Vodafone has equipped an Industry 4.0 demonstrator project at the University of Sheffield in the UK with a range of IoT technologies so manufacturers can understand how digital tech can support their net zero and energy efficiency objectives. Vodafone is one of a number of IoT suppliers in the project, located at the 6,000 square-metre Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC), managed by the university. In total, 20 IoT use cases are on display.
The co-called Low Carbon Smart Building demonstrator project is at the AMRC North West facility, a newly-opened £20m applied research and development facility in Preston, Lancashire. It is a sister centre to the original AMRC setup in Sheffield, which oversees a cluster of innovation centres across the UK, and works with 120-odd industrial partners including Boeing, Rolls-Royce, BAE Systems and Airbus.
The project at AMRC North West focuses on two areas: smart factory and smart building. The scope is to show IoT can drive greater efficiency and value in a factory workshop and improve the sustainability and operational efficiency of an office environment using similar, respectively, using sundry sensor-based monitoring, tracking, analytics, and automation applications. A press statement lists four use-case classes: environmental monitoring, monitoring and control of hazardous substances, asset tracking, and occupancy monitoring.
The tracking applications use Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) tags; there is no mention in the press note about cellular IoT. But Vodafone’s IoT.nxt IoT platform is being used for the central management of the various IoT applications, affording a single conduit to orchestrate data from old and new sensor devices and systems, and to layer-in automation and artificial intelligence (AI) tools.
The Low Carbon Smart Building demonstrator sets out various enterprise objectives – “from increased productivity, greater automation, improved energy efficiency, health and safety and decarbonisation”, said Vodafone. It is accessible to businesses of all sizes – “from SME to multi-national”.
Vodafone quoted research that said manufacturing accounts for 16.1 percent of the total economic output in the East Midlands, 15.4 percent in the North West, 14.3 percent in Yorkshire and Humbersidem and 17.2 percent in Wales. It reckons “technologies such as 5G, IoT, AI and machine learning” can help the UK reduce its carbon emissions by four percent per year, particularly in the agriculture, manufacturing and transport sectors.
Iain Martin, head of the Low Carbon Smart Building Demonstrator at AMRC North West, said: “As with every other problem to be solved, data plays a crucial role. To know where the opportunities are within your facility, it is important to have a clear understanding of how it operates and what it consumes. Using IoT.nxt makes this information accessible and user-friendly, improving the user’s ability to enhance their efficiency and drive down their carbon footprint.”
Nick Gliddon, business director at Vodafone UK, said: “This project brings to life Vodafone’s belief that innovation occurs at the intersection of different technology ecosystems, each acting as a catalyst on the others. With the AMRC, we are blending together mobile, cloud and IoT technologies to form a comprehensive digital platform with sustainability, efficiency and innovation at the core.”
Vodafone equips low-carbon Industry 4.0 demonstrator in UK
Vodafone has equipped an Industry 4.0 demonstrator project at the University of Sheffield in the UK with a range of IoT technologies so manufacturers can understand how digital tech can support their net zero and energy efficiency objectives. Vodafone is one of a number of IoT suppliers in the project, located at the 6,000 square-metre Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC), managed by the university. In total, 20 IoT use cases are on display.
The co-called Low Carbon Smart Building demonstrator project is at the AMRC North West facility, a newly-opened £20m applied research and development facility in Preston, Lancashire. It is a sister centre to the original AMRC setup in Sheffield, which oversees a cluster of innovation centres across the UK, and works with 120-odd industrial partners including Boeing, Rolls-Royce, BAE Systems and Airbus.
The project at AMRC North West focuses on two areas: smart factory and smart building. The scope is to show IoT can drive greater efficiency and value in a factory workshop and improve the sustainability and operational efficiency of an office environment using similar, respectively, using sundry sensor-based monitoring, tracking, analytics, and automation applications. A press statement lists four use-case classes: environmental monitoring, monitoring and control of hazardous substances, asset tracking, and occupancy monitoring.
The tracking applications use Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) tags; there is no mention in the press note about cellular IoT. But Vodafone’s IoT.nxt IoT platform is being used for the central management of the various IoT applications, affording a single conduit to orchestrate data from old and new sensor devices and systems, and to layer-in automation and artificial intelligence (AI) tools.
The Low Carbon Smart Building demonstrator sets out various enterprise objectives – “from increased productivity, greater automation, improved energy efficiency, health and safety and decarbonisation”, said Vodafone. It is accessible to businesses of all sizes – “from SME to multi-national”.
Vodafone quoted research that said manufacturing accounts for 16.1 percent of the total economic output in the East Midlands, 15.4 percent in the North West, 14.3 percent in Yorkshire and Humbersidem and 17.2 percent in Wales. It reckons “technologies such as 5G, IoT, AI and machine learning” can help the UK reduce its carbon emissions by four percent per year, particularly in the agriculture, manufacturing and transport sectors.
Iain Martin, head of the Low Carbon Smart Building Demonstrator at AMRC North West, said: “As with every other problem to be solved, data plays a crucial role. To know where the opportunities are within your facility, it is important to have a clear understanding of how it operates and what it consumes. Using IoT.nxt makes this information accessible and user-friendly, improving the user’s ability to enhance their efficiency and drive down their carbon footprint.”
Nick Gliddon, business director at Vodafone UK, said: “This project brings to life Vodafone’s belief that innovation occurs at the intersection of different technology ecosystems, each acting as a catalyst on the others. With the AMRC, we are blending together mobile, cloud and IoT technologies to form a comprehensive digital platform with sustainability, efficiency and innovation at the core.”
