Smarter factories solution deployed at UL Confirm Centre

An innovative solution that aims to create smarter factories by utilising the latest wireless technologies has been launched at the University of Limerick.

The Future Wireless Innovation Test-Bed was successfully deployed at the Confirm Centre for Smart Manufacturing which is located in the University’s Digital District.

The centre is described as one of the most advanced purpose-built manufacturing research facilities in the world.

The Innovation Test-Bed was designed by examining the challenges manufacturing companies face that could benefit from enabling technologies such as 5G, 6G and Wifi6.

They then specifically focused on test use cases for real-world scenarios in areas including industrial IoT (Internet of Things), robotics and the deployment of mixed reality in manufacturing.

Early tests included a practical study undertaken late last year where an Autonomous Intelligent Vehicle (AIV) was controlled on a 5G network at the Confirm Centre.

“We believe this is the first reported case of such 5G wireless robotic control in Ireland,” the centre said in its statement.

“The initial results demonstrate that the integration of 5G as a wireless signaling system within a manufacturing environment is both very promising from an accuracy standpoint and also now a more viable option,” it added.

The Future Wireless Innovation Test-Bed at Confirm was designed and deployed under the leadership of Dr Eoin O’Connell, a Funded Investigator in Confirm.

“It is now clear that the manufacturing sector will ultimately be driven by the capacity and scalability of high-speed networks. The Future Wireless Innovation Test-Bed at Confirm will enable cutting edge research to deliver the breakthroughs needed for the factory of the future,” he said.

Planning and delivery of the Innovation Test-Bed was a joint effort between Confirm and Netmore, a multi-network IoT operator.

(Article & Picture courtesy of RTE)