A £9.5 million public/private investment in an open access 5G industrial testbed led by the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) in the North West of England has been announced.
The 5G-Factory of the Future programme will be based primarily at the AMRC North West’s soon-to-be-built facility on the Salmesbury Enterprise Zone, and will enhance Lancashire and the North West’s reputation as a hot-bed of advanced manufacturing innovation and expertise.
The award, which includes match funding from industry, was made by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and is part of the government’s £200 million investment in 5G test bed facilities across the country.
“This is a big vote of confidence in Lancashire and the North West and a potential game changer for the region,” said AMRC North West commercial director, Melissa Conlon, whose team, part of the High Value Manufacturing (HVM) Catapult, led an industrial consortium that includes BAE Systems, IBM, and telecoms and private 5G network provider, Three, along with Burnley-based MTT, an SME developer of digitalisation technologies for machine tools, the Lancashire based data-driven logistics specialist Miralis.
The Digital Catapult will be the technical authority lead and coordinate 5G integration, working closely with Three and use case developers.
Ms Conlon added: “Lancashire is home to leading global businesses in the advanced manufacturing sector; aerospace, automotive and energy. While the region’s manufacturing has high levels of economic activity, it lags behind the rest of the North West and the UK in productivity. This investment will change that. It will enable Lancashire’s manufacturers to close the productivity gap with the implementation of 5G technologies the adoption of which will be de-risked and fine-tuned at the AMRC.”
The benefits of the 5G-FoF programme should dramatically improve the performance of manufacturers across the North of England, with significant reductions in defects and waste through real time monitoring; enhanced machine utilisation and energy saving through digital twin track and trace; and a big reduction in travel and maintenance times brought about by shared ‘hybrid reality spaces.’
The 5G-FoF programme will also have a significant footprint at BAE Systems’ site in Warton, which is the result of a multi-million pound investment and collaboration with more than 40 blue chip and SME companies along with academic institutions.
AMRC www.amrc.co.uk
