German robot manufacturer KUKA taps Nokia for 5G private wireless networking

The 5G private wireless network deployment will help the German firm maximize the potential of upcoming 3GPP Releases 16 and 17 while Nokia's Digital Automation Cloud (DAC) platform will accelerate its product development with immediate effect.

KUKA, one of the world's leading manufacturers of industrial robots and intelligent automation solutions, has partnered with Nokia to deploy 5G Standalone (SA) private wireless networking at its Smart Production and Development Center in Augsburg, Germany.

"By partnering with Nokia for private wireless networking, we have now established a long-term development roadmap that will allow us to capitalize on the new capabilities in future 5G releases for our automation solutions," said Michael Wagner, Director R&D, Competence Center Control Technology, KUKA.

The 5G private wireless network deployment will help the German firm maximize the potential of upcoming 3GPP Releases 16 and 17 while Nokia's Digital Automation Cloud (DAC) platform will accelerate its product development with immediate effect.

Nokia DAC is a compact, easy-to-deploy platform that offers reliable high-bandwidth, low-latency private networking, local edge computing capabilities, voice and video services and a catalog of applications. It comprises network and user equipment, a cloud-based operation monitoring system and industrial connectors that ease standard and industry-specific protocol connectivity.

The multi-year contract will also see Nokia supporting KUKA with network deployment, operation support services and training, enabling integration of new use cases including new 5G-based interfaces and components for the KUKA solution portfolio, the Finnish vendor said in an official release on Thursday.

Commenting on the collaboration, Dirk Lewandowski, Vice President Central and East Europe, Nokia Enterprise, said, " With KUKA preparing to use 5G in industrial applications, deployment of a Nokia DAC platform will enable it to accelerate the development of smart automation solutions for its customers."