Nokia forms partnership to boost Industry 4.0 adoption in Brazil

Nokia is bringing its connection solutions and digital automation cloud capabilities into a partnership to boost Industry 4.0 adoption in Brazil.

Nokia has formed a partnership with SENAI-SP (Brazil’s National Service for Industrial Training) to bring its portfolio of technology and connectivity solutions into SENAI-SP’s lab in São Caetano do Sul. The lab is a known for it mechatronics training, and it features an Industry 4.0 factory.

Industry 4.0, which is a subset of the fourth industrial revolution, uses automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies and processes that include cyber-physical systems the internet of things (IoT), industrial internet of things (IIOT), cloud computing, cognitive computing and artificial intelligence (AI).

Currently, IIoT is hamstrung by the lack of connectivity across industries, which is one area that Nokia's partnership with SENAI-SP addresses. The partnership will accelerate the ecosystem for Industry 4.0 skills development across Brazil, and create test beds for the development of new use cases and applied solutions.   

Based in the metropolitan area of São Paulo, the lab will help foster a better understanding of the technologies needed to leverage Industry 4.0 developments, along with aiding pilot testing and demos of new solutions before they enter the market.

As one of the leading countries in South America, Brazil has been investing in next-generation industrial technology to enable the next wave of economic growth. According to research conducted by the Federation of Industries of São Paulo State (FIESP) in partnership with SENAI-SP, 90% of companies familiar with Industry 4.0 agree it will boost productivity. Meanwhile, 79% acknowledge it will impact business models, but only 30% started the process to adopt Industry 4.0 technologies.

World Bank data shows that the Brazilian industrial sector accounted for 21% of the country’s total employment in 2017, including manufacturing, mining, construction and public utilities.

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The partnership will enable SENAI-SP to utilize the reach of its 166 units in the state by working with Nokia to research and develop new technologies, training and preparing professionals across Brazil for the age of Industry 4.0 across the segments where SENAI-SP operates. While automation can lead to the reduction of employees, Industry 4.0 projects can offer them the opportunity to develop new skills.

Some of the applications, services and technologies Nokia and SENAI-SP will deploy in the São Caetano do Sul lab include:

• 4G/5G, using the existing connectivity in the Industry 4.0 lab with a reliable and secure platform

• Passive Optical LAN (POL), providing high capacity to deploy local area networks (LAN) and better network stability

• Nokia Digital Automation Cloud (NDAC), a secure end-to-end private wireless network solution that allows the implementation of business-critical applications and local edge computing.