A private mobile network using 5G technology has been launched in Mullingar by Vodafone Ireland and Irish Manufacturing Research.

Wireless equipment from Ericsson enables Vodafone to provide a 5G standalone edge core and radio private network to IMR, which the two say will facilitate the investigation and development of innovative uses in the high-tech manufacturing community.

According to Vodafone, 5G can enable industries like manufacturing to modernise and deliver on the opportunity of what has come to be called Industry 4.0, including internet of things applications, smart processes, improving KPIs and assisting data driven business models.

IMR is a manufacturing research and technology organisation with labs and industrial pilot lines in Dublin and Mullingar. It says it works with global and indigenous brands to demystify, and de-risk new and emerging technologies relevant to  manufacturing.

It plans to use the 5G network to develop and demonstrate smart manufacturing use cases in automated production lines, mobile robots and collaborative robots, and augmented reality and virtual reality displays.

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The company says that these smart applications require high capacity bandwidth, low latency and quality of service that is enabled by 5G.

Ford’s operation in Britain provides an example of what may result. The car maker has installed a 5G private network, also provided by Vodafone, at its electric battery workshop in Essex. The network links this centre with a site in Cambridge, allowing the two to work together on welding electric batteries – a process that requires 1,000 welds and generates half a million pieces of data every minute, so is not supported by existing factory systems.

IMR director of digitisation Dr Niall Aughney said: “We are looking to integrate 5G capability into our digitisation and Industry 4.0 strategies, enabling us to demonstrate to SME owners, CTOs, CIOs and COOs in larger organisations how 5G can offer cost-competitive solutions over traditional approaches across a range of process, AR/VR, robotic and asset management applications.”

Vodafone business director Sinéad Bryan (pictured) added: “The investigation of 5G IoT applications for smart manufacturing in Ireland is wonderful news for the future of the industry here. This mobile private network and the development of IoT applications will make it possible for IMR’s members and partners to achieve today what they need to stay competitive tomorrow.”

“Vodafone’s dedicated 5G network will provide reliability, device density, scalability, quality of service and enhanced safety that currently cannot be achieved," she added.