In the era of 5G data communication, downloading a high-definition movie will take just one second. It’s much more than just ultra-fast communication speeds, however. Imagine this: while riding in an autonomous car you’re wearing a pair of smart glasses and watching the 2022 Qatar World Cup opening ceremony from far away in Southwest Asia. Meanwhile, your friend sitting next to you is discussing with their chief physician the next stage of their post-chemoresistance cancer treatment.
While heading to the seaside in your driverless car you suddenly feel thirsty. You find a store using your smart glasses and amend the car’s route to stop outside the shop. You get out of the car and buy a bottle of mineral water, which you pay for using facial recognition.
Once at the beach, after meeting up with some other friends, everyone dons a pair of smart glasses and, using holographic technology, watch a rock band perform their hits.
Photo: Bloomberg
照片：彭博
In fact, the greatest change will come from the way that 5G alters our lives through the Internet of Things (IoT), both at home and at work. In homes today we have smart speakers, but this will be just one component of IoT. Just like in a science fiction movie, an AI-driven personal assistant will be at your beck and call, conjured up with a verbal command anytime, anywhere.
As for work, you won’t need to leave your house, and can take part in a face-to-face meeting with colleagues using a virtual reality (VR) headset. If you need to hold a multi-party meeting, no longer will participants need to travel far and wide to a central, physical location: through 5G technology and VR, you can all assemble in a virtual meeting room.
If you do leave your home, the biggest change 5G will usher in is the advent of self-driving vehicles. This year, South Korea has already taken the lead, rolling out the first 5G-connected self-driving vehicles. Within the streets of downtown Seoul, vehicles were able to cover a distance of 8km in 20 minutes, and were not only able to change lanes and adjust their speeds, but were also able to automatically recognize traffic signals. This was facilitated by the 5G equipment loaded onboard, multiple times faster than 4G speeds. The faster data speeds vastly increase the safety of self-driving vehicles. Many of the world’s car manufacturers have begun testing their own self-driving vehicles. Once 5G becomes available, self-driving vehicles will no longer be a distant dream.
Photo: Reuters
照片：路透
However, telecommunication companies have yet to realize a return on their investment in the existing 4G network, and the required investment for 5G will be much greater. The question is, how much money and effort will they be willing to spend on building a 5G network? Some telecom companies are even predicting that 4G and 5G networks will function concurrently for more than a decade. Moreover, since 5G technology is still being developed, there remain many unknown variables around the emerging technology.
(Translated by Edward Jones, Taipei Times)
5G時代，下載一部高畫質電影只需要1秒鐘，不僅是傳輸速度快，想像一下，坐在無人車內，戴上智慧眼鏡，觀看遠在亞洲西南方的卡達（二零二二年國際足協世界盃主辦國），正在舉行的世界盃開幕典禮。而坐在旁邊的朋友，則是透過車上的後座螢幕，正與他的主治醫生討論癌症抗藥性後的下一步治療方式。
無人車往海邊行駛的途中，口渴了，透過智慧眼鏡，發現一家小商店，調整設定，讓無人車行駛到商店門口，下車拿了瓶礦泉水，透過刷臉就完成交易。
到了海灘，跟其他朋友碰面後，每個人都戴上智慧眼鏡，透過全息投影讓搖滾樂團帶來的一首又一首的熱門歌曲…。
事實上，5G生活最大的改變，來自於物聯網改變了生活，包括家庭、工作等，在家裡，因為萬物聯網，就像現在的智慧音箱，它只是其中的一部分，大家想像很多科幻電影的畫面，家裡就像有一個AI（人工智慧），人們可以用語言指揮它，無所不能。
在工作上，人們不用出門，要跟同事開一個「面對面」會議，只要戴上VR（虛擬實境）頭戴式裝置，想跟幾個人一起開會都可以，不用穿山越嶺、甚至遠渡重洋，節省許多時間。
如果要出門，5G最大的改變就是自駕車時代來臨，今年韓國率先推出5G自駕車，在首爾市區上路二十分鐘，跑了八公里，車子不但能變換車道、調節車速，還能自動辨識交通號誌。這是因為自駕車上的5G設備，聯網速度比4G快了數十倍，透過強大運算及5G高速連網能力，大大提高自駕的安全性，許多國際車廠都陸續展開自駕車試驗，在5G上路後，自駕車就不再是遙不可及的夢想。
不過，電信業者在4G的投資尚未回本，5G投資龐大，電信業者初期會花多少心力拚5G建設？甚至電信業者預估，4G、5G會並存十年以上。更何況，技術還在發展中，仍有許多未知數。
(自由時報記者王憶紅、陳永吉)
Follow up
Exciting possibilities, hidden dangers
不是只有便利 小心衍生傷害
When we enjoy the convenience of 5G, we should take care not to forget the potential for harm the new technology may bring. An over-reliance on technology strips us of the ability to think for ourselves, and can also deliver an unhealthy level of convenience. It can also have the side effect of significantly reducing face-to-face, interpersonal interaction, inhibit intimacy between family members and cause friendships to become distant. With fewer reasons to go outdoors, people may become increasingly homebound and trapped in their own worlds, potentially leading to mental illness. Although 5G will bring an unprecedented amount of convenience, it could also have the unintentional effect of depleting our physical and mental experience.
(Translated by Edward Jones, Taipei Times)
大家在享受5G的便利性，可別忘了它也可能帶來別的傷害。過分仰賴科技，人類喪失自我思考的能力；過度的便利性，人與人之間實際見面的互動大幅降低，親情、友情不再關係緊密；減少出門，人們越來越宅，活在自己的世界裡，衍生出精神方面的疾病。5G雖然帶來前所未有的便利，但它的傷害，也可能會不經意地侵蝕你我的身心。
(自由時報記者王憶紅、陳永吉)
Jiang Yiwu paced the small room and wondered how the leader of the Literary Society had got here. He could hear the Russian and Manchu police outside. They were looking for him. The Russians controlled the railways now, cutting through China, taking land and resources. The people were angry, and so was he. The revolution was almost ready. But things went wrong. Sun Wu, a key leader, lay in the hospital with critical wounds. The explosives were meant for the revolution but detonated by accident. Sun and the revolutionary plans were discovered by the police. Jiang grimaced at the
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