Wireless Broadband Alliance and Mettis Aerospace claim world’s first Wi-Fi 6 Industrial Enterprise and IoT trial

The Wireless Broadband Alliance, an organisation supporting the adoption of next generation Wi-Fi services across the Wi-Fi ecosystem, has claimed to announced the world’s first Wi-Fi 6 Industrial Enterprise and IoT trial, as part of its ongoing Wi-Fi 6 program.

Mettis Aerospace, a designer and manufacturer of precision-forged, machined and sub-assembled components, primarily for the aerospace and defense industry, will work with WBA members to test several use cases* on a Wi-Fi 6 network at its 27-acre West Midlands, UK facility.

The trial, the first of a series of global trials, will enable the use of augmented reality, real-time monitoring of equipment, and a host of other applications in an enterprise network environment designed to digitise Mettis’ production line. Mettis Aerospace is a key supplier for organisations like Airbus, Boeing and Rolls-Royce.

The Mettis Aerospace environment is challenging from a connectivity perspective, with a large geography to be covered, and industrial radio interference that can disrupt signals. Some applications will require high bandwidth, others low latency and mission critical applications need clear prioritisation for data. Wi-Fi 6 is well-positioned to support the provision of cost-effective enterprise-level connectivity in this industrial environment, to these standards using the latest security capabilities.

The West Midlands region, under the leadership of the Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership, was selected to be the UK’s 5G Testbed for manufacturing and security by the UK Government’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport. This trial will demonstrate the role that Wi-Fi 6 has to play in the broader 5G ecosystem.

“Wi-Fi 6 is a critical component for the future of connectivity for enterprises, operators and consumers. The work of Mettis Aerospace, the WBA and its members will clearly illustrate the role that Wi-Fi 6 has to play,” said Tiago Rodrigues, general manager, WBA.

“We’re delighted to be working with Mettis Aerospace and are grateful to the Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership for inviting us to collaborate with them to demonstrate the capabilities and promote the convergence of 5G and Wi-Fi 6 in heterogeneous networks. This first trial will serve as an example to industrial manufacturers around the world who are embracing the move to ‘industry 4.0’ about the capabilities to deliver transformation with Wi-Fi 6.”

“We’re delighted to be the first aerospace company to trial Wi-Fi 6. By working with the WBA, we’re able to gain access to dozens of leading vendors and operators in the Wi-Fi arena,” said Dave Green, head of IT, Mettis Aerospace. “Industrial manufacturers work in incredibly complex environments, which can make cellular technologies challenging to deploy and operate effectively. We believe that Wi-Fi 6 has a significant role to play within the 5G ecosystem, enabling a range of, cost-effective, industrial applications.”

Mark Stansfield, chair of the Worcestershire LEP, comments: “We see 5G and Wi-Fi 6 as complementary technologies that will revolutionise industry on a regional, national and global scale. We recently announced the UK’s first live 5G factory trials in Worcestershire, in a landmark step towards the creation of smart factories, and it’s fantastic to also see the world’s first Wi-Fi 6 Industrial IoT trial go live in the county. This is an important step in the evolution of next generation technologies that will completely transform UK industry and an important step in establishing Worcestershire as an exemplar for manufacturing best practice for the UK and wider afield.”

The trial is being managed by the WBA and Mettis Aerospace, and supported by WBA members including British Telecom, Boingo, Broadcom, BSG Wireless, CableLabs, Cisco, HPE Aruba and Intel. It is scheduled to launch in the second half of 2019.

“Wi-Fi 6 has inherent capabilities that enables wireless to be more deterministic, which is important for mission-critical IoT assets being used in manufacturing automation”, says Matt MacPherson, CTO Wireless at Cisco. “When we look at mission-critical IoT programs, and accelerating digitisation initiatives, we also need to keep security top of mind. The ability to enforce policy through Wi-Fi 6 scheduling and segmentation means much better control over these environments. We are delighted to be supporting the Mettis trial and to demonstrate the power of Wi-Fi 6 in the very challenging environments typical to Industry 4.0 use cases.”

