Singapore will be testing an outdoor 5G-enabled extended reality (XR) experience at Fort Siloso in Sentosa.
Called The Battle of Fort Siloso: A 5G-enabled XR Experience, the proof-of-concept (POC) will draw guests into a fictional World War Two battle at the historic fort through captivating story-telling, virtual imagery and gamification.
Harnessing the combined capabilities of XR technology and 5G on Sentosa, guests can experience immersive audio and visuals amidst simulated war-time commands, as well as participate in the defence of the fort through gaming.
This trial experience will be open for registration for members of the Sentosa Islander programme from 2 to 24 June 2023. It will run until mid-August, and thereafter, the Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) will use guest feedback to identify areas for further enhancement and deployment, depending on technology maturity and commercial interest.
“STB’s Tcube has been working closely with Singtel and their vendors over the past few months to develop this new 5G-enabled XR experience that pushes the boundaries of technology. We hope this will encourage tourism companies to embrace innovation and create unique and memorable experiences for visitors,” says Wong Ming Fai, chief technology officer of the Singapore Tourism Board (STB).
Michael Ma, SDC’s assistant chief executive, adds: “Through exploring immersive technologies in partnership with STB and GovTech, we are excited to bring on digitally-innovative experiences for our guests to try out on Sentosa. Such a trial is a key step in our journey to evaluate unique opportunities to enhance tourism offerings on Sentosa as we gear up for the recovery of international arrivals, minimising extensive physical infrastructure on preserved heritage sites such as Fort Siloso.”
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Part of the programme to accelerate 5G adoption
The Battle of Fort Siloso: A 5G-enabled XR Experience POC is part of the 5G@Sentosa testbed programme, and is jointly developed by SDC, STB, and the Government Technology Agency (GovTech).
A total of 30 trials from over ten agencies have been undertaken on Sentosa since the launch of the 5G@Sentosa testbed programme in October 2021. These trials leverage the lower latency, higher speed, and broader bandwidth of 5G technology in areas such as construction, manufacturing, healthcare and tourism.
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Some 5G trials have been commercialised under the Infocomm Media Development Authority’s (IMDA) 5G Innovation Programme. These include the Asia-Pacific region’s first 5G mobile edge computing for mixed reality and holomedicine capabilities in health tech with National University Health System, and 5G-enabled mixed reality for construction with Gammon.
“The 5G@Sentosa testbed has helped demonstrate the potential of 5G technology to public agencies over the past two years, and SDC and STB’s XR trial at Fort Siloso is a particularly exciting use case that visitors to Sentosa will be able to experience. Going forward, the takeaways from 5G@Sentosa will also help GovTech better support the technical needs of agencies looking to adopt 5G for mainland operations, in collaboration with IMDA,” says Kok Ping Soon, chief executive at GovTech.
