Huawei Opens New Training Centre in Birmingham – Investing in Engineering Talent for 5G ICT

HUAWEI investing in 5G ICT training in Birmingham

New Birmingham-based Training Centre will promote greater collaboration between businesses and tech colleges to create a promising future for ICT engineering talent and ensure the UK has the skills required to fully capitalise on its 5G future.

Huawei opens new training centre in Birmingham to bridge gap in 5G ICT engineering skills in the UKSo far over 150 engineers have graduated from the new centre, giving them the essential skills necessary to ensure Britain’s 5G infrastructure is best in classOpening ceremony attended by Birmingham City Council Leader Ian Ward and Huawei UK Non- Executive Director Sir Andrew CahnHuawei’s 5G Experiential hub showcasing future consumer applications for the technology across gaming, VR and 360 degree live streaming in central Birmingham

Huawei, the leading global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure, today unveils its “5G Birmingham Training  Centre,” the company’s first facility in Birmingham designed to enhance collaboration between local businesses and the education community and ensure relevant 5G training is in place to meet current and future ICT needs.

The New Huawei Birmingham Training Centre

The new centre is 2,800 square feet and located at TriGate, Hagley Road West, Birmingham, B68 0NP. The office has the capacity to train 20 people at a time, with courses being tailored to meet training requirements. A typical course will last five days and will cover an introduction to 5G technology, principles of modern network engineering and hands-on practical installation of 5G network equipment.

Once fully operational, the objective is for the centre to train upwards of 1,000 network engineers per year on the latest 5G technology.

Huawei today celebrated the launch of the centre with a ceremony in the Banqueting Hall at the Birmingham Council House, which includes a packed agenda covering discussions about the challenges and opportunities for 5G talent in the UK. The event features keynotes from Birmingham Council Leader Ian Ward and Huawei UK Non-Executive Director Sir Andrew Cahn.

Ian Ward, Birmingham City Council Leader said: “5G and next generation technology is already making a big impact in Birmingham, before it has even arrived. Birmingham’s start-up scene is rapidly growing with over 13,000 tech companies now in the West Midlands, worth £5billion to the local economy. 5G talent and knowledge is essential for further growth and Huawei’s 5G training centre has already produced 157 5G-ready engineers since the first graduations took place in June this year.  Long may this continue as it provides us with the 5G talent we need here.”

Elliot Davis, trainee engineer at the Huawei’s 5G Talent Enablement Centre said: “5G will create a highly competitive business environment across multiple industries. There is a recognised skills gap across the UK in ICT engineering, armed with the right skills, newly qualified 5G-ready engineers could find themselves being in high demand over the next few years.”

Sir Andrew Cahn, Huawei UK Non-Executive Director said: “Our new training centre in the heart of Birmingham presents enormous opportunities for the UK, especially at a time when upskilling our talented engineers in 5G technology is vital. Knowledge sharing is in Huawei’s DNA, and we are committed to collaborating with our partners to help build a better connected Britain. This country has an outstanding reputation for nurturing business growth, fostering unique talent and pioneering innovation. We want to play our role in ensuring as with 4G, the UK’s 5G infrastructure is world class”.

Huawei UK CEO Jerry Wang said: “The Midlands is the heartland of UK manufacturing and from here we have gathered the wisdom of customers, industry, academic partners and others to establish the Birmingham training centre as the UK’s base for growing the 5G ecosystem. Huawei believes that working together to foster 5G talent, based on real business needs, will drive economic advantage for the whole of the UK.”

Also on display, was the Huawei 5G Truck, an exhibition in the form of Huawei’s 5G Experiential which is in Birmingham to demonstrate 5G in action. Members of the public can fully experience Virtual Reality galaxies, streaming a live gig in 360° to friends or seeing how future smartphones will morph into tablets. Businesses and professionals will learn how to use cloud computing and VR to make education fully interactive and immersive, productivity significantly increased and farming digitalised.

Huawei in the UK

To accelerate the UK’s 5G journey, Huawei not only provides industry leading ICT products and services but also supports and contributes to the UK’s current and future 5G workforce talent development and skills training. In 2018 Huawei invested £1.3 million in its Digital Skills Programme and in previous years, Huawei has cooperated with UK enterprises and academies to provide technical training for the UK’s current and future workforce, ensuring ICT talents and businesses alike can fully capitalise on the 5G opportunity.

Huawei is committed to building a better-connected world for everyone as an innovation enabler for the future information society by being a responsible and stable partner, and a trusted industry collaborator. Huawei’s operations continue without interruption and the organization is as solid as ever. To date, Huawei has secured globally 50 commercial 5G contracts and has shipped more than 150,000 base stations to markets around the world.

Source: Huawei

O2 developing "Smart Ambulance" trial to revolutionise patient treatment and reduce hospital numbers

O2 will provide connectivity for a new “Smart Ambulance” at Millbrook Proving Ground this month, as part of a trial that has the potential to revolutionise patient diagnosis, transport and treatment.

The project will involve equipping a standard ambulance with state-of-the-art devices and connectivity to create a “Smart Ambulance” that will simulate 5G connectivity, transforming the vehicle into a unique remote consultation room.

The trial is being developed at Millbrook’s Proving Ground – a vehicle testing facility in Bedford that will help O2 develop and safely test the new system before it is deployed on the public network, replicating real world 5G capabilities.

O2 is partnering with Samsung for the devices, Visionable for the video collaboration software and Launchcloud for the asset tracking and compliance check elements.

