Nokia said the new site will allow innovators to trial use cases such as predictive maintenance to reduce downtime and material waste, AI-based safety monitoring, as well as digital assistants
In sum – what to know:
Industrial testbed for startups and nonprofits – SIPBB provides private 5G and AI edge infrastructure without upfront costs, lowering barriers for innovation.
Use cases span safety, efficiency, and sustainability – Predictive maintenance, AI-powered monitoring, and digital assistants are among early applications trialed.
Partnership combines leading technologies – Nokia, Intel, and Datwyler bring private wireless, edge AI, and infrastructure expertise to support Switzerland’s industrial digitalization efforts.
Nokia, Datwyler IT Infra, Intel, and the Switzerland Innovation Park Biel/Bienne (SIPBB) have launched a new hub to support startups and nonprofit organizations in testing private 5G and AI-powered edge applications, the Finnish vendor said in a release.
Nokia noted that the new site provides a full-scale deployment environment featuring Nokia’s Digital Automation Cloud (DAC) private wireless networks, MX Industrial Edge (MXIE), and Nokia MX Workmate, which is a gen AI tool for connected workers.
Meanwhile, Intel’s Xeon Scalable processors will power edge AI workloads, including visual positioning, object detection, and real-time analytics.
The Swiss AI hub will allow innovators to trial use cases such as predictive maintenance to reduce downtime and material waste, AI-based safety monitoring, as well as digital assistants that enable more natural communication between humans and machines. Energy-efficient automation is also being tested to improve productivity while lowering environmental impact, said Nokia.
“We are aiming for the hub to attract global investment and support Swiss economic growth and digital leadership,” said Michael Wendling, co-lead of the Swiss Smart Factory at SIPBB.
“The success of industrial digital transformation depends on how enterprises capture data, securely transport it, and bring AI closer for data analysis & decision making,” said Bhupesh Agrawal, general manager for private 5G and enterprise AI at Intel.
Meanwhile, Michael Aspinall, head of Enterprise Campus Edge sales in Europe at Nokia, said the hub lowers barriers for innovation: “We are supporting digital equity by enabling innovators to test future-ready solutions without upfront infrastructure costs to accelerate development, validate use cases, and scale digital transformation in the real world.”
