Credit: CTL

In April 2024, the NIST Industrial Wireless Team hosted visitors from the Asia Open-RAN Academy, showcasing the innovative NIST 5G Industrial Testbed. NIST’s Rick Candell presented the testbed's mission and ongoing projects, including exploring 5G private networks with the Firecell Labkit 100 system and collaborating with Intel on time-sensitive networking over Wi-Fi. This critical research facility is designed to evaluate and develop 5G technology specifically for industrial applications, supporting the demands of Industry 4.0. This informative session and lab tour, part of a broader interaction organized by the NIST Wireless Networks Division, fostered discussions on potential collaboration between the two groups. Together, they aim to leverage their world-class research to accelerate the adoption of O-RAN technology in manufacturing, construction, and other operational technology sectors, where appropriate.