Nokia powers campus network of the ARENA2036 research factory for the future of automotive manufacturing

• As the sole telecom provider, Nokia will assure full 4G and 5G New Radio coverage for the experimental factory
• Collaboration with industry leaders across German automotive industry to develop use cases for Industry 4.0 and digital factories of the future

Nokia has recently become member of ARENA2036, a collaboration of automotive industry leaders to create a flexible research factory model for production of the next generation of automobiles. As the sole telecom provider of ARENA2036, Nokia will provide full private 4G/LTE and 5G New Radio coverage for the joint experimental factory. Nokia will also validate use cases for the industry along with key players including Daimler, Bosch, TRUMPF.

ARENA2036 is an ambitious research program from the University of Stuttgart with a long-term horizon of developing a lightweight automobile design with integrated functionality and sustainable engineering to mark the 150th anniversary of the automobile in 2036. The venture is based on the University of Stuttgart Campus and already has a flourishing ecosystem of around 35 participating enterprises. One of the prerequisites for the next generation of production technology is a 5G Industrial Wireless Solution provider to facilitate a more flexible production line. Industrial digitalization and automation can already start today with private 4G/LTE infrastructure, evolving to 5G as spectrum and industrial devices become available.

Nokia has already started with the installation of private 4G/LTE and 5G Industrial trial systems. Nokia will look to validate key use cases with industry leaders and partners, including solutions for Secure Remote Access, Mobile Manipulation, Massive Sensor Networks, Wireless Safety, Truck-to-X-communication, Localization and Industrial Edge Cloud implementations.

Peter Froeschle, Managing Director ARENA2036 said, "5G is the essential building block of the factory of the future where moving robot arms, automatic guided vehicles and production cells that can be reconfigured overnight are the norm. Nokia's end-to-end 5G solution fulfils the stringent requirements we had in terms of availability, latency and reliability to create a flexible and cost-efficient production line that will enable large scale rollouts of next generation customizable cars." 

Wolfgang Hackenberg, Managing Director, Nokia Germany said, "The factory of the future will be more automated, flexible, and as a result, more productive. This can only be achieved with ultra-reliable wireless connectivity between machines, robots and vehicles in all steps of the production process. ARENA2036 is an ambitious project and a prestigious venture to be part of. It will help us in strengthening our partnerships with major industry players and further advancing our campus solutions."

Source: Nokia media announcement