U.K. Completes 5G “Testbed” Project
- By CDOTrends editors
- April 20, 2023
The U.K. has completed its first demonstration of a fully operational 5G Standalone manufacturing testbed at the University of Sheffield.
Funded with a combined investment of GPB10 million, the project was developed by the University’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Center (AMRC) with funding from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) as part of the GPB200 million 5G testbed and Trials program. The project was one of 38 under the 5G Testbed and Trials program.
There was also a contribution from industry leaders BAE Systems, Digital Catapult, Fuuse, IBM, aqi and MTT.
"The 5G Factory of the Future project has successfully delivered the largest manufacturing testbed in the U.K., with 5G standalone capability, proven working 5G use cases and developed native 5G devices,” said Aparajithan Sivanathan, project lead for the 5G Factory of the Future program.
“We have also created a business model that will sustain the testbed beyond the end of the project. 5G is going to be the future, and we’re now thinking about the next phase. We want to really take on the tough challenge of seeing how far we can push the boundaries of 5G technologies.”
At IoT solutions provider Fuuse, Chief Operating Officer Will Madden said the company’s involvement in the project had seen it develop a “chain of custody” solution which enabled the end user to monitor the location and the health of the goods from dispatch through to delivery.
“We’re now moving into a commercial phase, planning to release the product onto the market starting with 4G sensor technology for the logistics use case, before ultimately releasing a 5G capable solution,” said Madden.
Steph Leaver, the technology development engineer for BAE Systems Air, said the project had shown that 5G is a “key enabler in creating a more adaptable manufacturing eco-system.
“We know that as more digital technology is adopted into day-to-day activities, data volumes are going to scale up exponentially,” she said.
“5G will allow flexible reconfiguration and rapid stand up of new operational hardware, as well as enabling existing machines or facilities to be retrofitted with digital technologies, increasing our manufacturing efficiency and flexibility.”
The AMRC will now move to a joint project with Turkey and another with Celtic-Next Europe.
Image credit: iStockphoto/metamorworks