Ericsson and Intel launch 5G innovators

Honeywell, GE and the University of California - Berkeley are the first participants to join the initiative. The 5GI2 will first focus on the IIOT and develop pilots for application of technologies including augmented and virtual reality for first responder drone surveillance of hazardous environments and other uses.

The pilots will include step-by-step blueprints of the network, cloud and 5G connectivity requirements - from speed and responsiveness to security and analytics. As other participants join, the pilots are expected to expand to other industries where 5G will enable societal improvements, such as autonomous driving, smart and connected cities, healthcare and media.

The pilots will also facilitate accessibility and transparency of results, encouraging progress in support of 5G industry standards and validation of new business models. Ulf Ewaldsson, Chief Strategy and Technology Officer of Ericsson, says, "This program is totally in line with Ericsson's already established 5G programs, such as 5G for Sweden and 5G for Europe".

"This collaboration brings together necessary competence from technology providers, industry partners and academia to find sustainable solutions to digitise and transform other industries."

Asha Keddy, Vice President and General Manager of Next Generation Standards, Intel Communications and Devices Group, says: "5G is not simply about making smart phones faster. It's about the machines and things that will deliver an entirely new smart and connected future.

Building our 5G future requires a new approach to industry collaboration and development. The 5GI2 initiative combines technological strengths and intellectual capital from each of the participants to build step-by-step blueprints for how early applications of 5G connectivity, IoT and cloud services will bring new forms of value to multiple industries."

Suresh Venkatarayalu, Chief Technology Officer, Honeywell Safety and Productivity Solutions, says: "The ability to move large amounts of data across mobile networks is critical to realising the promise of the Internet of Things".

"Because of this, 5G technology will be a key enabler as we continue to develop and deploy new connected solutions to improve worker productivity, safety and asset performance across our customers' global supply chains. It will help us bring to market new IoT solutions for aircraft, buildings, homes, industrial plants, logistics providers, manufacturers and retailers."

Peter Marx, Vice President, Advanced Concepts, GE Digital, says: "Industrial companies looking to optimise their assets and operations need connectivity from the edge to the cloud. Connecting those assets to GE's Predix platform and using the innovations emerging from 5G wireless will help them unlock efficiency, increase manageability and drive sustainability.

Building a thriving ecosystem of innovators who use the next generation of digital connectivity to sustain and surprise our customers - in industries ranging from manufacturing to healthcare - is key to everyone's success."

Ion Stoica, Professor of Computer Science at UC Berkeley and Director of RISELab, says: "We believe 5G will be a key technology that will enable our research in RISELab at UC Berkeley on building systems to provide real-time execution on live data with strong security".

"In particular, 5G would give us unprecedented flexibility in implementing sophisticated functionality across edge devices, edge clusters and clouds. We pride ourselves for interdisciplinary collaboration and believe we are in a unique position to explore new applications, use cases, and business models for 5G that will ultimately realise its potential. We are excited to join this 5G Innovators Initiative."