Join Alyssa as she sits down with contributor Helen Boo to talk about the potential impacts of 5G and the Internet of Things on the arts industry. Together they discuss how these technologies may improve interactive installations, inspire the building of green initiatives, and potential data security concerns for the arts.
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Alyssa: Hello AMT Lab listeners, and welcome to an interview episode brought to you by the Arts Management and Technology Lab. My name is Alyssa and I'm the Podcast Producer.
In this episode, I sit down with contributor Helen Boo, where she'll discuss her research on 5G and IoT, and the possible implications for the art world, particularly as we adjust to the new normal of remote work.
Please note that we are recording this episode as of April 13, 2020, during the Coronavirus pandemic. We are practicing social distancing by recording over Zoom. Therefore, you may hear differences in the audio quality, particularly as we switch from speaker to speaker.
We hope you enjoy this episode, brought to you by AMT Lab.
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Alyssa: Okay, so I am here with Helen Boo, we are, uh, Zoom calling in from Pittsburgh (PA) to Seoul, South Korea. So, today we're going to be focusing on 5G and IoT. And you know, like when we get out of this pandemic, the nature of our work, like the way that we operate our businesses is not really going to be the same as it was before because of COVID-19. Helen, thank you very much for joining us today.
Helen: Hey, Alyssa, it's great to hear from you. Thank you for inviting me today.
Alyssa: Not a problem. So, could you walk us through what you are working on?
Helen: Absolutely. So, my current research is on the impact of 5G and IoT, which is also known as the Internet of Things, and how those two technologies will bring about to the arts industry. And I tried to bring in different angles from both production and presentation sides and also from the operation side of the organization.
Alyssa: Awesome. So, could you explain to us a little bit more detail of what 5G And IoT might be, and before we move further, perhaps define what exactly the two are?
Helen: Of course. So, you might have already heard of 4G or LTE while using your smartphones – 5G is basically the fifth generation of wireless communications technology. So, you can think of it as an updated version from the previous 4G that you've been using. The major difference between 5G and 4G is speed and latency. So, to put it simply, 5G is faster and more efficient. This doesn't just mean faster connection to phones, and 5G is expected to be 100 times faster than 4G as well. So, for example, you can download a two-hour long film in less than 10 seconds with 5G, while it would take up to 7 to 10 minutes or more with 4G.
Alyssa: Oh, wow.
Helen: Most 5G networks are built on the higher band spectrum that can transmit a larger amount of data, but much faster to speeds compared to 4G. So, this will mean that you know, for arts institutions, since a lot of them are now in, you know, turning their heads to a lot of immersive reality technologies in their exhibition space, with this faster transmission they wouldn't have, sort of, lag in their immersive content. And yeah, it would be much more of a smoother delivery of those contents, so to speak.
Another big difference comes also from latency. And latency is the time it takes for devices to communicate with each other or with the server that is sending them the information, basically. Latency is also already low at 4G, but 5G will be able to make it to basically zero. So, this would allow instantaneous, simultaneous communication among the wireless internet connected devices, systems and people using them. So, this is not just limited to smartphones, it could be to VR headsets in, again, in the exhibition space, or the sensors and operating systems. So, like I said, one possible application for the art world would be a seamless, immersive experience to meet with the growth of AR and VR applications in arts organizations.
So, one example is could be the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia that currently provides, um, virtual reality experiences to their visitors. They currently have HTC and Oculus Rift headsets for their visitors to explore and immerse themselves into the deep sea or the moon landing of [the] Apollo 11. And they've also made a range of their contents available online so that users can download the app and enjoy the contents from home with their own headsets. So, the expansion of 5G network onto experiences that, for example, the Franklin Institute is providing, could mean that the Institute might be able to provide more life-like experiences or even connect multiple users in the same content, which is now, um, not really possible. But with the increased speed and processing of data between the devices enabled by 5G, it might be possible in the near future.
Alyssa: That's really interesting to know. I've done a little bit of research on VR in the past, and to see the possibility of having a 5G network improve the quality of what, um, museum goers might be seeing within VR headsets… To me, this is very exciting because the more, I suppose, like, the more immersive you can make this experience and the more high quality it is, then the more fascinating the experience will become for these museum goers.
Helen: Right.
Alyssa: But anyway, I interrupted you. Could you- Oh, sorry. were you about to say something?
Helen: No, that's totally fine. Um, I was just going to add that, you know, like, add a point where, right now, like, a lot of people think AR and VR experience in museum spaces are sort of subsidiary programs, and they don't really, you know, see a lot of potential in it. But maybe if we can, like, incorporate 5G and make it, like, sort of, like, you know, standing, like an experience that can stand out on its own, and something, you know, people think it's actually worthwhile to, like, take a look into, it might be, you know, beneficial for those places that already have the system in place. But yeah.
Alyssa: So, this is all, this is all fascinating information, thank you so much. Can you go into a little bit more detail of IoT and what it stands for, and if there are any examples?
Helen: Right, so IoT is a short for Internet of Things and as explained by the website, IoT For All, it is about extending the power of internet beyond just computers and smartphones into a whole range of things, like processes and environments. And these things that are connected can communicate by collecting information and sending it to each other. So, like a familiar example that you probably might have encountered more often are smart TVs and fridges, you know, you can download a mobile app to control the temperature, send and receive and display notes and messages on both your phone and the touchscreen installed on your fridge door through a shared cloud.
Alyssa: Hey, that's pretty cool. Are there any places for IoT currently exists within the arts industry?
