Delivering Industry 4.0 Solutions to Specific Markets
Vapor IO’s INZONE delivers end-to-end Industry 4.0 solutions with the Kinetic Grid platform and partner solutions. The INZONE platform is the world’s first commercialization of an Open Grid architecture as envisioned by the Open Grid Alliance, and a powerful mechanism to transform new ideas into marketable products and services.
Building the foundation for Industry 4.0 Growth
Industry 4.0 will catalyze the next generation of the Internet and revolutionize nearly every industry, from manufacturing to healthcare. The first three industrial revolutions each made major contributions to production efficiency, leading to long-term impacts that have collectively created the modern world. We have just entered the Fourth Industrial Revolution where we are taking the automation of the previous revolution and combining it with today’s big data, IoT, AI and low-latency computing. This new elixir will create autonomous systems that change how we build, sell and deliver goods, dramatically enhance healthcare, and make smart cities a reality.
Definition of an INZONE
Each INZONE consists of a Kinetic Grid implementation with the following characteristics:
- Two or more edge data center hubs—typically, Vapor Edge Modules—deployed in close proximity to dense urban, retail and industrial zones.
- A complete stack of partner technologies, integrated to deliver specific end-to-end services for Industry 4.0 and a joint go-to-market plan for implementation.
- Approximately 20km in a straight line but is more like 16km (10 miles) when accounting for real world fiber routes and a safety margin.
Building an InZone
The underlying technology stack for INZONE will be Vapor IO’s Kinetic Grid platform supporting virtualization, orchestration and cloud technologies, such as VMware’s Telco Cloud Platform, Amazon Web Services or Google Anthos.
During the market design phase, Vapor IO will plan site deployments using at least some of the following criteria:
- Location of fiber access sites
- Location of target industries (e.g., hospitals, retail, manufacturing, etc.)
- Wireless buildout plans, particularly locations that can support cost-effective and neutral host network densification strategies using an O-RAN 7.2 split where nearby wireless radio heads can be served by redundant facilities both within 100 microseconds.
Each INZONE program will identify:
- Technology participants
- Target customers, POCs and use cases
- An integrated technology solution, technology stack
INZONE Applications
Target Industries and Use Cases
Each INZONE will launch with a narrow set of interrelated use cases, with the expectation of adding additional use cases as we climb the experience curve and receive demand from the marketplace. Focusing on a narrow set of first applications will make it easier to attract partners and drive POC activity with focus.
Private Wireless Providers
Every INZONE will support one or more providers of private wireless services, whether over shared or licensed spectrum. These providers will deploy and service radio heads at industry locations, such as at factories, retail locations and hospitals.
Wireless RAN and Magma Core
Each INZONE will support a neutral host, software-driven, multi-tenant wireless RAN. One or more RAN providers will be identified and will be expected to integrate with VMware’s TCP. The multi-tenant RAN configuration can be used to drive both on-site private wireless radios as well as shared public wireless radios.
Each INZONE will also support a multi-tenant implementation of the Magma Core, to be offered as a service to the wireless providers.
Last Mile Fiber
Each INZONE market will require relationships with one or more providers of last mile fiber. Fiber will be the medium that connects the Kinetic Grid infrastructure to nearby customer premises for the implementation of private wireless and wired connections. Various fiber providers, such as Zayo and Crown Castle, will be leveraged to bring fiber connectivity to the customer premises and, if they also desire, to install and service the private radio heads as appropriate.
Coverage Areas
Each INZONE supports a coverage area that is determined by the circular area that circumscribes each of the INZONE’s Kinetic Grid hubs with a 10kM radius. This guarantees a sub 100 microsecond latency to any facility within the coverage area, and the circular areas purposefully overlap to provide redundant coverage in the area where the circles intersect. These areas of redundant coverage support high-availability resilience and automated failover, such as those capabilities provided by VMware’s Multi Cloud Services Grid.
As Seen In
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