Wi-Fi 7 brings advanced Wi-Fi® performance to the next era of connected devices. In this new blog series, we’ll explore how Wi-Fi 7 enables innovation across various market segments. 

Extended Reality (XR) refers to the technologies designed to bridge the gap between the physical and virtual worlds. XR technologies, which include augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR), allow users to connect with their environments and each other in new ways by combining virtual effects with real-world applications to deliver enhanced interactions and immersion. XR devices support a wide range of use cases, including gaming and entertainment, social, enterprise, education, immersive 3-D training, industrial usage, and many more. Wi-Fi® is perfectly positioned to support the high throughputs and low latency that XR applications require and also plays a critical role in ensuring a reliable, engaging user experience while delivering long-lasting battery life for XR devices.  

Navigating the complexities of XR

Designing applications for XR presents a unique set of challenges. XR demands significant data transfers and must meet strict latency requirements, particularly for latency-sensitive data such as sensor or Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) inputs, which must be delivered with minimal delay to match human brain perception. Many XR devices are wearable, including Head Mounted Displays (HMDs), glasses or goggles, and hand-held controllers. These devices must operate with high power efficiency to ensure extended battery life while also managing thermal constraints. And from a broader perspective, it is important to understand that Wi-Fi networks must contend with growing traffic due to an increasing number of users and devices.  

Wi-Fi 7 optimizes XR experiences 

The latest Wi-Fi technology, Wi-Fi 7, delivers an unprecedented level of connectivity through an impressive list of new features that address the challenges of latency-sensitive devices and support a wide variety of cutting-edge XR use cases.  

Specifically, Wi-Fi 7’s Multi-Link Operation (MLO) allows multiple channels to be used concurrently. The diversity in multiple-channel access greatly reduces Wi-Fi latency, especially in congested environments, and significantly improves Wi-Fi throughput. MLO benefits are greatest when 5 GHz and 6 GHz are both leveraged, making it a critical feature to enable low-latency, high-throughput XR applications.  

The benefits of Wi-Fi 7 are especially apparent in VR gaming as players experience a truly immersive, first-person perspective of in-game action. Participants can both experience and influence the game environment through a variety of VR gaming devices and accessories including HMDs and sensor-equipped hand controllers. VR games can be played individually, with multiple players, or in large online communities using specialized game consoles or advanced PCs serving as companion compute devices. When a PC serves as a companion compute device, the data exchange between the HMD and PC can be highly latency-sensitive as increased latency will result in compromised visual quality, more video lagging, and unresponsiveness in hand gesture movements. MLO provides significantly improved throughput and low Wi-Fi latency and jitter for a smoother, more responsive XR user experience.  

In addition to MLO, the heightened modulation of 4K QAM increases data rates by 20%, and the wider channels of 320 MHz increase data rates by 100%. Higher data rates result in shorter transmission times, which can lead to less power consumption and longer battery life. Wi-Fi 7 also provides additional optimization features such as Triggered Uplink Access, which enables deterministic transmission to reduce transmission jitter, and Multiple Resource Units to a single STA, which maximizes network channel bandwidth utilization. Both features improve XR device performance in high-density environments.  

                                                            PC Rendering VR Gaming 

Aside from gaming, VR devices are also used in the new era of remote and hybrid work to assist in collaboration and work productivity, giving employees, customers, and IT end users a truly immersive work experience. When deployed in a high-density environment such as a large office building, the mutual interference from multiple XR devices may significantly degrade the user experience. In these environments, optimized Triggered Uplink Access and Multiple Resource Units to a single STA can greatly improve XR performance through smart Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) scheduling and interference avoidance.  

W-Fi 7 also provides the latest Wi-Fi CERTIFIED WPA3™ security to further enhance XR devices' security, including stronger key management, as well as beacon protection – a mechanism that allows a device to cryptographically verify the contents of beacon frames transmitted by an access point, – and Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Enhanced Open™, which provides unauthenticated data encryption to users.  

Wi-Fi 7 fuels the evolution of XR 

XR use cases will continue to change how we work, play, learn, and connect with the world. As XR continues to evolve, we look towards a future of richer content, lighter devices, and new usage scenarios that will create a diverse XR market. Wi-Fi 7’s advanced features empower exceptional XR experiences, offering improved speed, lower latency, and better power efficiency to support the next generation of XR technology. 

