Stellantis, parent company of Fiat, Chrysler and Peugeot, 4G provider TIM Brazil and Accenture are working together to implement a private 5G network pilot project at the Stellantis plant, located in the automotive centre of Goiana in north eastern Brazil. Since the network’s launch in July, Stellantis reports that it has improved its auto manufacturing productivity, safety and agility.

The initial implementation integrates artificial intelligence, video analytics, cloud computing and IoT into Stellantis’ manufacturing processes on the shop floor. Stellantis is using 5G and video analytics to capture images of a vehicle’s movement along the production line — with low latency and the high data threshold of the 5G network, the real-time transmission allows for immediate quality inspection of the vehicle.

TIM was selected as the telecommunications provider for the 5G infrastructure and network, deploying the standalone 5G SA network core in the public cloud, making it an integrated digital environment. Accenture will integrate the 5G network with image automation and video analytics capabilities from its Solutions.AI for Processing range to improve the safety and quality of auto production in the plant, while also paving the way for future 5G use cases.

“This pilot is the first to integrate 5G technology into a Brazilian industrial plant,” said Antonio Filosa, president of Stellantis for Latin America. “It is an achievement that confirms Stellantis’ focus on innovation designed to improve customer satisfaction and our commitment to be at the forefront of new technology and the possibilities brought by 5G.”

“We have created a flexible production line that efficiently serves the end customer, with immediate gains in quality and compliance of product mix,” said André Souza, CIO of Stellantis for South America. “With this new system, we can seamlessly visualise more than 100 different iterations of the four car models on the assembly line, customising components and accessory specifications based on what the customer desires.”

“Our partnership with Stellantis for the implementation of intelligent connectivity systems and for the future of 5G technology started in October 2020, and it has been generating important results for the development of the Brazilian automotive industry,” said Pietro Labriola, CEO of TIM Brasil. “We believe that 5G will revolutionise industries. To that end, we are investing heavily in projects related to the Internet of Things so that 5G can bring the digital transformation we want to see across multiple sectors of the Brazilian economy.”

Saulo Bonizzato, who leads Communications and Media for Growth Markets at Accenture, said: “We are proud to be helping Stellantis become a digitally enabled manufacturing company leveraging the latest technology. Together with TIM, we are laying the foundation for the best use of 5G to provide IoT, cloud, and artificial intelligence solutions for Stellantis. This will allow Stellantis to better address quality, safety, compliance and production efficiencies now and in the future.”