Samsung announced today that it successfully showcased 5G Guaranteed Latency (GLA) as an end-to-end network slice with Deutsche Telekom at the Mobile World Congress 2017 in Barcelona. GLA is a key differentiator which sets 5G technology apart from 4G. It’s believed to be very critical for the 5G era as it allows for latency control as per the requirements of specific use cases.

The live demonstration was conducted at Deutsche Telekom’s booth in which two robotic arms were connected to Samsung’s 5G radio system that uses GLA technology. When GLA was switched on for both robotic arms for the guarantee of low and controlled latency, they were able to successfully deliver a box from point A to B while moving in synchronous harmony within the set amount of time. However, when GLA was only applied to one of the arms, the difference in latencies caused the arms to differ in speed which caused them to drop the box.

“The 5G GLA showcase, jointly conducted with Deutsche Telekom, has proven that an accurate and stable operation of latency control is a feasible concept. We believe that this is a key element in enabling operators to create new business models, including industrial use cases,” said Youngky Kim, President and Head of the Networks Business at Samsung Electronics.

Samsung is also conducting 5G network trials with carriers in major markets across the globe to push for the commercialization of this next-generation network technology.