PTC partners with Digital Catapult to launch the Future Networks Lab in London

PTC is partnering with Digital Catapult to launch its Future Networks Lab, a London-based facility “dedicated to leading-edge network and IoT technologies”.

The facility is designed to make use of advanced digital technology to drive early adoption of solutions that can make UK businesses more competitive and productive to grow the country’s economy.

Opened this month, the Future Networks Lab is one of the first facilities in Europe specifically designed with a focus on IoT, 5G and LPWAN technologies. Digital Catapult and its partners have created a facility that unlocks value for industry by enabling collaboration, experimentation and demonstration of the potential of these new and exciting technologies at scale. The facility will offer a place for start-ups, corporations and network platform providers to collaborate and leverage technical expertise, innovation support and advanced digital infrastructures.

PTC, selected to partner with Digital Capital for its IoT and augmented reality expertise, will contribute its ThingWorx connected Bosch Rexroth Cytropac unit to demonstrate the benefits of a device that has been engineered as a smart connected product, with connectivity from the edge to the cloud.

Companies who visit the Future Networks Lab will be able to observe the device as it performs through a tablet driven by PTC Vuforia augmented reality experience – viewing sensor feeds, sales information and a service procedure showing the replacement of the filter unit.

Jeremy Silver, CEO, Digital Catapult, says: “Today’s companies need modern, efficient and resilient technological infrastructure. Digital Catapult’s new Future Networks Lab will provide some of the key building blocks to help unlock that developing infrastructure and the new services that will run on it.

We’re excited to launch this new facility alongside some of Britain’s leading players. Together, we are helping companies of all sizes access the latest IoT-enabling technologies, developing collaboration opportunities and running programmes that will bring all sorts of experts together in an inspiring space.” 

Smart Connected Operations allow manufacturers to connect equipment on their factory floors to increase productivity, flexibility and safety and reduce costs. Equipped with sensors that enable industrial assets to report on their status, performance and condition, manufacturers are making their factories smarter, giving operators real-time insight into how machinery might be optimised and reassigned to deliver incoming orders and alerting them to any issues that could lead to downtime.

“Paul Haimes, VP Pre-Sales, PTC, comments: “PTC has a long history of working with UK’s Catapult Centres with over a decade of successful collaboration at the AMRC High Value Manufacturing Catapult. We’re excited about our new partnership with Digital Catapult and specifically the Future Networks Lab which will allow organisations to blueprint and validate the value of their digital use-cases in a single location using industry-leading technologies.”

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