Four research and development laboratories with regional roots at the University of Bremen, the Technische Universität Dresden, the Technische Universität Kaiserslautern and the Institute for Automation and Communication (ifak) in Magdeburg have established the lab network “Industrial Radio Lab Germany” (IRLG) at the end of last year. The project is coordinated and headed by the Vodafone Chair of Mobile Communications Systems at TU Dresden.

In the meantime, the setting-up of the individual laboratories at the universities and institutes has been successfully completed and the joint research and testing of new radio systems for industrial applications can get going.

The IRLG assists companies in the utilisation of industrial radio applications and technologies (e.g. 5G, WiFi 6, LPWAN). To this purpose, the labs will provide resources and infrastructure for joint research to companies in their region. This will enable the companies to efficiently develop demonstrators and products in the field of radio communications, including 5G-based products. Small and medium-sized enterprises will be able to develop their innovations faster with the help of local laboratories. Large companies will also be involved sharing their innovation approaches.

Each lab also has a specific research focus. The TU Dresden labs designs communication technology systems and algorithms as part of this project. The scientists are exploring topics such as real-time monitoring of the radio spectrum, resilient campus networks, tactile internet, co-design of communication and control applications or the design of the radio interface for industrial applications.

With the expertise of the Industrial Radio Lab Germany and the advancing digitalisation, the efficiency of industrial applications can be increased. Furthermore, energy and resources can also be saved. Completely novel business approaches are emerging where industrial applications and products are coupled with innovative data services.

A crucial prerequisite in all cases is efficient, secure and easy-to-use networking and connections between people, machines and products in production facilities, between the production facilities themselves and with servers on world wide web. The use of high-performance and secure radio communication is a pivotal driver of innovation in a wide range of industrial sectors such as automation, robotics, logistics, aerospace and water management.

The project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) for a period of 4.5 years. Funding started in September 2019.

Media enquiries:
Prof. Dr. Gerhard Fettweis
Dr. Norman Franchi
Vodafone Chair of Mobile Communications Systems

https://industrial-radio-lab.eu/