ZTE Supports USUNHOME to Complete World’s First Commercial 5G-A Immersive VR Theater

Jimmy’s works have illuminated countless youthful memories. These picture books, renowned for their distinctive artistic style and profound emotional resonance, have comforted generations. Now, this warmth and inspiration have arrived in Chengdu in the form of location-based entertainment (LBE) VR.

On October 31, 2024, “Jimmy Picture Book Metaverse Drama—My World is All You” opened at East Lake Park, Chengdu. This project is based on the classic picture book metaverse drama adaptation of Jimmy, carefully crafted by USUNHOME Group in partnership with ZTE, China Electronic Cloud, and China Telecom Sichuan Branch. By deploying a 5G-A minimalist private network, USUNHOME Group has completed the world’s first commercial 5G-A immersive VR theater. This innovative solution not only achieves a highly immersive experience under lightweight equipment but also brings warm spiritual journeys to the audience.

The play presents a heartwarming story about pets, loss, and farewells. As the narrative progresses, players will experience the story physically unfolding around them, with VR technology enabling sensations like flying and rising within the expansive virtual space. The whimsical aesthetic, paired with a pure and simple storyline, resonates uniquely with audiences across different age groups, inviting diverse interpretations and emotional connections to the tale.

At the beginning of this project’s design, traditional solutions faced many challenges in balancing commercial operational efficiency with an immersive user experience. First, if a backpack-based local rendering solution is used, the players need to carry a heavy backpack (up to 5 kg) for 45-60 minutes, which is quite difficult for adults, let alone children and the elderly. While the industry has shifted from backpack rendering to VR headset rendering, the limited computing power of VR headsets greatly affects graphic details and real-time interactive experience, making it difficult to show the high-quality content.

USUNHOME Group shifted its focus to "cloud rendering" and deployed computing resources at the "edge" of the network. Through wireless streaming, high-quality content is delivered in real time. However, using Wi-Fi for wireless streaming brings significant signal interference as the number of users increases, severely restricting player capacity and impacting both operational efficiency and user satisfaction.

Under these circumstances, ZTE’s 5G-A minimalist private network perfectly meets USUNHOME Group’s requirements. This solution integrates edge computing with the robust capabilities of 5G-A networks, delivering high-speed, low-latency network coverage and intelligent XR service assurance. It solves the critical pain points in traditional technology solutions, ensuring a superior immersive experience for players.

ZTE has deployed a minimalist network within the 500-square-meter space. With the ZTE XRExplore platform, rendering resources can be flexibly scheduled, and service data is transmitted via the 5G-A network. Leveraging the high-speed and low-latency advantages of 5G-A networks, data transmission for edge computing becomes more reliable. The deployment features ZTE’s innovative lightweight indoor millimeter wave (mmWave) micro base station, MiCell, enhanced by NodeEngine and SuperMicell’s intelligent beam management solution. This improves network coverage, meets the mobility demands of XR applications, and provides deterministic assurance for a large volume of concurrent VR service data.

In addition, through the slot-level intelligent scheduling and optimization policy of 5G-A XR service, combined with XRExplore for network and media integration, the end-to-end stability and reliability of XR service are ensured. The air interface latency is less than 15 ms, guaranteeing high image quality during gaming at 4K @90 fps—a mainstream level in the industry, which addresses the headset's computing power limitations that cause degraded image quality and lag. Additionally, the issue of limited concurrent players in Wi-Fi-based VR headsets has been resolved.

At present, "My World is All You" has been officially put into commercial operation, offering HD graphics and real-time data interaction for a multiplayer experience. Players step into a "comic book world," enjoying the freedom of immersive free-roam VR. Among the players are many years of Jimmy fans bringing their families to experience the game. One visitor, Ms. Wang from Chengdu, brought her child to play. After removing her VR headset, she was deeply moved. “It felt like stepping into the books I read years ago,” she said. “I was fully immersed for 30 minutes.” Notably, this lightweight solution is especially friendly to children and women, with the youngest players being just six years old. A seasoned VR enthusiast remarked, “I used to worry about network latency and stuttering, but the mmWave technology has eliminated those concerns. Now, I can fully focus on the experience itself.”

The introduction of mmWave technology is leading an industrial revolution, heralding a new era of VR. With the power of mmWave, LBE VR not only solves the challenge of efficient operation, but also elevates the user experience to new heights, making a movie-like immersive experience a reality. With immense market potential, LBE VR is expected to become a pioneer in the large-scale commercial application of VR, opening a new era of business and entertainment.