Robotics & Automation News

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5g

Nokia’s 5G factory recognised as ‘Advanced 4th Industrial Revolution Lighthouse’

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Nokia‘s 5G ‘factory of the future’ in Oulu, Finland has been selected by McKinsey and the World Economic Forum as an Advanced 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) Lighthouse, reflecting leadership and proven success in adopting and implementing 4IR technologies at scale.

Designed to showcase Industry 4.0 concepts for the manufacturing of Nokia 4G and 5G base stations, the Oulu factory uses Nokia’s private (4.9G/LTE) wireless networks for connectivity for all assets within and outside the factory, IoT analytics running on Edge cloud, and a real-time digital twin of operations data.

The factory, which produces 1,000 4G and 5G base stations per day, generated significant annual improvements, including more than 30 percent productivity gains, 50 percent savings in time of product delivery to market, and an annual cost savings of millions of euros.

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How is 5G different from 4G?

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The next step in wireless connectivity is not really a step at all—it’s a leap. 5G Ultra Wideband will fundamentally change the ways we live, work, learn and play, and on a grand scale.

But a 5G-powered world won’t materialize out of thin air. It will be built off of existing networks and existing knowhow.

At Verizon, that process begins with America’s largest and most reliable 4G LTE network.

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Sony and Docomo to test driverless concept vehicle via 5G trial network in Guam

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Sony Corporation and NTT Docomo, Inc. will jointly trial Sony’s conceptual driverless vehicle, the New Concept Cart SC-1, which uses 5G mobile technologies for various remotely controlled functions.

The test will be conducted using the trial network in Docomo 5G Open Lab Guam, which will provide test facilities and an outdoor verification environment constructed by Docomo.

The test will verify data transmission and operational performance required to remotely control the cart from a long distance via the extra-high speed, large capacity, low latency and massive-device connectivity.

[Read more…] about Sony and Docomo to test driverless concept vehicle via 5G trial network in Guam

Ericsson and ABB expand partnership to accelerate wireless automation for flexible factories

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Telecommunications technology company Ericsson and industrial giant ABB have strengthened their collaboration to accelerate the industrial ecosystem for flexible wireless automation.

The partnership will enable enhanced connected services, industrial internet of things, and artificial intelligence technologies in the future.

The partners established their joint vision for future flexible production with automation and wireless communication by signing a Memorandum of Understanding at Hannover Messe 2019.  [Read more…] about Ericsson and ABB expand partnership to accelerate wireless automation for flexible factories

Nissan and Docomo test Invisible-to Visible technology using 5G in a moving vehicle

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Nissan and NTT Docomo are putting Nissan’s Invisible-to-Visible technology through its field test in a moving vehicle, using Docomo’s fifth-generation mobile communications connectivity.

The technology, first revealed at the CES trade show in Las Vegas in January, is being tested at Grandrive, Nissan’s proving ground in Yokosuka, Japan.

Invisible-to-Visible, or I2V, is a future Nissan Intelligent Mobility technology that merges the real and virtual worlds.

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5G: The de facto connectivity choice for outdoor robots of the future

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Low latency and cloud intelligence are the two main features of 5G that will significantly change the deployment of mission-critical and business-critical robots, particularly those deployed outdoors. These robots can include mobile vehicles and road-going vehicles such as cars and trucks. 

According to ABI Research, an advisory firm, the commercialization of a 5G network is expected to usher in the significant growth of commercial robotics.

Shipments of 5G robots are expected to reach 570,000 by 2027, largely deployed in mission critical and business critical settings.  [Read more…] about 5G: The de facto connectivity choice for outdoor robots of the future

Continental and Vodafone cooperate on road safety

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At the 2019 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Continental and Vodafone showcased the first results of their innovation partnership.

Last summer, the partners announced that they would be working together to increase road safety. The first results confirm this – state-of-the-art communications technologies such as 5G, cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) and mobile edge computing help to better protect all road users.

The 5G-ready tests are taking place under real-life conditions at Vodafone’s 5G Mobility Lab in Aldenhoven, Germany. A start of series production based on these technologies is planned for the beginning of the 2020s.

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Samsung, Cisco and Orange demonstrate 5G-powered drone and industrial robot 

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Samsung Electronics, Cisco and Orange unveiled  two promising industrial 5G applications – a drone and an industrial robot, at the MWC19 in Barcelona, Spain, in the last week of February.

The 5G drone, carrying a very low latency, high-quality video system was piloted from the Orange booth at the Fira de Barcelona.

The drone, which was located outdoors at an Orange datacentre, carried a 5G router (CPE) that was used to transfer commands to the drone and transmit a high-quality video feed with low latency.

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Qualcomm robotics platform: Connectivity key to transforming robotics industry

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By Lian Jye Su, principal analyst at tech advisory firm, ABI Research

Qualcomm has just announced the launch of Qualcomm Robotics RB3 Platform. The platform is the company’s first comprehensive end-to-end robotics development platform that features heterogeneous computing architecture with support for artificial intelligence processing, additional camera, sensors, and video modules.

Aside from Qualcomm’s in-house software development kits, the platform also supports Linux, Robot Operating System, and Amazon AWS Robomaker, making it very accessible to robotics creators and developers.

Most importantly, the platform features integrated support for LTE cellular connectivity and future upgradability to 5G.  [Read more…] about Qualcomm robotics platform: Connectivity key to transforming robotics industry

Continental develops global 5G-hybrid-V2X solution

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Continental is developing a flexible 5G hybrid platform that allows both mobile network communication, and rapid and reliable direct exchange of data, with a first customer already signed up.

Connected vehicles allow drivers and passengers access to state-of-the-art infotainment. They also have the potential to communicate real-time traffic updates and road hazards, and future safety assist functions by communicating directly with other vehicles or the infrastructure, making driving safer and more efficient.

To achieve this, Continental’s Hybrid V2X solution integrates technologies not only for 4G and 5G network access, but also Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) and Cellular-V2X for direct V2X communication.

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