of racehorse breeding *28 GHz

ATR, KDDI, The University of Tokyo, Sharp Corporation, Niikappu Town,
Hidaka Racehorse Cooperative Upbringing Center

Use case

Note: Use cases marked with an asterisk (*) were top winners in the 5G Utilization Idea Contest held by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications in FY2018[3].

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■ Figure 15: Video delivered in sports-viewing field trial

3.2 Streamlining of diary/livestock industry
With the purpose of raising the efficiency of the dairy/
livestock industry, we conducted a field trials for two use casesin November 2019 at Tokachi Murakami Farm in Kamishihoro
town, Hokkaido (Figure 16). The first trial aimed to detect thelocation of cows within a cowshed from 4K video transmitted
by 5G such as when a veterinarian wants to check for signs of abreeding period or diagnose the health of a cow. In this trial, we

installed multiple 4K cameras within the cowshed, shot the cows
while fixed to a stanchion during feeding, and transmitted thevideo to servers by 5G. The ID numbers on the ear tags of thecows were identified using a video analysis program running onthese servers and were then used to display the positions of thesecows on a tablet (Figure 17 (a)).
The second field trial aimed to remotely monitor cows froman office via 4K video to observe, for example, cows with low milk
production. We confirmed that real-time or stored 4K video of thecows specified by ID numbers could be shown on the screen in theoffice (Figure 17 (b)).
These results showed that the time required to search for a
cow’s location, which takes more than 15 minutes per head byvisual means, could be greatly reduced and that a specific cow
could be remotely monitored, all of which should increase work
efficiency in this industry.
3.3 Support of racehorse breeding
To support the racehorse breeding industry, we envisioned theuse of 5G to enable horse owners and production ranch owners
to observe the raising of entrusted horses from afar. To judge the■ Figure 16: Overview of field trials for dairy/livestock industry■ Figure 17: F ield trials for dairy/livestock industry

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■ Figure 18: O
 verview of field trials in support of racehorse breeding industry■ Figure 19: Field trials in support of racehorse

merits of this premise, we conducted a field trial of using 5G ultrahigh-speed communications to transmit 8K video of racehorses
at the Hidaka Racehorse Cooperative Upbringing Center in
Niikappu town, Hokkaido in November 2019 (Figure 18). In thistrial, we installed 5G base stations at two locations inside a stableand beside the training course. We also installed four 4K cameras
within a stall in the stable for monitoring by staff and remotediagnostics by veterinarians. These four 4K video streams werecombined into one 8K video stream and transmitted by 5G to an
office. In addition to the above, we installed an 8K camera in thestable passageway to capture a horse’s gait and transmitted thisvideo by 5G to the office in the same way. At the training course,
we captured the running of horses by a drone equipped with an
8K camera and succeeded in transmitting 8K video streams with
uplink throughput over 120 Mbps (Figure 19). In this way, thecondition of a horse’s muscles built up through training, its hairgloss, and other characteristics could be checked through remotemonitoring, which shows that 5G and 8K video can be useful tools
in racehorse breeding.
These technologies will improve service and access forhorse owners and increase ranch-related tourism through video
distribution.

4. Conclusion
This article introduced the results of conducting “field trials
of use cases exploiting 5G ultra-high-speed communicationsin urban and suburban settings” and “field trials of use cases
exploiting 5G ultra-high-speed communications in indoor
environments.”
Acknowledgments
We would like to express our deep gratitude to the Ministry ofInternal Affairs and Communications and related institutions fortheir cooperation in holding these field trials.
References[1] Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications: “Start of FY2019 5G Comprehensive
Demonstration Tests.”
https://www.soumu.go.jp/menu_news/s-news/01kiban14_02000390.html, Aug. 2019.
https://www.soumu.go.jp/main_sosiki/joho_tsusin/eng/pressrelease/2019/8/16_1.html (in English)[2] URLs to reference videos on KDDI’s official YouTube channel for each section of this article:
Section 2.1: https://youtu.be/S_mOloyQk6s
Section 2.2: https://youtu.be/Zr3u0xCFBuE
Section 2.3: https://youtu.be/JcrIzK7nLac
Section 2.4: https://youtu.be/fZ_vm5U8LTI
Section 3.1: https://youtu.be/clhCCTTi-7U
Section 3.2: https://youtu.be/DyQqvYx0mhY
Section 3.3: https://youtu.be/WtvhSTebvLw[3] Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications: “5G Utilization Idea Contest,”
https://5g-contest.jp/, Jan. 2019.

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