The combined expertise will equip the vehicle with a range of cutting-edge technology, including:

Unlimited participants and data feeds for live conferencingVisionable’s video and voice collaboration platformVisionable’s patented pixel-for-pixel picture quality (allowing for clearer and more accurate use in medical scenarios i.e. scans)Launchcloud’s versatile data collection app with automation, reporting and communication toolsLaunchcloud’s API Integration with many applications including Salesforce, OneDrive and Microsoft DynamicsDynamic forms on tabletsSamsung’s fastest S-series device to date – the Galaxy S10 5G – offering users a powerful feature set along with the capability to connect to the next-generation 5G network.

The group will work together to trial the latest monitoring and remote consultation technology to enable paramedics to conduct on-board treatments through mobile expert consultation. It is hoped the trial will demonstrate how “Smart Ambulances” can empower paramedics to treat more people with more ailments than currently possible and ease the strain on hospital resources by reducing the number of patients taken to hospital.

The trial itself will simulate an emergency call out, allowing paramedics to conduct checks, collect data and communicate with consultants remotely using on-board equipment. The paramedics will then be able to diagnose patients and recommend the appropriate treatment and next actions.

O2 is currently providing the devices and connectivity for a similar trial involving six ambulances at the East of England Ambulance Trust, led by Visionable, and funded by the UK’s innovation agency Innovate UK.

Visionable and Launchcloud are part of the Wayra family, which is the start-up accelerator owned by O2’s parent company, Telefonica.

The power of 5G

Being able to take advantage of 5G connectivity will enable super-fast upload and download speeds, reliable connectivity and low latency (delay in the transfer of data). This will provide smooth communication between paramedics and remote consultants via HD video. If successful, the trial may pave the way for the future of intelligent medical transport systems.

O2 research last year found that 5G video conferencing alone will free-up 1.1 million hours per year for the NHS, as well as saving cities £463 million per year and decreasing overall bed occupancy rates by 6% through the adoption of wearing monitoring devices.

Derek McManus, COO at O2 said: “It’s no secret there is increasing pressure on our health services. Healthcare is one of the areas set to benefit most from 5G technology, with faster, more effective treatment, and significant efficiency savings. That’s why we’re supporting the Smart Ambulance trials as part of the AutoAir 5G project to accelerate the adoption of connected and self-driving technology and unlock the benefits of 5G for communities and businesses alike”.

Lynda Sibson, Stroke Telemedicine Manager East of England Stroke Telemedicine Stakeholder Partnership: “When someone has a stroke, every minute counts. We have been successfully working with Visionable to bring critical stroke care to patients wherever they are, bringing life-saving treatment and diagnosis to thousands of people across the East of England. Extending this type of care into Smart Ambulances is an exciting next step in critical and pre-hospital emergency care. Being able to bring experts to patients regardless of their location will help save lives, while reducing some of the strain on clinicians and the NHS.”

Alex Burns, President of Millbrook, said: “We are delighted to be hosting the AutoAir consortium at Millbrook and this project will demonstrate the benefits that 5G technology can bring to society. We look forward to helping with the tests over the network at Millbrook as part of our support for the development of connected vehicles.”

Source: 02

Plextek and CNIguard develop IoT system to prevent manhole cover explosions and fires in New York

UK engineering and design consultancy, Plextek ,has been working with US-based CNIguard to develop a new IoT-based system to prevent manhole explosions, primarily caused by bad weather and flooding interacting with aging underground power infrastructures. For example, a mixture of melting snow and road salt can wash into manholes, leading to the electricity cables arcing. The first city-wide Sentir monitoring system has been installed in New York with Con Edison.

In America’s biggest cities, hundreds of service manholes catch fire or explode every year, with the consequences ranging from serious injury to actual fatalities. In the UK, more than 50 incidents a year have been reported according to the UK Health and Safety Executive.CNIguard’s new Sentir system – the first innovation of its type – is currently being deployed in New York by energy supplier Con Edison and being trialled by others, delivering successful results.

It works by monitoring gas, stray voltages, arcing, salinity, temperature and humidity with embedded IoT sensors underground and transmitting these signals to a dashboard on a smart phone, laptop or other device by radio, cellular, PSTN, fibre optic or satellite links.

The system uses powerful cloud-based analytics to identify and predict conditions that may result in an incident so that preventative actions can be taken to avoid a potential disaster.The Sentir system also helps to secure underground boxes, chambers, vaults, cabinets, kiosks and bunkers from intrusion, theft and vandalism with the help of visual and infra-red cameras, while providing flood warnings and other safety, environmental and quality monitoring.

“Plextek’s expertise in communication and sensor systems allowed us to accelerate our development and rapidly deploy Sentir into the market,” said Dr. Edward Klinger, CEO of CNIguard. 

“Their work has enabled Sentir to include several different variations of environmental sensor with cellular capability powered by a reliable long-life battery or harvested power from underground cables themselves.

”“Up until this technology was developed, these issues have been approached by utility companies and networks in a reactionary way, so little has been done to predict or prevent conditions which could cause explosions or stray voltage events,” added Klinger. “On top of this, global urban populations are set to rise, putting increased pressure on networks and this combined with environmental and climate factors will make these incidents even more common.

”Following the successful launch with Con Edison in New York, CNIguard is looking to work with other energy suppliers in the UK and around the world, helping to increase the safety of city street infrastructures and networks.About Plextek Based near Cambridge, UK, Plextek designs new products, systems, and services for its clients in a diverse range of industries including defence & security, medical & healthcare, and wireless communications. Central to its culture is the company’s ability to innovate, taking an idea from concept to market.

For more than 30 years the team of consultants, engineers and project managers has turned our clients’ business opportunities into commercial success, designing, manufacturing and supplying leading-edge products. Supported by our network of suppliers, commercial partners and research organisations, Plextek is the trusted partner of choice for more than 300 commercial clients, government agencies, and ambitious start-up companies.

Source: Cambridge Network