IoT firm teams up with university for 5G project to help speed up triage appointments

IoT connections and solutions specialist Pangea has teamed up with Kingston University to launch a 5G project.

The two organisations have collaborated to develop enriched video compression and data transfer techniques over 4G+ and 5G networks, with the aim of medical staff using ambulance streams to triage patients before reaching A&E – with the aim of reducing pressures on that hospital department and improving response time.

Pangea’s MD Dan Cunliffe said: “We’re proud to be at the forefront of the push for 5G. By combining our connectivity, commercial expertise, and Channel access with the power and knowledge of Kingston University’s academics, along with access to its 5G testbed, we’ll pave the way for data transferal over powerful 5G networks.

“We’re excited to embark on this journey alongside Kingston University, and we’re privileged to have the opportunity to develop such incredible technology.”

The project is funded through Innovate UK’s Knowledge Transfer Programme.

They’ll be working alongside Kingston University’s Professor of Wireless Communications, Christos Politis—a wireless network researcher – and video compression specialist associate professor Nada Philip.

Professor Politis said: “Alongside speed increases which will rival those delivered by optical fibre, 5G will incorporate IoT technology, which opens up so many possibilities for the health sector and across the emergency services through the use of smart devices."

Dr Philip, who specialises in video compression, said one of the challenges was how to deliver optimal high-quality video consistently through wireless networks when travelling at high speed.

She said: “When you stream multimedia content, it will be affected by different network conditions. We will be looking at how to ensure the moving images arrive in high-definition, allowing for accurate medical diagnosis and enabling police forces to identify people from their body-camera footage.”