Telefónica Germany, HPE, wheel.me drive robotic innovation using edge, 5G

The initial trial (PoC) displays the use of 5G campus networks and edge computing for autonomously driving robotic wheels from Wheel.me in real-time. It illustrates the symbiotic relationship between these solutions and how they dramatically enhance the logistics and manufacturing businesses, the companies say.

“5G aims to become for the enterprise what 4G was for the consumer, a platform for a revolution in data consumption. Private 5G and a rich partner ecosystem with key operators like Telefónica and innovative scale-ups like Wheel.me, allow the realization of key use cases like the one shown in this PoC,” said Ignacio Garcia-Carrillo, the Telco global infrastructure business development leader at HPE.

During the demo, wheel.me’s robotic wheels revealed their ability to autonomously transport goods from a warehouse to workstations, navigating around objects and people. To do so, a real-time 3D image of the factory floor was created. The companies say HPE’s edge computing infrastructure and Telefónica Germany’s 5G campus network processed large volumes of data with minimal latency to optimize performance.

5G provides a stable, high-speed connection between the device and the base station and edge computing reduces latency by eliminating reliance on central cloud servers.

According to the companies, the collaboration between the companies showcases real-time applications that may otherwise be impossible to achieve with other networking solutions. The companies say that streamlining the value chain into an interconnected partner ecosystem simplifies the digitization and automation process for customers. In other words, this technology allows customers to enjoy the benefits of 5G without dealing with the complexity.

Telefónica Germany says that the critical element to making 5G campus networks easily accessible to industry clients is the creation of an ecosystem. Leonard Michalas, the business manager at Telefónica Germany, stated that the collaboration between HPE and Wheel.me is an excellent example of such an ecosystem. He believes it provides customers with a fully integrated embedded solution from one source.

According to Wheel.me, the potential of private 5G networks and edge computing to manage autonomous wheels is immense. “We see a huge potential in utilizing private 5G networks and edge computing as a way to manage our autonomous wheels. With stable, safe, and high-speed connections, we can offboard data processing from the wheels to the edge, shifting computing power to central locations and thereby allowing large amounts of data to be analyzed on-site and in real-time,” remarks Stefan Holländer, the CEO at Wheel.me.

Recently, Telefónica Germany made headlines for becoming the first German network operator to develop a 5G core network and cloud-based 5G functions tailored for new industry solutions. Using the cloud-based 5G core network, businesses could automate production and logistics processes and launch applications in real-time.

“With the virtualization of our 5G core network, we are laying the foundation for the digital transformation of the German economy,” stated Markus Haas, CEO of Telefónica Germany, about the company’s plans.

Article Topics

5G  |  autonomous  |  edge server  |  HPE  |  network  |  robotics  |  Telefónica Germany  |  Wheel.me