The memorandum of understanding was concluded in early August at Audi’s headquarters in Ingolstadt. The project focuses on the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). The aim of the partnership is to explore the possibilities offered by 5G regarding the requirements of automobile production.

Over the coming months, a team of experts from Audi and Ericsson will set up a test field with a 5G radio cell in one of the technology workshops at the Audi Production Lab in Gaimersheim, which is near Ingolstadt. The main focus will be a particularly latency-critical automated application – a wireless interaction between an industrial robot and adhesive application. Ericsson’s Proof-of-Concept network (PoC) which will be used for this has been specially designed to incorporate both technologies already in use and also those which are alternative or supplementary, such as WLAN or cabled (Ethernet) connections between production components. Beyond this, the partners want to investigate whether 5G can be utilized not only in the main facility in Ingolstadt, but also in other Audi Group factories.