We are proud to report that residents Southie Autonomy and Ava Robotics have been awarded grants to take part in the MassTLC, Verizon, Ericsson 5G robotics challenge.
MassTLC, Verizon and Ericsson have teamed to take an active role in the development of the fifth generation of wireless communication – looking at potential use cases. Southie Autonomy and Ava Robotics are 2 of the 9 teams who have been selected to participate in this challenge.

With expected median speeds of 1 Gbps, 5G will have a speed 20 times faster than 4G. The carrier networks say that these speeds, combine with lower latency (about 1ms) will provide more reliable and efficient 5G-powered robots. Additionally, it is thought these robots will take better advantage of compute resources that enable robots to process more data in real-time, learn new skills, and better communicate with other robots and humans. Many also believe 5G will reduce the cost of robots, both commercial and consumer, by off-loading some of the processing responsibilities to the cloud.

This 5G Robotics Challenge provided an opportunity for universities, startups, and others in the greater Boston area to highlight potential use cases for the new technology in the areas including Industrial Automation, Cobots, and Warehouse Management and show ways 5G-powerd robots can disrupt the industry.
Each challenge participant receives a grant of $30,000 and will have access to dedicated 5G networks at Verizon’s 5G Cambridge and 5G Waltham labs, 5G training and access to support teams within the local robotics community to help bring their concepts to life.

The 5G Robotics Challenge will end with a “Demo Day” late spring this year. More information can be found in the Robot Report article.