Singtel and Hyundai leverage 5G to develop advanced manufacturing facility

As 5G use cases continue to innovate processes, the manufacturing industry is expected to benefit the most from it. Today, 5G has already enabled numerous use cases in the manufacturing industry, which not only enhances productivity but also innovates businesses to look beyond their operations.

Some of the most common 5G use cases in the manufacturing industry include automated services for inventory and warehouse management. Machines and robotics can also now operate seamlessly with minimal human intervention, ensuring productivity is not disrupted. IoT sensors on machinery enable digital twin technologies to give more accurate readings via the 5G network as well, improving the visibility of operations.

With that said, Hyundai Motor Group has signed an agreement with Singtel to deploy the telco’s 5G infrastructure network solutions at its Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Centre (HMGICS) in Singapore. The facility, which includes an electric vehicle (EV) production facility, is the first of its kind in the world, to leverage Singtel’s leading-edge 5G campus network with mobile edge core solutions that will provide uninterrupted high-speed connectivity and massive bandwidth to enhance HMGICS’s high-precision quality control in manufacturing operations.

As Hyundai’s open innovation hub for research and development in advanced mobility ecosystems, HMGICS aims to revolutionize the future mobility value chain. The partnership with Singtel will enable HMGICS to introduce smart mobility solutions in areas such as EVs, autonomous vehicles, and new forms of mobility products and services in Singapore. The HMGICS will also serve as a testbed for human-centered intelligent manufacturing and verification of Industry 4.0 technologies.

Augmented by Singtel’s capabilities in 5G, AI, and IoT, and Hyundai’s deep expertise in smart automotive manufacturing solutions as well as robotics, HMGICS will be the leading facility for the development of a metaverse for the manufacturing industry.

According to Lim Seng Kong, Managing Director for Singtel Enterprise Business, Singtel’s 5G network and MEC solutions will overcome the performance limitations of WiFi to deliver the promise of digital twins and eventually metaverse for advanced manufacturing operations.

“With innovation from Hyundai and enablement from our 5G solutions, we are looking at a new concept of manufacturing where the station comes to the cell, unlocking opportunities for hyper-customization and other novel applications. Together, we are paving the way for Singapore to be the center for Smart Manufacturing in the region,” commented Lim.

From 5G manufacturing to metafactory

With real-time monitoring and feedback key, Hyundai will leverage Singtel’s Paragon, an all-in-one platform for 5G networks, edge computing management, and services orchestration, that will enable the factory to manage and analyze the manufacturing process and performance of the networks.

Paragon will also support Hyundai’s new capability that allows customers to personalize their chosen vehicles and watch their cars being manufactured live via their smart devices. Once ready, the vehicles will be transported by specially designed autonomous guided vehicles to the Centre’s 620-meter-long Sky Track where customers can test drive them.

For Hong Bum Jung, Chief Executive Officer of HMGICS, HMGICS will feature the Hyundai Motor Group’s first deployment of a 5G network in vehicle manufacturing, leveraging 5G for a cloud-based centralized mobile robot management solution.

“We believe that Singtel’s 5G solution will not only redefine the manufacturing process, but the partnership will realize Hyundai’s vision of becoming the first mobility innovator to build a Meta-Factory concept, a digital twin of an actual factory, supported by a metaverse platform. The game-changing Meta-Factory will enable us to test-run a factory virtually, in order to calculate the optimized plant operation and enable plant managers to solve problems without having to physically visit the plant,” added Hong.

Hyundai’s metamobility concept refers to going beyond physical movements through robotics and into the metaverse to affect change in the real world. Using Singtel’s 5G mobility network, Hyundai can expand the use of robots as a medium between the real and virtual worlds. Deployment of these solutions is currently underway and expected to be completed by Q4 2022.

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