u-blox

5G is about to lift industrial automation to new heights. Of course the next generation of cellular communications technology will further fuel the trend of connecting a factory’s operational technology (OT) - its machines, control systems, power infrastructure, local and remote control software - with its information technology (IT) systems - the communication network, the enterprise resource planning system, the cloud, and so on. But beyond that, it will fundamentally change the way people work in, and think about, industrial automation.

Wireless communication is driving Industry 4.0 and 5G is at the forefront, with billions of machines, devices, and sensors just waiting to be connected. 5G plays such an important role that it is being designed with the industry’s needs specifically in mind. The thing with Industry 4.0, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), the connected industry – whatever you want to call it, one thing is undeniable: it is growing, and fast.

u-blox's Senior 5G Tech Lead Sylvia Lu has been awarded as one of UK’s Top 50 Women in Engineering by the Women’s Engineering Society (WES), in celebration of International Women in Engineering Day 2019. The list of winners is also featured in The Guardian. The 2019 awards attracted a large number of high-quality nominations from a broad range of industries.

The food industry is buzzing with digitalisation in every sense, from the farm to the front page of the online store. With this in mind, u-blox invited Haiao Ding, Associate Chief Editor of the Digital Business Times, to talk with Perry Zhang, Principal, Strategic Partnerships at u-blox, about the impact of digitisation on the food supply chain.

Until someone has led the way, challenges often appear daunting – even impossible. Runners long considered the four‑minute mile impossible until Roger Bannister broke its spell. In the ensuing months and years, several others matched his feat. Could a similar phenomenon have been keeping women out of careers in STEM (Science Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)?