Nokia and Bosch Connected Devices and Solutions GmbH announced on Wednesday a partnership to enable enterprises and communications service providers to deploy industrial IoT solutions from sensors through to applications.
The combination of smart sensor technology from Bosch Connected Devices and Solutions with Nokia connectivity, IoT platform and services solutions brings new options for industrial IoT. The focus areas include logistics automation and tracking, environmental control and industrial automation; with the combined offering planned to be commercially available in early next year.
Initial work will focus on asset tracking, predictive maintenance and environmental monitoring use cases, with the companies currently doing several customer trials in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and commercially available solutions expected in early 2018. Nokia will provide its IoT connectivity, IMPACT/Netguard secure IoT Cloud platform and WING for IoT connectivity services using the ecosystem of mobile operators and sensing services.
Bosch Connected Devices and Solutions will provide smart connected sensor devices, which enable industrial customers to improve their overall equipment efficiency and safety. The intelligent devices measure and transmit relevant environmental data based on high-quality Bosch MEMS sensors embedded in an energy-efficient architecture. The partnership will enable easier and more rapid development of solutions designed for large logistics providers, operators and industrial players.
“Bosch is the world’s leading smart sensor manufacturer, and we are delighted to have reached a strategic agreement with them,” said Laurent Le Gourierrec, head of strategic partnerships at Nokia. “This combination of devices, connectivity and services from two worldwide leaders will allow for the rapid deployment of large-scale, innovative IoT applications.”
“We are excited to announce this strategic partnership with Nokia. With our companies’ complementary offering, Nokia is the perfect partner to build comprehensive IoT business solutions,” said Dr. Markus Lang, chief executive officer at Bosch Connected Devices and Solutions. “We strongly believe that collaboration and interoperability are key enablers to scale IoT solutions. This cooperation is a major milestone on the way.”
GE Digital, Nokia and Qualcomm Technologies, a subsidiary of Qualcomm Inc., announced earlier this year that the companies have successfully demonstrated a private LTE network for the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) market; meshing together each party’s platforms and technologies. In addition, the companies have announced plans to further research and conduct live field trials throughout 2017 based on this demonstration, designed to advance the digitization of industrial processes.
Industrial companies often have local connectivity needs and operate in remote locations or temporary sites, such as mines, power plants, offshore oil platforms, factories, warehouses or ports—connectivity for these environments can be challenging. A standalone LTE network to serve devices and users within a localized area can help improve performance and reliability for these industrial settings.
