Vodafone combines 5G and haptics to let rugby players 100 miles apart tackle each other

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By Matthew Griffin Virtual World 21st September 2019

WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF

This is just one example of how 5G will let us work and play in new ways, and it’s just the beginning.

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Vodafone showed off several demos of its new 5G network in London the other week, but the main one was somewhat bizarre with a world-first demonstration of the power of 5G to transmit touch using haptic technology.

Professional rugby players from Wasps Rugby took part in the stunt in which Juan De Jongh instantaneously felt the impact of a rugby tackle made by Will Rowlands that was made over 100 miles away at the Ricoh Stadium in Coventry. He tackled a padded cylinder containing sensors which you can see in the video.

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De Jongh wore a Teslasuit, a full immersion haptic suit that I’ve talked about before, for the demonstration, and the suit was able to simulate the feeling of the tackle through a full body haptic feedback system that provides sensation.

Watch the world’s first remote rugby tackle

This electro-stimulation improves the learning experience by increasing immersion, fostering 360-degree awareness and engaging muscle memory.

Before the live demo but after practice, De Jongh said: “I’ve never experienced anything like this. It felt like something from the Matrix. This technology could not only help athletes to train, but to get back into training after injury.”

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And that’s just the beginning, so will we one day be playing virtual rugby across the world with one another? Well, there’s no reason why not.

Matthew Griffin / About Author

Described by NASA as a "Walking Encyclopaedia of the Future" and one of the world’s most in demand keynote speakers Matthew Griffin, Founder and Futurist in Chief of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm, is a multi-award winning Futurist and strategic foresight expert, author, lecturer, mentor, podcast and YouTube host.

With a distinguished career running global business units at Atos, EMC, and IBM today Matthew helps leaders and titans of industry from all over the world explore the impact of the inter sections of technology, culture, and leadership, then helps them create high performance organisations that can continuously disrupt, outpace, and outthink their competition.

15 times author of the hit series the Codex of the Future series Matthew's ability to identify, track, and explain the impacts of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends on global business, culture, and society has earned him a powerful reputation and a roster of clients that include royal households, world leaders across the G7, G20, and G77, and many of the world's most recognised and exceptional organisations including ABB, Accenture, ABN Amro, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi Group, Coca Cola, Deloitte, Dentons, Disney, Dow, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Microsoft, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Nokia, Paramount, PepsiCo, PWC, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, T-Mobile, UBS, Visa, WIRED, WPP and hundreds of others.

Matthew is regularly featured in the global media including the AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, Forbes, Khaleej Times, Telegraph, TIME, ViacomCBS, WIRED, and the WSJ, and his mission is to help organisations create a fair and sustainable future whose benefits are shared by everyone irrespective of their ability, background, or circumstances.