Ericsson and China Mobile have signed a strategic framework agreement at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona to collaborate on new enterprise and industrial IoT (IIoT) systems and services.
The pair said they will build an ‘Industry IoT Cooperation Center’, as a crossover between China Mobile’s Co-Space and Ericsson’s Garage innovation labs, to develop IoT solutions for manufacturing, industry, health, and intelligent transportation.
Ericsson predicts the broad internet of things (IoT) sector will account for two thirds of connected devices within five years, or 20 billion out of a total of 30 billion. Compound annual growth of IoT devices will jump by 19 percent in the period, it said, as they become more affordable and attractive for connected cars, machines, meters, sensors, point-of-sale terminals, consumer electronics and wearables.
Ericsson and China Mobile said they will also redouble their joint efforts in 5G standardization and networks, and map out new industrial use cases and business cases.
Chris Houghton, head of North East Asia region for Ericsson, sai: “We are no longer just talking about 5G and IoT, we are doing what it takes to make it happen. We are working with partners to put our 5G and IoT technology leadership into practice.”
At MWC, Ericsson and China Mobile showcased how artificial intelligence (AI), automation control, and big data can be integrated and enabled by 5G in industrial manufacturing. The pair mocked-up a smart factory environment with pre-standard 5G to demonstrate how a robot arm can be trained with AI to assemble a remote radio unit (RRU), comprising housing, printed circuit board, and cover.
