Original article by Korea Tech Today

SK Telecom Co. announced that it had formed a strategic alliance with LS Electric Co. to create smart factory solutions. Founded in 1974, LS Electric is an automated solution and power system provider for intelligent factories, promoting clean energy innovations. Since manufacturers face many challenges, including equipment failures, lengthy repair periods, and high replacement costs, SK Telecom and LS Electric teamed up to solve these problems.  

Notably, the two companies would launch the newly developed Edge-to-Cloud, an intelligent factory solution that integrates SK Telecom’s Metatron Grandview and LS Electric’s Edge Hub. Moreover, SK Telecom introduced the subscription-based, 5G-connected factory service Metatron Grandview to improve smaller manufacturers’ automation and operational efficiency.

In addition to delivering real-time facility monitoring, the technology supplies statistical analysis, equipment status, and other data visualization.

SK Telecom’s Metatron Grandview also provides facility failure precursor alarms, maintenance data conversion, and AI analysis modeling.

Meanwhile, LS Electric’s Edge Hub performs edge-computing services while collecting, storing, processing, and controlling a facility’s equipment data. To conduct these tasks, Edge Hub interconnects a factory’s monitoring sensors, manufacturing execution systems (MES), and programmable logic controllers (PLC). 

Edge-to-Cloud Furthermore, the two companies’ Edge-to-Cloud solution analyzes, controls, and monitors a manufacturing plant’s major equipment. In particular, the Edge-to-Cloud solution manages a facility’s compressors, motors, pumps, and robots.

Essentially, it incorporates Metatron Grandview’s technologies to control facility functions and uses Edge Hub’s capabilities to regulate data.  Edge-to-Cloud also utilizes a human-machine interface (HMI) to allow coordination and connection between operators and machines. Additionally, it employs a supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system to operate field devices.   

Helping SMEs As the partners stated, the project considerably helps small and medium-sized companies struggling to make large-scale smart factory solution investments. Besides reducing equipment repair costs and workers, Edge-to-Cloud delivers outstanding operational efficiency, boosts manufacturing output, and lengthens the lifespan of machinery.  

“This cooperation is significant in that it provides advanced and integrated smart factory solutions to small and medium-sized manufacturing companies through the combination of the two companies’ smart factory building capabilities,” said Choi Nak-Hoon, Head of SK Telecom’s Smart Factory Company.  Choi also added that SK Telecom would do its best to deliver more intelligent solutions by creating various factory-construction models.

SK Telecom and LS Electric plan to form partnerships with manufacturing companies to develop automation technologies for smart factories.