KDDI-owned virtual network operator (MVNO) Soracom is working with vehicle and mobility manufacturer Suzuki Motor Corporation to commercialize electric wheelchair technology in industrial robots. The pair have a proof-of-concept (PoC), they say, that combines Soracom’s IoT airtime with autonomous driving and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in a new family of industrial robots for logistics, manufacturing, construction, and other disciplines. Other partner technologies are also being deployed, said a press note.
Suzuki has developed a new “versatile” micro e-mobility platform that uses its mobility technology in electric wheelchairs, developed over a number of years to improve their stability and maneuverability. It thinks it can use the same for better industrial robots. Soracom is supplying the cellular IoT hardware and airtime. A statement said: “The initiative aims to address challenges in various fields, such as logistics, snow removal, civil engineering and construction, and measurement and monitoring.”
The work follows a deal between the pair, in early 2024, to “promote advanced IoT technologies in mobility applications”, and to “create services that can serve as the infrastructure for business and daily life”. Soracom stated: “The Soracom [solution] will enable real-time cloud connectivity for vehicle operation status updates and GPS-based location tracking… The PoC aims to provide valuable insights for future product development and potentially explore customer-centric services such as support and maintenance.”
Soracom announced a deal in January to supply global IoT connectivity into a pair of new developer evaluation kits from France-based IoT chipmaker Sequans. The new modules are available in two variants, with either dual-band LTE-M and NB-IoT connectivity, or single-band Cat 1bis connectivity. Each kit comes with a Soracom global IoT SIM card preloaded with IoT connectivity for up to three months in 170-odd territories, including LTE-M coverage in 51 countries and NB-IoT coverage in 35 countries.
The same month, it launched an integrated SIM (iSIM) solution for global IoT deployments. It adds a third SIM option to its developer portfolio, to go with its card-type physical SIMs and chip-style embedded eSIMs. It is offering a new iSIM-compatible cellular module to boot, based on a dual-band LTE-M and NB-IoT module from Murata. It has worked with IoT chipset developer Sony Semiconductor Israel and SIM security solutions provider Kigen alongside. The new Soracom hardware release is based on Murata’s Type 1SC module.
