DT, KDDI lay out plans for edge PaaS targeted for AR/VR with MobiledgeX

KDDI and Deutsche Telekom will work with Mawari, MobiledgeX, and Sturfee to make a Visual Positioning Service (VPS) — provided by KDDI’s development partner Sturfee, which is compatible with the MobiledgeX Edge-Cloud platform — and deploy it as a PaaS to KDDI and Deutsche Telekom’s MEC network.

In addition, the SDK provided by PaaS will be embedded into the AR app on a smartphone, and a 3D virtual human application called “coh” will be distributed from KDDI and Deutsche Telekom MEC to the smartphone XR app.

KDDI and Deutsche Telekom expect that this PoC can be used to efficiently develop low-latency XR applications that are running on smartphones, smart glasses, and other XR devices.

Key Steps in the PoC Process

– For the global deployment of XR applications using MECs, KDDI and Deutsche Telekom will build a platform that can efficiently deploy XR applications to their MEC by leveraging the MobiledgeX Edge-Cloud 3.0 platform that integrates and manages MECs of telecom operators in each country and enables applications to be easily deployed to each MEC.

– Using the platform built by KDDI and Deutsche Telekom, VPS, a spatial recognition technology of Sturfee and XR content streaming technology provided by Mawari will be deployed to the MEC of both companies.

– Will also develop an API/SDK as PaaS to enable collaboration between Sturfee’s VPS and Mawari’s XR streaming technology.

– Will demonstrate that KDDI’s Virtual human “coh”, planned and developed by KDDI’s creative team “au VISION STUDIO” (Partner: Aww Inc.), is streamed by leveraging Sturfee’s VPS and Mawari’s XR streaming technology from the MobiledgeX powered edge cloud in both Japan and Germany.

– To make it easier for application developers and content creators to deploy XR content globally, the API/SDK developed in this PoC will be made available on the “au VISION STUDIO” project introduction website in October 2021.

The five companies are currently participating in the TEC Trial promoted by GSMA and aim to realize PaaS through this PoC to solve customer issues and create global business opportunities.

Mavenir, MobiledgeX and Deutsche Telekom, demonstrate dynamic cloud-native deployment of 5G Core UPF

In other news, Mavenir, in collaboration with MobiledgeX and Deutsche Telekom, recently demonstrated and validated the reference design for deploying cloud-native 5G User Plane Function (UPF) to support Multi-Access Edge Computing (MEC) applications, tailored to each use case need for proximity and performance. The reference design is fully cloud-native, abstracted away from underlying cloud architecture, infrastructure vendor and operating owner.

A service-based, cloud-native UPF is at the core of the reference design. Since the introduction of mobile packet data in 3G, all data traffic, irrespective of source, destination, and requesting application, has been tunneled back to a limited number of fixed (packet gateway) anchor points inside the mobile networks. This is increasingly inefficient, non-performant, and prone to bottlenecks. 5G Core standards enable dynamic placement of the anchor point (the UPF) based on the application and network’s needs. The combination of Mavenir’s widely deployed 4G/5G cloud-native Converged Packet Core solution, coupled with the MobiledgeX Edge-Cloud platform enables the UPF to be placed on different clouds from different vendors with different ownership. Service provider control, security, and privacy are maintained by a customer’s owning operator at all times, even when roaming. This architecture helps optimal placement of the application’s backend servers, enabling a superior user experience and increased network efficiency, by significantly reducing the distance the data needs to travel before it is processed.

Validated Reference Design

For this trial validation, the Mavenir 5G Core is running in Deutsche Telekom’s network. Two network and vendor-independent cloudlets, located in Germany, have been deployed as valid UPF placements in the 5G Core routing. For instance, a video application is started on a 5G phone connected to Deutsche Telekom’s 5G network in Berlin. The request is sent to the 5G Core that selects UPF placement in the Berlin cloudlet. Tunneling is established. The video request is passed to the local edge-placed video cache and delivery commences. The identical request is made in Hanover. The traffic is then established to the Hanover cloudlet and local fulfillment occurs there. The MobiledgeX Edge Cloud 3.0 platform dynamically controls the secure placement, lifecycle management, and video traffic routing of the edge-based UPF and the video application.

“This is a successful milestone for cloud-native 5G Core traffic routing, giving Deutsche Telekom the freedom to deliver a point of interconnect/local breakouts anywhere in the world, on any cloud,” says Bejoy Pankajakshan, Chief Strategy Officer, Mavenir. “Cloud-native design of 5G network functions integrated with orchestration tools makes it possible to achieve a new level of flexibility in network function placement. Automation, agility, and flexibility are at the heart of this project.”

“The MobiledgeX Edge-Cloud platform enables our operator customers to dynamically manage and allocate UPF functionality across their own cloud infrastructure independent of vendor, in roaming partners mobile networks, in private 4G/5G networks, and in public clouds, all through one pane of glass and in one trusted and secure operation,” says Sunay Tripathi, Chief Technology Officer & EVP of Engineering & Product, MobiledgeX. “Cloud-native UPF operation transforms traffic patterns in mobile operator networks, making the telecom operator the largest customer of their own edge cloud offering which is necessary to be a true cloud leader. We are very excited that Deutsche Telekom has taken the initiative to lead.”

Article Topics

AR/VR  |  DT  |  edge PaaS  |  KDDI  |  Mavenir  |  Mawari  |  MobiledgeX  |  network services  |  wireless