Summit Tech will demonstrate 360° video calling with Virtual Reality (VR) headsets at Mobile World Congress this week. This innovative form of communication allows people to see, and look around in an immersive 360° view of the place they are calling, as well as share the VR experience with others in real-time.
The new system from Summit Tech provides the means to connect Voice over LTE (VoLTE) and Video over LTE (ViLTE) calls directly into Oculus Rift Virtual Reality (VR) headsets. The 360° video calls are streamed directly from GIROPTIC’s soon-to-be-launched 360cam. The GIROPTIC 360cam, which will officially launch this spring, is the first mass-market consumer 360° camera able to send real-time content to a mobile phone.
Summit Tech’s VoLTE & ViLTE Virtual Reality works with existing industry standards including wireless operators’ IMS networks supporting IR.94 video and enriched calling. On supported IMS networks, the 360° video stream connects users equipped with readily available IMS/RCS based smartphones. It routes the call through the wireless operator’s network and overlays IR.94 video calls into the VR session. In addition to connecting with VR headsets, the 360° video calls can also be streamed as a Video Share session with RCS enabled Android, iOS and Microsoft smartphones or downloadable apps for tablets and PCs.
“In a market which has become resigned to innovation coming from OTT players, we have come up with a whole new way for wireless operators to retake the initiative,” commented Alido Di Giovanni, president of Summit Tech. “It is time for operators to better leverage their IMS deployments and provide something that can truly excite consumers again, beyond just getting faster Internet or cheaper data packages. With IMS, why stop at basic Enriched Calling – delivering truly immersive experiences is one of the many ways they can begin to amaze.”
