The latest example is a recent agreement between ABB Group and Huawei.
Under the agreement, ABB will have access to Huawei’s OneAir@Smart X, allowing facility-wide wireless communication between machinery, workers and a central database, each connecting on a different wireless spectrum to alleviate bandwidth issues on a single network. This network would allow for support of multiple services, including supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), automatic control, data transmission for smart meters and sensors, video surveillance, broadband access and voice communication.
“Reliable industrial wireless networks are an important component during the automatic, digital, and intelligent transformation of industries. We are positive about the prospect of incorporating LTE wireless communication technology into the industrial sector,” said Edward Deng, president of Huawei Wireless Network Solutions.
“In the future, Huawei and ABB will fully leverage their respective strengths and extend cooperation and influence to multiple vertical industries.”
ABB’s strength is undoubtedly in robotics, an area where Huawei will benefit by introducing advanced industrial and collaborative robots into the company’s manufacturing and development. This is particularly important in China, which has become ABB’s largest market for robotics.
“We are convinced that our cooperation and mutual strengths will help reinforce ABB’s technological advantages in industrial robotics and automatic production to improve production efficiency and promote internal industrial manufacturing upgrades in enterprises,” said Li Gang, VP of ABB (China) and head of ABB China’s Robotics Business Unit.
ABB and Huawei are not the first to collaborate on a push towards Industry 4.0 and IIoT, as other major manufacturers are also looking towards a more connected future. These companies will be at the forefront of the fourth industrial revolution, with real-time data and analytics benefitting all aspects of manufacturing.
For more information, find out how China is growing into an industrial powerhouse and how Industry 4.0 will shape the future of manufacturing.