In today's episode, we welcome Gino Dion, Director of Innovation Solutions at Nokia, to talk about how Wi-Fi 6E brings esports to life. Gino gives us the inside track on the recent Nokia Apex Legends invitational tournament, the first-ever esports event held over Wi-Fi instead of ethernet-based connectivity. Deterministic performance is crucial in a gaming environment where every millisecond counts and Gino tells us how Wi-Fi has evolved to support these needs. Tune into this episode to dive into participants' thoughts on their gaming adventures and learn how Wi-Fi will change the game for the future of esports.

Nokia to deliver the first-ever Esports event over Wi-Fi technology: The Nokia Apex Legends invitational tournament: https://www.nokia.com/about-us/news/releases/2024/05/30/nokia-to-deliver-the-first-ever-esports-event-over-wi-fi-technology-the-nokia-apex-legends-invitational-tournament/
Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6®: https://www.wi-fi.org/discover-wi-fi/wi-fi-certified-6
For Wi-Fi Alliance: www.wi-fi.org
For Membership Info: https://www.wi-fi.org/membership
General Contact: https://www.wi-fi.org/contact-us

Wi-Fi Alliance® and Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University have been working together to promote the value of 6 GHz Wi-Fi®. In July, Ramathibodi Hospital and Wi-Fi Alliance, along with Wi-Fi Alliance member partners Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Intel, and Meta, successfully demonstrated how 6 GHz Wi-Fi will revolutionize the future of healthcare. The live demo showcased how utilization of the full 1200 MHz Wi-Fi in 6 GHz delivers the heightened throughputs and stringent latency needed for advanced augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) applications that support medical education and training, efficiently serving dense environments such as classrooms and training seminars with hundreds of students and doctors.  

Technologies used in this demonstration: 

• Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6® Routers with 6E capabilities: Aruba Multiservice Mobility Controller/AP-635 and 655 Access Points (AP)
• Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 7™ client devices: Intel® Wi-Fi 7 BE200
• Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6 client devices: Intel® Wi-Fi 6E AX211 (Gig+)
• Meta Quest Pro Head Mounted Displays (HMD)
• Ramathibodi Hospital’s Anatomy Viz app 

Demonstrated scenarios and outcomes: 

The demonstration illustrated the difference in AR/VR performance and capacity levels when operating in the lower 500 MHz of 6 GHz compared to the full 1200 MHz available within the entire 6 GHz band. The demo showcased two sophisticated healthcare use cases that will support 200 medical students, doctors, and hospital faculty in Ramathibodi Hospital's classroom sessions: 

1. AR/VR technologies in medical training: AR/VR technologies like immersive virtual anatomy visualization allow for in-depth analysis of human anatomy, providing doctors and medical students with an immersive 3-D view of the human body including skeletal, muscular, neural, and soft tissue structures.
2. Dense deployment streaming and file transfer: Next generation Wi-Fi allows every person in a 500-seat classroom to independently stream high definition video, transfer files, or utilize 5 GHz and 6 GHz multi-layer network segmentation and deployment, giving all students the opportunity to learn and collaborate uninterrupted, at the same time. 

Scenario 1:  Wi-Fi operation in the lower 500 MHz spectrum of 6 GHz  

To simulate the current situation in Thailand, where only the lower 500 MHz of the 6 GHz band is available for unlicensed devices, the demonstration began with a baseline of Wi-Fi APs operating in only the lower 500 MHz band (network configuration: Wi-Fi 6E, a single 160 MHz channel in the 6 GHz band, co-channel Wi-Fi APs) with a single 160 MHz channel and minimal client devices (fewer than 10, including the Intel® Wi-Fi 7 BE200, the Intel® Wi-Fi 6E AX211 (Gig+), and Meta Quest Pro VR HMD). These devices used the network for ultra high definition video streaming, wireless casting of Ramathibodi Hospital’s Anatomy Viz app via a VR headset, and file transfers.  

