The production of the 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning will be supported by the auto manufacturer’s private 5G network based on AT&T 5G in combination with the telecommunication firm’s MEC technology
Ford’s Rouge EV assembly plant in Dearborn will be equipped with AT&T’s 5G cellular connectivity. (Credit: The Ford Motor Company)
Ford Motor has partnered with telecommunications major AT&T to boost its Rouge Electric Vehicle (EV) Center by outfitting it with secure, 5G cellular connectivity to help manufacture the new all-electric Ford F-150 Lightning pickup.
The production of the 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning will be supported by Ford Motor’s private 5G network based on AT&T 5G in combination with the telecommunication firm’s multi-access edge computing (MEC) technology.
AT&T Business chief product and platform officer Rasesh Patel said: “With this collaboration, we’ll help Ford unlock the potential of 5G helping to build the truck of the future.
“It’s 5G connectivity coming to life! And it’s all thanks to the transformative ultra-fast speeds, incredibly low latency, and massive connectivity that is 5G in action.”
With the 5G connectivity, the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center is expected to gain future capabilities.
Employees engaged at the production line can use 5G powered tablet computers to send and get information related to equipment status and material supply. For accuracy in production, employees can use 5G powered phones as a vision system for scanning specific components of the vehicle.
According to AT&T, the lower latency of 5G can enable automated robotics and machinery in coming up with better decisions and make reaction times quicker to enhance the safety of the personnel around them.
In the past, updates of vehicle software had to be done using mobile computing hardware, which can now be carried out wirelessly by Ford Motor. The 5G technology deployed at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center will offer an improved connection for the updates, thereby saving processing time, said AT&T.
Ford Motor global manufacturing engineering executive director Adrian Price said: “The Rouge Electric Vehicle Center was built with a clean-slate design and features the latest in advanced manufacturing technology.
“We are deploying 5G technology at this facility as a platform to enable us to use significant additional advanced manufacturing technologies in the future.”
Ford Motor is targeting to bring the F-150 Lightning electric truck to the market in spring 2022. Its production is being carried out at the $700m Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Michigan.
Recently, the company announced an additional investment of $250m and 450 more jobs to ramp up the production of the F-150 Lightning at the electric vehicle assembly plant.