Nokia has launched a “factory in a box” which combines wireless connectivity with manufacturing capabilities.
The solution, designed in partnership with 11 industrial players, offers manufacturers a production unit which can be shipped in a cargo container.
Along with unspecified network connectivity and manufacturing, the portable factory offers capabilities such as jet printing, robotics and printed circuit board soldering.
Nokia said it anticipates manufacturers using the solution to meet requirements to produce in certain geographies and shipping it to their partners to allow them to quickly prototype new products.
It also says it could be used as a temporary solution when a factory is hit by a natural disaster.
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Nokia will begin testing the technology through proofs of concepts with initial customers starting this year. It will also be demonstrated at the Hanover Messe in April 2018.
Grant Marshall, Head of Supply Network and Engineering in Nokia Operations, said: “These factories are perfectly suited to meet regional and innovation startup requirements, and can be as large as needed to meet build requirements by simply adding additional containers to the location.
Nokia also announced today it had conducted a trial of licensed assisted access technology with US operator AT&T, hitting speeds of 1.3GBps.
The technology supplements operators’ licensed spectrum holdings with frequencies in unlicensed bands to boost bandwidth.