AstaZero getting the best out of 5G
Swedish operator Telia and its compatriot equipment maker Ericsson are running a programme designed to stimulate invention in the way Sweden’s industrial complexes use 5G. The Northstar programme will focus on the transport sector and will school lorry manufacturers in disciplines like network slicing and positioning so that they can develop new use-cases.
The first customer to sign up to the Northstar scheme is AstaZero, which runs the world’s first full-scale independent test environment for automated transport systems. “The advantage of having one open network and another closed one is that we can step up both research and development testing,” said Peter Janevik, CEO at AstaZero. A self-driving truck, for example, can undergo research tests in the closed network in AstaZero’s FLX Zone, so engineers can simulate operations in a harbour or logistics centre. Then they can see how things work after the machine has left the FLX Zone. “The truck would transition to the public network, just as it would when leaving the closed area,” said Janevik. The beauty of the scheme is that they can see how it works in the ‘real world’ while still in the safe confines of the AstaZero Proving Ground, according to Janevik. “This is one more example of how AstaZero increases digitally driven research and development possibilities.”
Experts in 5G from both Telia and Ericsson are now clambering in and out of lorries trying to solve the perennial challenge of teaching lorries to drive themselves without putting the public at risk. Gothenburg-based AstaZero is owned and operated by the research organization RISE, which is partnering with Volvo, Veoneer and Scania.
NorthStar’s own private 5G network uses Ericsson’s dual-mode 5G Core and connects to Telia’s existing public 5G network, currently being rolled out across Sweden. This means that organisations using NorthStar’s 5G environment could benefit from high-speed connectivity across large geographical areas. In addition, customers could build their own networks at their own locations in order to create test sites and R&D facilities, and connect them to the NorthStar network.
Sweden is an industrial powerhouse but without access to robust and secure digital infrastructure, its businesses risk falling behind, according to Telia Sweden CEO Anders Olsson. NorthStar will guide industrialists through the trials and tribulations of collaboration as they configure 5G to become the nervous system that creates intelligent and sustainable transport.
Ericsson takes part in 100 industry organisations, standards bodies and technology alliance groups. It connects 7,000 enterprises across multiple sectors. In previous joint enterprises Telia and Ericsson created Europe’s first 1G network and the world’s first 4G network. “NorthStar’s ambition is to be the catalyst to further develop Sweden as a leading industrial nation and to increase our international competitiveness,” said Erik Ekudden, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at Ericsson.