Helen: Um, within the arts industry, it's still in the initial stage, but a good example of IoT and 5G in place, would be the Palace Museum in Beijing, China and the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg in Russia. So, IoT technology allows museums to gather real time visitor Information on the popularity of certain venues, exhibitions, artifacts, and so on. So, in the case of Beijing's Palace Museum, they enable this by [a] user app, as well as through using the three thousand C-, CCTVs dispersed across a space. So, this helps the museum to gain heightened security measures, but it can also serve as a guideline for the museum to recommend visitors, um, a visitor-oriented museum tour guide catered to each person's interest or preference. And also according to maybe how crowded some areas are some apps, might lead visitors to a less crowded area first and then make sure that, you know, they have, they don't have a lot of crowd jamming at the same place. And then afterwards, the museum is equipped with data driven analysis on the visitor information and can use this information to assess the museum's performance, design feature programs and target marketing campaigns and content accordingly.
Alyssa: Okay, I gotcha now, that's very interesting. Are there any other implications of the adoption of 5G and IOT that they might have in the cultural sector?
Helen: Yes, there are, and there are researchers suggesting that this transition to 5G will, to some extent, help arts businesses achieve a greener, more sustainable development. So, the Arts Council England had released their annual environmental report earlier this year and they pointed out how museums are generating 41% of [the global] carbon footprint despite making up only 8% of the total national portfolio [of] organizations. If you think about how many empty exhibition rooms, hallways, lobbies, and other areas are left with lighting and air conditioning [on] throughout the whole day, you know, this number seems to make a lot of sense. Some institutions, like the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, has already laid out their green initiatives and plans to expand direct digital control systems to save energy. So, if you think about the 5G and 5G-powered IoT, and their new possibilities for optimizing energy efficiency, they could actually propel the arts industry to move towards greener practices.
Um, Ericsson, the company's expo-, Exponential Climate Action Roadmap, highlighted how [the] digital sector, including 5G and IoT, and other network technologies, are estimated to have the potential to directly cut 15% of fossil fuel emissions, and indirectly support a further reduction of 35% by influencing consumer business decisions and system transformations by 2030. In this scenario, the existing building of an organization can be transformed into a Smart building where a smarter control system would be able to identify where people are most [located] at to reduce unnecessary air conditioning, heating, lighting or other energies in less populated areas of the building to save utilities, as well as lower carbon emissions. The Natural History Museum of London for instance, had been maintaining a digital twin, converging information gathered by 15,000 sensors spread across 100,000 square meters of the museum space with the operational technology. The data on the temperature, humidity, vibration, and light in different departments are linked together by the digital twin.
Alyssa: Wow, so this is a lot of really important work and this is some interesting aspects of how 5G and IoT could really transform the arts industry. Would there be any precautions that organizations should take though before jumping into implementing this new technology?
Helen: There definitely are. Like any new emerging technology, 5G and IoT also have a lot of shortcomings when it comes to realistic applications, as much as their promises, especially in the arts industry. It is an investment that an organization has to make, and at smaller or less tech-powered arts institutions, the new technology might not be as compatible with your obsolete operating, um, systems and may result in actually lowered performances, compared to the investment that has been made.
There are also concerns that IoT may negate the efforts towards a more sustainable business practice. 5G could enable acceleration of digital platforms, which eventually drives even higher electricity consumption, unless the connection is powered by a more efficient or a sustainable energy source. So, one, um, thing that arts organizations should consider is that 5G and IoT won't be the ultimate solution to everything and they should take into, take into considerations some of the caveats and disadvantages that might ensue adopting these new technologies.
Alyssa: Absolutely. I can imagine that, um, installation costs are going to be very expensive as well, like especially if they need to replace some of these obsolete operating systems that-
Helen: Exactly.
Alyssa: All right. And one more question for you. I'm going to backtrack a little bit in the conversation here, because I recall you mentioning that the IoT, the Internet of Things, has the potential to help users navigate the space, um, or maintain, like, some visitor information on the popularity of certain exhibitions. So, I guess I'm curious if there any privacy concerns that go along with this new technology?
Helen: There definitely is a lot of concerns about the privacy issue, because essentially, if you think about how these informations get collected, that's through the sensors and the security cameras and the mobile apps that users or visitors might be downloading onto their phones with a GPS tracker enabled. So, um, I guess like another issue that will be dealt with in my research paper would be this privacy issue aspect, but so far, because it's still the initial stage of 5G adoption, there hasn't been as much, um, information or data that shows how invasive these two technologies could be.
Alyssa: Okay, interesting. All the examples that you brought up though – the GPS locations, the security cameras – these are all things that do, of course, already exist within cell phone use and within museums as well. But I guess like in terms of introducing a new technology, like there are obviously going to need to be some policies written around that.
Helen: Exactly.
Alyssa: All right, cool. So… and, so then 5G with a grain of salt would be the final take in the discussion we had so far today, right?
Helen: That's right. And, again, more details on each aspect that we've covered today in our talk on what 5G and IoT are, and their merits and possible shortcomings, and some cautions that we might have to take and prepare before we adopt these new technologies will be discussed in my paper.
Alyssa: Awesome. I look forward to reading that at some point. Well, hey, Helen, thank you so much for joining us for the podcast today and talking about your topic on 5G and IoT. It's been fascinating, I've learned a couple of new things today, and I look forward to seeing some of this technology someday in the arts world.
Helen: Thank you, Alyssa.
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Thanks for listening to the Arts and Management and Technology Lab podcast series. You can read more on the intersection between the arts and technology at www.amt-lab.org. Or, you can listen to more interviews and discussions in our podcast series on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, or Stitcher. Thank you for joining us.
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Interview transcription is supported by Otter.ai.