MILCOM 2021 ATTENDEES GET FIRST LOOK AT OUR WIRELESS XR PLATFORM

January 27, 2022

Last month was a big moment for us at XCOM Labs. We publicly demonstrated our first commercial technology solution: a wireless extended reality (XR) indoor system designed to support multiple mobile users. The feedback was everything our talented engineering team could have hoped:

“This is the most promising XR technology I’ve experienced. I liked the mobility, and it felt more natural to move. No jitter.”

“This really shows how wireless technology can be used beyond the smartphone.”

“The big thing is being free to move around.”

“Successfully offloading processing from the headset… That’s impressive.”

“One of the smoothest deliveries of untethered, off-headset rendering I have ever had the opportunity to experience.”

Over the course of two days, select attendees at the MILCOM 2021 conference in San Diego, California donned Microsoft HoloLens 2 Mixed Reality headsets equipped with our small, lightweight radios in a large meeting room outfitted with our overhead radios and powerful edge computing servers. These participants experienced a fully-wireless augmented reality (AR) environment where highly detailed photorealistic images, video and haptics were rendered and processed instantaneously. The result was a seamless, natural and mobile immersive experience.

“This is a first-of-its-kind breakthrough. Our platform cuts the cord to enable wireless, multi-user extended-reality experiences,” said Paul Jacobs, CEO of XCOM Labs. “Our team and industry partners are excited to unlock new possibilities for commercial applications.” 

For large-scale indoor deployments serving multiple users simultaneously, the XCOM Labs wireless XR platform offers: 

Seamless mobility: No heavy server backpack or awkward cable.

Consistent, high throughput for all users: No degradation of holographic videos or images.

Very low latency: No jitter or lag leading to cybersickness.

Outstanding robustness to blockage: No gaps in connectivity as the user’s radio moves between access points.

Because we’ve moved the burden of generating highly complex realistic VR and AR environments from the user devices to our powerful edge computing servers, mobile XR can deliver the same image quality as wired XR without a cable or bulky body-worn PCs. 

“We anticipate this technology will open the floodgates for developers to create next-generation XR experiences,” said Matt Grob, chief technology officer at XCOM Labs. 

While the demonstration used millimeter wave spectrum in the globally available 60GHz unlicensed band, we’re also commercializing the underlying technologies for 5G as well. 

XCOM wireless XR is engineered for remote collaboration, learning and specialized training, battlefield simulation, telemedicine, industrial automation, smart warehouses, location-based entertainment and more.  

The annual MILCOM conference is organized by ComSoc, the IEEE Communications Society; and AFCEA, a member-based, non-profit international organization that has helped members advance information technology, communications and electronics capabilities. The event draws senior military and industry leaders, researchers and communications professionals seeking to share and explore the latest military communications challenges and innovative solutions. 

 

Microsoft and HoloLens 2 are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies.