COCUS & Airspan drive digitalization for autonomous driving
The industry 4.0 depends on connectivity for their daily business-critical operations, regardless of sector. But industries overall are becoming more dependent on strong networks and connectivity solutions to cover their business needs. A dependency and risk, that can make or break successful future-proof operations and processes.
That is why more and more businesses have the need especially for their own connectivity solutions and decide to set up their own mobile private networks to have full control over their network infrastructures and data, exploiting the possibilities of full coverage on their premises and minimizing security risks and downtimes. These advantages become especially valuable in environments that focus on efficiency, innovation and new solutions.
Our connectivity solutions in the German market
The 5G mobile private network solution from COCUS adds values to existing and new business models by enabling connectivity, and thus productivity and automation, insights and security as well as innovation for businesses. Together with Airspan as one of the leading providers for open RAN ecosystems, we can offer the highest quality standards for customers with business-critical requirements, for example in the fields of remote maintenance and autonomous driving.
Automating operations and improving process control at the Seaport of Wismar
The “PORTABLE 5.0” project led by the seaport of Wismar is funded by the Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs and Transport with 4.1 million euros until 2024 to test various 5G applications for German ports. In their own 5G private network, provided and built by COCUS together with Airspan, the seaport is testing a variety of use cases including process optimization in real-time dispatching with resident companies, remote control of ship loaders and vehicles for transportation of wood from harbor to wood manufacturers, testing latency for remote control as well as remote controlled operation of drones for remote maintenance and stock inventory. Within the mobile private network, the seaport can transmit video streams and telemetry data from vehicles and cranes on the premises in real-time. The seaport can tackle prevailing problems like the labor shortage by controlling many tasks remotely which were performed manually up to now, leading to more cost efficiency as well as better working conditions for employees on site. By testing different use cases, a high multiplier effect of the results is to be achieved, from which other German ports will also benefit in the future.
“We are pleased that the PORTABLE 5.0 concept was able to convince with its innovation potential and that we will now be able to implement the first future ideas with the 5G mobile private network from COCUS!” Michael Kremp, Managing Director Seehafen Wismar GmbH
Global automotive technology leader ZF benefits from real-time data transmission to optimize testing processes
ZF is one of the world’s largest and most advanced automotive technology suppliers. With its recently expanded commercial vehicle Erich Reinecke test track in Jeversen, Germany, ZF plays an important role in the testing and development of new solutions and technologies to help shape the future of mobility. The facility supports the testing and development of a broad range of new technologies including lane-keeping systems, traffic jam assistants, highway pilots as well as fully automated solutions for connected driving.
Given the enormous data requirements for automated vehicle control and safety, for example, conventional Wi-Fi service is insufficient to support advanced, real-time communication and real-time analysis of the collected telemetry data. To address this challenge, ZF decided to run its own 5G campus network on the Jeversen test track. With the COCUS 5G MPN, seamless handover and real-time data transmissions are enabled, allowing real-time data exchanges to support direct evaluation of test runs and feedback to drivers on latest results. Additionally, the solution saves ZF time and manual processing of data, enabling faster and more innovative research and development, and leading to lowered long-term costs. “ We are proud to have set a new benchmark with our 5G standalone campus network which enables ZF to quickly adapt the network to future technology changes, expand it to support new innovation and to help shape Next Generation Mobility. We are looking forward to continuing our close partnership with COCUS AG,” said Dr. Rolf Reinema, Vice President IT Workplace, IT Infrastructure & Operations, IT Security.
Airspan & COCUS provide non-proprietary connectivity solution for businesses
Until recently, businesses operating private network solutions were bound to the respective manufacturers and were restricted in the expansion and further development. COCUS and Airspan partnered together in 2020 to enable businesses to profit from the new Open RAN approach, which makes it possible that the necessary software and hardware components are operated flexibly with each other in the 5G mobile private network. The opening of the previously manufacturer-specific interfaces makes it possible to use common off the shelf hardware and software solutions from different providers across the board, as well as the uncomplicated adaptation of new mobile communication standard.
Innovation based on 5G mobile private networks does not stop at remote controlled vehicles and autonomous driving. The COCUS solution and Airspan Components are also used to create value in research and development organizations like Fraunhofer and Universities to accelerate the future of localization, e-assessments, and the development of practical 5G.
