Standardization of Extended Reality (XR) over 5G and 5G-Advanced 3GPP New Radio

Extended Reality (XR) is one of the major innovations to be introduced in 5G/5G-Advanced communication systems. A combination of augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality, supplemented by cloud gaming, revisits the way how humans interact with computers, networks, and each other. However, efficient support of XR services imposes new challenges for existing and future wireless networks. This article presents a tutorial on integrating support for the XR into the 3GPP New Radio (NR), summarizing a range of activities handled within various 3GPP Service and Systems Aspects (SA) and Radio Access Networks (RAN) groups. The article also delivers a case study evaluating the performance of different XR services in state-of-the-art NR Release 17. The paper concludes with a vision of further enhancements to better support XR in future NR releases and outlines open problems in this area.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables. This work has been submitted to the IEEE for possible publication. Copyright may be transferred without notice, after which this version may no longer be accessibl

From the Concept of Being “the Boss” to the Idea of Being “a Team”: The Adaptive Co-Pilot as the Enabler for a New Cooperative Framework

The “classical” SAE LoA for automated driving can present several drawbacks, and the SAE-L2 and SAE-L3, in particular, can lead to the so-called “irony of automation”, where the driver is substituted by the artificial system, but is still regarded as a “supervisor” or as a “fallback mechanism”. To overcome this problem, while taking advantage of the latest technology, we regard both human and machine as members of a unique team that share the driving task. Depending on the available resources (in terms of driver’s status, system state, and environment conditions) and considering that they are very dynamic, an adaptive assignment of authority for each member of the team is needed. This is achieved by designing a technology enabler, constituted by the intelligent and adaptive co-pilot. It comprises (1) a lateral shared controller based on NMPC, which applies the authority, (2) an arbitration module based on FIS, which calculates the authority, and (3) a visual HMI, as an enabler of trust in automation decisions and actions. The benefits of such a system are shown in this paper through a comparison of the shared control driving mode, with manual driving (as a baseline) and lane-keeping and lane-centering (as two commercial ADAS). Tests are performed in a use case where support for a distracted driver is given. Quantitative and qualitative results confirm the hypothesis that shared control offers the best balance between performance, safety, and comfort during the driving task.This research was supported by the ECSEL Joint-Undertaking,which funded the PRYSTINE project under the Grant 783190

A Study of Outcomes Following Collaborative Medical Doctor/Physical Therapist Primary Care Service for Musculoskeletal Problems

Background and Purpose: Collaborative medical doctor/physical therapist primary care services are not described in the literature. The 2 purposes of this observational study were to describe a collaborative medical doctor/physical therapist primary care service, and to describe simple, one question, outcomes including patient acceptable symptom state (PASS), global rating of normal function (GRNF), and success of treatment (SOT) at intake, 1 to 7 days, and 45 to 60 days follow-up. Methods: Patients were seen for 1 to 2 visits and typically received exercise, hands on treatment, ie, manual therapy, and education. Medical doctor/physical therapist collaborative encounters and provider training are described. Outcome measures were recorded at the first visit, via phone once between 1 to 7 days and once between 45 to 60 days. Descriptive data was calculated at each time point. Findings: Examples of collaborative diagnosis and treatment opportunities are tabulated. A total of 31.9% of patients were PASS Yes at intake (n=402). At 1 to 7 days (n=157; 50.3%) and 45 to 60 days (n=93; 55.9%), the proportion of PASS Yes patients were higher. There was little difference in the GRNF scale at any follow-up. At 45 to 60 days, the SOT question indicated most patients (45.7%) reported “improved” and 29.3% of patients reported as “partly cured” or “cured.” Clinical Relevance: Collaborative opportunities for diagnosis and treatment in primary care are provided. A model using the PASS, GRNF, and SOT questions for judging the urgency which a service needs modification to meet patient needs is proposed. Conclusion: A collaborative medical doctor/physical therapist model is a viable option to improve primary care services. This descriptive data suggests some level of success, however, there is little relevant data for comparison

Predicting Patients Acceptable Symptom State at Short Term Follow Up of a Collaborative Primary Care PT/MD Service

Hypothesis: Patient Reported Outcome Tools will predict a patient’s acceptable symptom state (PASS