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5G cloud robotics solution shown at MWC 2018

Ericsson, TIM and Comau, have displayed their cloud robotics solution, as a first implementation result of ‘5G for Italy’ collaboration agreement, signed last year, to explore the potential of 5G for Industry 4.0 and Smart Manufacturing.

At MWC 2018 in Barcelona at the end of February, Ericsson, TIM and Comau demonstrated the benefits of 5G-based industrial virtualization through a pioneering proof of concept implemented in Italy – which showcases the factory of the future, that will be realized through the digitization of the manufacturing process and plants enabled by 5G networks and all their building blocks.

Through the combination of TIM and Ericsson’s leadership in 5G networks and technologies and Comau’s leadership in automated manufacturing solutions, this collaboration aims to prove the benefits of advanced solutions adoption for industrial automation.

Industry 4.0 is expected to be one of the major 5G use cases in terms of business potential, as it leverages on 5G technologies, robotics, machine learning, IoT platforms, Cloud and Big Data solutions to bring, increased competitiveness and efficiency for smart manufacturing, maintenance and quality control.

Guaranteed real-time communication between humans, robots, factory logistics and products is a fundamental prerequisite of the Industry 4.0 concept.

The factory of the future could consist of flexible production islands, able to realize different types of building blocks, without the rigidity of conveyors and with truly standard robotized working stations.

The first results, coming from the ‘5G for Italy program’ cooperation between Ericsson, TIM, Comau and the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies show that – with its standardized networking capabilities, built-in security, guaranteed grades of service, as well as distributed cloud and network slicing concepts – 5G is a perfect tool for advanced industries that want to take advantage of digital transformation.