UScellular and Rockwell Automation have combined forces to establish the Connected Enterprise Lab at Rockwell Automation’s Mayfield Heights, Ohio site. This partnership introduces cutting-edge private cellular network technology, empowering Rockwell Automation’s clientele to engage with and explore a 5G network in an innovative digital laboratory setting.
This collaboration spearheads a digital transformation initiative, showcasing leadership in Operational Technology (OT) environments by seamlessly integrating advanced wireless capabilities into existing network infrastructures. By incorporating this new technology, Rockwell Automation ensures highly available control systems, thereby enhancing operational efficiency.
The implementation of UScellular’s 5G technology marks a pivotal shift, propelling them beyond their traditional role as a public service provider to forging partnerships with major global manufacturing entities, thus expanding sales opportunities.
Kim Kerr, Senior Vice President of Enterprise Sales and Operations at UScellular, remarked, “The future of Industry 4.0 and supply chain management will increasingly rely on digital technologies and solutions that seamlessly integrate public and private cellular networks.”
With an escalating demand for high-speed data networks, the amalgamation of advanced cellular 4G and 5G capabilities within private networks caters to specific industrial use cases. This hybrid network architecture, combining 5G cellular and wireline gigabit designs, promises tailored solutions that optimize operational performance and ensure a swift return on investment within Industry 4.0 contexts.
This technology collaboration not only streamlines plant operations but also facilitates communication, monitoring, and control of intricate automated processes, spanning from conveyors to temperature regulation and robot cells.
Dan DeYoung, Global Vice President of Product Management and PMO at Rockwell Automation, emphasized, “UScellular’s expertise in private cellular networks will bolster Rockwell Automation’s mission to deliver cutting-edge networking technology to our clientele, shaping the landscape of Industrial & IoT Networking.”
Through the private cellular network infrastructure, Rockwell Automation will replicate real-world scenarios, collaborating with leading-edge customers within the lab to validate these advanced technologies, leveraging low-latency 5G data speeds. Initial applications will concentrate on Industry 4.0 manufacturing, distribution, warehousing, and the Internet of Things (IoT), spanning from sensor connectivity to machine learning, artificial intelligence, AR/VR, and autonomous robotics.
