Osram Taps Deutsche Telekom to test mobile robotics in smart factory

Osram is all set to test autonomous materials handling at its shop in Schwabmünchen Deutsche Telekom is providing integrated Campus Network solution based on LTE and Edge Computing to drive this deployment.

Robots are pushing for wireless communication. This is how it is going to be in Osram’s Schwabmünchen plant. Mobile robots, so-called automated guided vehicles (AGV), will be controlled via mobile networks.

The advantages: Mobile communications can ensure a smooth ride. And the short reaction time (latency) in the wLTE network supports the interaction of the vehicles in real time so that they can move automatically in the plant. The network for the smart factory will be delivered by Deutsche Telekom.

Joint innovation project for smart production

The high-tech company Osram raises the potential benefits of using autonomous transport systems within a more flexible production environment to the new level. In a joint innovation project, Deutsche Telekom and Osram will prototype and test a separate network infrastructure based on a dual slice Campus Network solution.

The solution combines and integrates public and private wLTE connectivity. Additionally, a so-called local Edge wCloud is being deployed. This means that complex computing processes will be transferred to a special server within the factory.

This enables fast data processing. With the support of AI and the dual slice Campus Network the partners will test the transport of material by autonomous vehicles. By this they get a better understanding of the production environment in the Osram factory.

The companies Gestalt Robotics, InSystems Automation and Fraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology develop an innovative, highly flexible automation solution for automated guided vehicles.

The AGV scans the environment in the plant with the help of sensors. These environmental data will be transferred via Campus Network to an Edge wCloud. Complex algorithms transform them into control data. The interaction of wLTE, Edge-wCloud and Artificial Intelligence guarantees the real time processing. This allows the autonomous control of the transport system in the company area.

“For efficient production processes, speed and flexibility of our devices are highly important. The project of the integrated campus solution offers us the possibility to test how we can develop and optimize that by new technologies in the future”, says Hans-Joachim Schwabe, CEO Osram Specialty Lighting.

“To manage the transition to the smart factory of tomorrow, our customers want reliable and performant network solutions tailored to their specific demands”, says Hagen Rickmann, Manager Business Customers Telekom Deutschland GmbH. “In our cooperation with Osram, we will focus on the development of scalable Industrial IoT applications that build on Campus Network and edge technology.”

Campus Networks

Deutsche Telekom’s Campus Networks solutions are connectivity and enhanced connectivity solutions for a defined local area, such as an industrial campus, that are tailored to the needs of the customers and use cases prevailing in this area. Data-throughput, fixed reaction time in the network, reliability, security and other aspects of quality-of-service will be guaranteed to the customers.

Osram, based in Munich, is a leading global high-tech company with a history dating back more than 110 years. Primarily focused on semiconductor-based technologies, our products are used in highly diverse applications ranging from virtual reality to autonomous driving and from smartphones to smart and connected lighting solutions in buildings and cities.