Japanese vendors focus on smart manufacturing

A group of companies and research institutions in Japan have formed the Flexible Factory Partner Alliance (FFPA) in order to encourage the use of IoT in smart manufacturing use cases. Vendors NEC, Fujitsu, Omron, Sanritz Automation and Murata Machinery have joined with the Kyoto-based Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute and the Tokyo-based National Institute of Information and Communications Technology to promote new standards for coordination control technology for smart manufacturing, also a major focus in Europe. The partners said the new alliance will work to ensure stable communications in an environment where various wireless systems coexist, as well as to promote their use and further accelerate the adoption of wireless systems in smart manufacturing facilities. The partners will also seek to spread the use of IoT in manufacturing facilities.