Vodafone and technology partner Ericsson have equipped e.GO Mobile’s factory with the 5G technologies mobile edge computing (MEC) and network slicing. “Our Plant 1, the assembly plant for e.GO Life, is a true Industry 4.0 factory,” explains Günther Schuh, CEO of e.GO Mobile. “It is fully networked in terms of information technology.” Small real-time computing centers (mobile edge computing) process data directly in the production hall, while network slicing provides for a network optimized to meet the requirements of the series production of the small electric car. A total of 36 small mobile radio antennas in the 8,500 km2 production hall provide high bandwidths of up to 10 Gbit/s and low latency times of just a few milliseconds. This makes machine communication faster, increases the digital penetration of the relevant production processes, and renders workflows more efficient.

In the future, autonomous forklifts and small trains will also be used to automate the transport of material between warehouses and production halls. In addition, torque tools and robots will also communicate constantly with the central control system via mobile radio.