Abstract
Immersive media services, such as augmented reality and virtual reality (AR/VR), a 360-degree video, and free-viewpoint video (FVV), are popular today. They require massive data storage, ultrahigh computing power, and ultralow latency. It is hard to fulfill these requirements simultaneously in a conventional communication system using a cloud/centralized radio access network (C-RAN). Specifically, due to centralized processing in such a system, the end-to-end latency, as well as the burden on the fronthaul network, are expected to be high. Fog computing-based radio access networks (F-RAN), in contrast, have been widely considered as an enabler for immersive media. Our contribution in this paper is threefold: First, we propose various service scenarios reflecting the characteristics of immersive media. Second, we identify the technologies that are required to support the proposed service scenarios under F-RAN and discuss how they can support the proposed scenarios efficiently. Third, we discuss possible research opportunities. a A list of acronyms can be found in the Appendix.
Highlights
Immersive media refer to the multimedia that provide users with an illusive environment entirely surrounding them such that they feel part of it
The last few years have witnessed a huge spread and commercialization of immersive media services, such as free-viewpoint video (FVV), 360-degree video, and augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR), in different fields ranging from entertainment to communications, education, and medicine [1], [2]
The most important feature of centralized radio access network (C-RAN) is the separation between the distribution unit (DU) and the radio unit (RU) to support enhanced capacity and coverage, and to manage the network resources in an adaptive way [12]–[14]
Summary
Immersive media refer to the multimedia that provide users with an illusive environment entirely surrounding them such that they feel part of it. The last few years have witnessed a huge spread and commercialization of immersive media services, such as free-viewpoint video (FVV), 360-degree video, and augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR), in different fields ranging from entertainment to communications, education, and medicine [1], [2] This spread generally can be attributed to the rapid advancement of networking technologies and the growth of smart devices market. We first provide specific immersive media service scenarios under F-RAN, taking into consideration the characteristics of FVV, 360-degree video, and AR/VR spaces. We propose F-RAN scenarios for notable immersive media services, and discuss the feasibility of each scenario.
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