Formation of Flexible Factory Partner Alliance to Accelerate Use of IoT in Factories
Promoting the spread of coordination control technology to ensure stable communications of various wireless systems
TOKYO, Jul 26, 2017 - (JCN Newswire) - OMRON Corporation, Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International (ATR), Sanritz Automation Co., Ltd., National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), NEC Corporation, Fujitsu Limited, and Murata Machinery, Ltd., today announced the formation of the Flexible Factory Partner Alliance to promote the formulation of standards for coordination control technology. This will work to ensure stable communications in an environment where various wireless systems coexist, as well as to promote their use and further accelerate the adoption of wireless systems in manufacturing facilities.
Through the initiatives of this alliance, the partners will seek to meet expectations for a new industrial revolution accompanying the spreading use of IoT in manufacturing facilities.
1. Background and Outlook In response to fierce international competition resulting from increased globalization, as well as labor shortages and a reduced number of skilled workers due to falling birthrates and aging populations, utilizing ICT in manufacturing to improve productivity is seen as a critical issue. Given that 'visualization' in production equipment and production status is moving forward to improve productivity, and as product development cycles have shortened in recent years, there has been a demand for greater flexibility in the configuration of production facilities equipment and in modifying the production line construction. As a means of achieving greater flexibility, there are rising expectations for wireless communications as an important technology. In fact, there has been an increasing trend of manufacturing facilities deploying wireless communications on a trial basis, and then based on these trials, fully implementing such wireless systems.
At the same time, a major issue in wireless communications in factories where various wireless systems coexist is communication instability due to interference between wireless systems and the impact that it has on equipment operation. There had previously been few efforts, however, to resolve this sort of wireless communication issue in manufacturing facilities.
To find solutions for the above issues, OMRON, ATR, Sanritz, NICT, NEC, Fujitsu, and Murata Machinery have been conducting trials of wireless communications and evaluating the wireless environment in factories. These companies and organizations have at academic conferences and other venues broadly proposed coordination control technology that would enable stability in communications. This would work by controlling independent wireless systems for each piece of equipment, with specific use cases in actual manufacturing facilities in mind.
Now these companies have come together to form the Flexible Factory Partner Alliance to promote the formulation of standards for coordination control technology. This will thereby ensure stable communications in an environment where various wireless systems coexist, as well as promote their use and further accelerate the adoption of wireless systems in manufacturing facilities. Professor Andreas Dengel of the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) has been appointed the chairperson of this alliance.
Through the initiatives of this alliance, the partners will work to meet expectations for a new industrial revolution accompanying the spread of the use of IoT in manufacturing facilities.
2. Goals The goal of this alliance is to contribute to the standardization of technology to stabilize various wireless systems with coordination control, promote the application of wireless communications in manufacturing factories that are expected to accelerate wireless-connected devices to increase productivity, and disseminate the standards.
3. Summary of Activities The alliance will take the following actions to achieve the goals. 1. Development of specifications relating to the technology to stabilize various wireless systems with coordination control 2. Activities to standardize these specifications 3. Activities to promote the application of wireless communications in manufacturing factories 4. Activities necessary to achieve the goals of this alliance
4. Member information OMRON Corporation (Headquarters: Shimogyo-ku Kyoto, Managing Director CEO: Yoshihito Yamada) Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International (Headquarters: Souraku Kyoto, President: Toru Asami) Sanritz Automation Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Machida Tokyo, Managing Director: Kazuya Suzuki) National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (Headquarters: Koganei Tokyo, President: Hideyuki Tokuda) NEC Corporation (Headquarters: Minato-ku Tokyo, President and CEO: Takashi Niino) Fujitsu Limited (Headquarters: Minato-ku Tokyo, Managing Director: Tatsuya Tanaka) Murata Machinery, Ltd. (Headquarters: Fushimi-ku Kyoto, President and CEO: Daisuke Murata)
Related Links Flexible Factory Partner Alliance website: http://www.ffp-a.org/
Contact:NEC
Seiichiro Toda
s-toda@cj.jp.nec.com
+81-3-3798-6511
Source: NEC Corporation Sectors: Cloud & Enterprise
Copyright ©2024 JCN Newswire. All rights reserved. A division of Japan Corporate News Network.
|
Latest Press Release
JCB enables JCB Contactless acceptance at Taichung MRT in Taiwan Apr 26, 2024 10:00 JST
| Mazda Production and Sales Results for March 2024 and for April 2023 through March 2024 Apr 25, 2024 18:21 JST
| MHI Begins Operation of SOEC Test Module the Next-Generation High-Efficiency Hydrogen Production Technology at Takasago Hydrogen Park Apr 25, 2024 17:45 JST
| GAC Honda to Begin Sales of All-new e:NP2, the Second Model of e:N Series Apr 25, 2024 16:50 JST
| Toyota Exhibiting at Beijing Motor Show 2024 Apr 25, 2024 16:25 JST
| Honda Reaches Basic Agreement with Asahi Kasei on Collaboration for Production of Battery Separators for Automotive Batteries in Canada Apr 25, 2024 11:10 JST
| UNIQLO Sponsors KAWS + Warhol Exhibition Tour, Starting in Pittsburgh Apr 25, 2024 09:00 JST
| Mitsubishi Power Begins Commercial Operation of Seventh M701JAC Gas Turbine in Thailand GTCC Project; Achieves 75,000 AOH To-Date Apr 24, 2024 17:19 JST
| MC and Denka Sign J/V Agreement in Fullerene Business Apr 24, 2024 17:02 JST
| Mitsubishi Motors Posts Record Sales in the Philippines in FY2023 Apr 24, 2024 13:56 JST
| NEC Develops High-speed Generative AI Large Language Models (LLM) with World-class Performance Apr 24, 2024 13:25 JST
| Fujitsu SX Survey reveals key success factors for sustainability Apr 23, 2024 10:25 JST
| Fujitsu and METRON collaborate to drive ESG success: slashing energy costs, boosting productivity with new manufacturing industry solutions Apr 22, 2024 16:09 JST
| NEC Strengthens Commitment to Space Industry with Investment in Seraphim Space Venture Fund II Apr 22, 2024 15:09 JST
| Soft Space Launches the First and Only JCB Payment Gateway in Malaysia Apr 22, 2024 15:00 JST
| TOYOTA GAZOO Racing takes a one-two in Croatian thriller Apr 22, 2024 10:47 JST
| First-ever Mazda CX-80 Crossover SUV Unveiled in Europe Apr 19, 2024 13:50 JST
| Fujitsu develops technology to convert corporate digital identity credentials, enabling participation of non-European companies in European data spaces Apr 19, 2024 10:17 JST
| Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and NGK to Jointly Develop Hydrogen Purification System from Ammonia Cracking Gas Apr 18, 2024 17:01 JST
| Toyota Launches All-New Land Cruiser "250" Series in Japan Apr 18, 2024 13:39 JST
|
More Latest Release >>
|