Huawei's Wireless X Labs R&D unit has teamed up with several industry partners to create a wireless connected factory special interest group (SIG) focused on exploring applications for 5G in the Industry 4.0 paradigm.
The new SIG is the third to be created by X Labs, following similar initiatives focused on the development of connected drone applications and wireless e-health respectively.
The SIG will concentrate on flexible manufacturing based on smart connected machines supported by high-performance communications networks.
X Labs research indicates that the manufacturing industry holds the most potential for IoT applications, with the number of connections within the sector set to reach 12.5 billion worldwide by 2020. Factory networks are expected to account for $50 billion of the addressable market by this time.
"The mission of exploring future wireless use cases lies with X Labs," Huawei wireless R&D president Ying Weimin said.
“Huawei hopes that SIGs such as those set up by X Labs can discover and inspire many more 5G use cases and promote 5G technologies' application in future smart manufacturing. Such efforts will contribute to the rise of connected factories. Huawei will work diligently alongside its partners to simulate further growth and innovation."