While the network performance and user experience were satisfactory with a small number of clients, it quickly deteriorated as more devices (up to 40 devices, including the Intel® Wi-Fi 7 BE200, the Intel® Wi-Fi 6E AX211 (Gig+), and Meta Quest Pro VR HMD) connected to the network using the above-mentioned applications. With only the lower 500 MHz of the 6 GHz band available, typical enterprise deployments like the Chakri Naruebodindra Medical Institute (CNMI) at Ramathibodi Hospital face inevitable channel repetition. This limited spectrum leads to co-channel and adjacent channel interference, significantly reducing network throughput and increasing latency by over 500%, with delays exceeding 200 milliseconds. This degradation resulted in frequent video buffering, glitches during streaming, and VR casting interruptions causing major lag that disrupted the immersive experience, making the interaction feel unresponsive and causing motion sickness for users during live seminars.  

Scenario 2: Wi-Fi operation in the entire 1200 MHz spectrum in 6 GHz 

The second scenario demonstrated the advantages of using the full 1200 MHz of the 6 GHz band. With the entire spectrum available, Wi-Fi APs could operate on 160 MHz channels spaced further apart spectrally, ensuring much-needed channel diversity (i.e., greater number of channels). The number of client devices and network load were identical to Scenario 1, and the configuration was tested by running the Anatomy Viz app on a VR headset and casting to a screen, along with streaming 8K videos, displaying hospital course material, and transferring files. In the absence of the adverse effects of co-channel interference (CCI) and adjacent-channel interference (ACI), data rate and latency measurements utilizing the entire 1200 MHz spectrum yielded very high data rates and significantly lower latency in the range of 20-30 milliseconds, delivering a smooth, glitch-free VR experience, as well as seamless ultra high definition video streaming, and high-speed file transfers without delays. 

Degradation of performance with reduced spectrum availability 

The demonstration confirmed the findings of previous theoretical studies, which emphasized that seven channels are necessary to achieve optimal performance in dense environments. As the demonstration illustrated, the use of 160 MHz channels is necessary to consistently deliver gigabit connectivity, as the Wi-Fi data throughout over 80 MHz channels only achieves gigabit data rates under specific propagation characteristics (i.e., very good RF propagation and/or very high number of parallel spatial streams). Using seven 160 MHz channels reduces interference between APs and ensures strong performance as user numbers grow, making them essential to dense environments such as universities, hospitals, and corporate offices. 

Access to the full 6 GHz band is crucial 

The demonstration underscored the importance of making the full 6 GHz spectrum available for Wi-Fi to deliver the stringent latency requirements and data throughputs needed for an optimal AR/VR user experience. “Wi-Fi Alliance is proud to showcase the immense potential of 6 GHz Wi-Fi to revolutionize healthcare,” said Kevin Robinson, President and CEO of Wi-Fi Alliance. “Today’s Wi-Fi technology offers unprecedented performance and reliability, and these demonstrations are just a glimpse of its potential to improve patient care and operational efficiency in healthcare settings.” 

6 GHz Wi-Fi empowers future innovations 

Wi-Fi in 6 GHz unlocks the full potential of advanced technologies, ensuring healthcare facilities are prepared to support future innovations and maintain the latest security practices to protect critical patient data​. Making the full 6 GHz frequency band available for Wi-Fi not only supports emerging healthcare applications, but also provides the foundation for future advancements across market segments, including automotive, enterprise, home, IIoT, and more. The successful demonstration of 6 GHz Wi-Fi at Ramathibodi Hospital illustrates how cutting-edge Wi-Fi applications can strengthen medical training practices and serves as a model for nationwide adoption of the band in Thailand and around the world.

In today's episode, we're joined by Shaila Bansal, Product Manager at Qualcomm, to talk all about how Wi-Fi® serves the evolving XR landscape. Shaila tells us how XR boosts productivity in global enterprises, from augmented reality glasses to productivity applications like the infinite desktop. We discuss how VR enables immersive learning in the classroom, and how AR can improve safety features in automotive environments. Shaila talks about how Wi-Fi 7 unlocks these emerging XR applications, and we learn how its new capabilities like superwide channels and Multi-link Operation increase reliability and reduce latency. Listen to this episode to learn more, including Shaila's predictions for XR and AI in 2024.

XR: https://www.wi-fi.org/discover-wi-fi/xr
For Wi-Fi Alliance: https://www.wi-fi.org
For Membership Info: https://www.wi-fi.org/membership
General Contact: https://www.wi-fi.org/contact-us