5G-Enabled Tactile Internet

TLDR

The Tactile Internet seeks to democratize skill by delivering real‑time touch through edge robotics and haptics, a capability that relies on the unprecedented connectivity of 5G mobile systems. This paper identifies the core technology concepts that bridge the Tactile Internet and emerging 5G systems. It outlines the essential technical requirements and architectural approaches—including wireless access protocols, radio resource management, next‑generation core networking, edge‑cloud, and edge‑AI—to realize the Tactile Internet. The work also emphasizes the Tactile Internet’s economic impact and the resulting shift in business models for the traditional telecommunications ecosystem.

Abstract

The long-term ambition of the Tactile Internet is to enable a democratization of skill, and how it is being delivered globally. An integral part of this is to be able to transmit touch in perceived real-time, which is enabled by suitable robotics and haptics equipment at the edges, along with an unprecedented communications network. The fifth generation (5G) mobile communications systems will underpin this emerging Internet at the wireless edge. This paper presents the most important technology concepts, which lay at the intersection of the larger Tactile Internet and the emerging 5G systems. The paper outlines the key technical requirements and architectural approaches for the Tactile Internet, pertaining to wireless access protocols, radio resource management aspects, next generation core networking capabilities, edge-cloud, and edge-AI capabilities. The paper also highlights the economic impact of the Tactile Internet as well as a major shift in business models for the traditional telecommunications ecosystem.