Inventec teams up with Affirmed Networks to develop 5G smart factory solutions
Aaron Lee, Taipei; Steve Shen, DIGITIMES
Inventec has said that it is developing 5G smart manufacturing solutions in cooperation with Affirmed Networks, a Microsoft subsidiary, which plays a platform and application software provider role.
An initial 5G private network solution co-developed under the collaboration has been applied to an Inventec server plant in Taoyuan, northern Taiwan, improving the plant’s production efficiency by 30%, according to sources at Inventec.
The 5G solution, dubbed United Cloud, is the industry’s first 5G private network solution built on an open cloud architecture that can integrate multiple networks into a single unified network, the sources claimed.
In application, Inventec connects the UnityCloud to its server plant’s automatic optical inspection system to check whether the product has defects through computer analysis, with 5G working to improve the automated process and remote-monitoring capabilities of related inspection tasks.
Other Taiwan-based server makers, including Quanta Computer, Compal Electronics and Wistron, and network equipment suppliers such as Alpha Networks and Askey Computer, are also keen on developing 5G private network solutions.
Quanta has installed related 5G private network solutions developed by its subsidiary Quanta Cloud Technology (QCT) at its new server plant in Linkou, northern Taiwan, according to QCT president Mike Yang.
Investments spent on installing 5G private network at the server plant may be able to recoup within 12 months if the network works as well as expected, Yang said.
Compal has also said that it will install 5G smart factory solutions at its plants.