“We’re excited and looking forward to supporting the world’s first Wi-Fi 6 IoT trial led by the Wireless Broadband Alliance and Mettis Aerospace,” said Gabriel Desjardins, director of marketing for the Wireless Communications and Connectivity Division at Broadcom. “We are confident that Wi-Fi 6 technology will demonstrate exceptional performance and reliability metrics during this real-world deployment and deliver unprecedented value to the broader industry.”

Accuris Networks is excited to work with the WBA to continue demonstrating practical applications of how Wi-Fi 6 can continue to transform Industry 4.0 and similar verticals which require best-in-class security, significant broadband data rates and seamless user experience,” commented David Reeder, VP Global Sales & Business Development at Accuris Networks.

Comment on this article below or via Twitter: @IoTNow_OR @jcIoTnow

RECENT ARTICLES

Surrey leads new £8 million FORT centre for advancing secure networks

Posted on: March 18, 2024

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) announced that Surrey’s 5G/6G Innovation Centre will lead a new £8 million Centre for Doctoral Training in Future Open Secure Networks (FORT). 

Read more

Protecting assets with LTE, NTN & 5G LPWA

Posted on: March 15, 2024

In this compelling piece, part of the Key Industry Insights Series, Analyst Robin Duke-Woolley of Beecham Research and Kevin Guan of Fibocom, explain how LTE Cat 4/1/1bis/M, NTN and 5G LPWA are working to change the game for protecting goods and supply chains with total, global coverage asset tracking for reduced losses and improved operations

Read more
FEATURED IoT STORIES

What is IoT? A Beginner’s Guide

Posted on: April 5, 2023

What is IoT? IoT, or the Internet of Things, refers to the connection of everyday objects, or “things,” to the internet, allowing them to collect, transmit, and share data. This interconnected network of devices transforms previously “dumb” objects, such as toasters or security cameras, into smart devices that can interact with each other and their

Read more

The IoT Adoption Boom – Everything You Need to Know

Posted on: September 28, 2022

In an age when we seem to go through technology boom after technology boom, it’s hard to imagine one sticking out. However, IoT adoption, or the Internet of Things adoption, is leading the charge to dominate the next decade’s discussion around business IT. Below, we’ll discuss the current boom, what’s driving it, where it’s going,

Read more

9 IoT applications that will change everything

Posted on: September 1, 2021

Whether you are a future-minded CEO, tech-driven CEO or IT leader, you’ve come across the term IoT before. It’s often used alongside superlatives regarding how it will revolutionize the way you work, play, and live. But is it just another buzzword, or is it the as-promised technological holy grail? The truth is that Internet of

Read more

Which IoT Platform 2021? IoT Now Enterprise Buyers’ Guide

Posted on: August 30, 2021

There are several different parts in a complete IoT solution, all of which must work together to get the result needed, write IoT Now Enterprise Buyers’ Guide – Which IoT Platform 2021? authors Robin Duke-Woolley, the CEO and Bill Ingle, a senior analyst, at Beecham Research. Figure 1 shows these parts and, although not all

Read more

CAT-M1 vs NB-IoT – examining the real differences

Posted on: June 21, 2021

As industry players look to provide the next generation of IoT connectivity, two different standards have emerged under release 13 of 3GPP – CAT-M1 and NB-IoT.

Read more

IoT and home automation: What does the future hold?

Posted on: June 10, 2020

Once a dream, home automation using iot is slowly but steadily becoming a part of daily lives around the world. In fact, it is believed that the global market for smart home automation will reach $40 billion by 2020.

Read more

5 challenges still facing the Internet of Things

Posted on: June 3, 2020

The Internet of Things (IoT) has quickly become a huge part of how people live, communicate and do business. All around the world, web-enabled devices are turning our world into a more switched-on place to live.

Read more