UK begins Wi-Fi 6 trials for industrial enterprise, IoT
The first of a series of Wi-Fi 6 trials for industrial enterprise and the internet of things (IoT) is underway in the UK, reports the website Future IoT.
The Wireless Broadband Alliance, an organization that supports the adoption of next generation Wi-Fi services across the Wi-Fi ecosystem, said that it will be testing several use cases on a Wi-Fi 6 network at Mettis Aerospace’s 27-acre facility in West Midlands starting in the second half of 2019.
Use cases under consideration include multi-stream live video monitoring, real time energy monitoring, ultra-reliable low latency communications with sensors on critical systems, and augmented reality.
UK-based Mettis Aerospace designs and manufactures precision-forged, machine and sub-assembled components, primarily for the aerospace and defense industry. Its clients include Airbus, Boeing, and Rolls-Royce.
WBA said the West Midlands region was selected as the UK’s 5G Testbed for manufacturing and security by the UK Government’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport.
The trials, 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, will demonstrate the role of Wi-Fi 6 in the broader 5G ecosystem and will serve as an example to industrial manufacturers moving to industry 4.0.