Industry 4.0, IoT, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain are the latest technologies that many companies are keen to take advantage of. But how can you integrate these technologies at your company without the necessary specialist expertise or background? This is where Swisscom's IoT/5G Innovation Lab comes in.
Text: Martina Longo / Alexandru Rusu, 31 may 2019
New technologies are developing apace and offer great opportunities in a world where efficiency is becoming increasingly important. In line with this, Swisscom continues to invest in research into innovative concepts and develop instruments that help the industry to successfully integrate new technologies. We employ teams of experts to support our customers in the digitisation process. The latest technologies are researched in collaboration with leading universities and implemented in research and development projects. The Swisscom IoT/5G Innovation Lab is one such place of innovation.
Open and spacious rooms in the IoT /5G Innovation Lab make innovative work possible.
Swisscom has set up the Innovation Lab as part of the IoT department to provide access to the latest technologies with the help of science. Swisscom’s IoT/5G Innovation Lab is based in the Innovation Park of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). It serves as a bridge between the industry and academia. Alexandru Rusu manages the Swisscom IoT/5G Innovation Lab and collaborates with a broad network of master students, post-doc students and professors on research projects that combine both professional and academic interests.
The IoT/5G Innovation Lab is also used for events and workshops.
The main research topics in the Swisscom IoT/5G Innovation Lab are:
The Swisscom IoT/5G Innovation Lab offers consulting and rapid prototyping based on IoT applications. IoT connects things such as devices, sensors and machines to the Internet and thus generates data. With the help of this data, applications are fed and trained to improve processes, develop new services or create innovative business models.
Innovation from the IoT/5G Innovations Labs efficiently improves processes, as this example shows:
In order to optimise transport routes within a construction site, several odometers and presence sensors were installed on the machines that transport the goods. The distance data and load status of the machine were recorded while the machine was moving and then transferred to the cloud via LoRa communication. There, the trip statistics were calculated, and possible route improvements were suggested. Use of the IoT permitted the efficient use of routes on the construction site and the swift transportation of material from A to B. The system was able to use the data of the construction site to calculate the route statistics and propose possible route improvements.
Everywhere you look you see innovation: Drones are used for various LoRaWAN projects.
The Swisscom IoT/5G Innovation Lab offers all the advantages of collaboration between science and industry. Innovative ideas are developed in the laboratory, new technologies are researched, and their application is put into practice. Customers gain insights into the latest technology trends and experience how the introduction of new methods can optimise and improve the efficiency of processes in their company.
The Swisscom IoT/5G Innovation Lab was founded in 2016. The innovation platform is dedicated to the latest digitisation trends and offers consulting for large companies to develop projects for digital transformation. Would you like to make your company fit for a digital future? Contact our expert.
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