Ericsson, TIM and the City of Turin recently showcased a series of 5G innovations that have the potential to reshape life in the northern Italian city.

The public event took place at Palazzo Madama in Turin, Oct 26-27 and included demonstrations of a 5G-controlled driverless car, an environmental monitoring use case using drones, a 5G-connected robot for manufacturing as well as smart city applications powered by Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT).

In connection to the event, TIM, in collaboration with Ericsson, switched on the first 5G antenna with millimeter waves at the Piazza Castello, a historical quarter in the center of Turin.

Elisabetta Romano, Chief Technology Officer, TIM says: “Thanks to its hyper-speed and latency that is 10 times lower than the current mobile networks, we are giving visitors a preview of the power of 5G to enable the digital life of citizens and businesses. 5G represents a real revolution which soon everyone will test in their daily lives.”

The 5G-connected car was demonstrated by TIM in collaboration with Objective Software and used Ericsson’s 5G trial network. Through a combination of cameras and sensors and the networks ultra-low latency characteristics, visitors could operate a car remotely in a protected area on the square.

As part of its Smart Road project the municipality plans to test self-driving cars on a larger scale in the near future.

Turin is a one of Italy’s most important industrial centers and as part of an Industry 4.0 demo, a manufacturing simulator reproduced the movements of a real robot arm in 3D over a 5G connection. The new technology allows users to exchange data and manage industrial systems remotely, ensuring greater efficiency, reliability and security.

Using TIM’s NB-IoT network, Turin City Police also demonstrated an advanced mobile video surveillance solution that sends video and other information in real time to a remote Safety Control Center.

Federico Rigoni, Head of Ericsson Italy, says: “This year marks Ericsson’s centennial in Italy and this initiative confirms our commitment to the digital transformation of the country and strengthens our long-term collaborations.”

In August 2018, Ericsson and TIM have successfully deployed a virtual Radio Access Network (vRAN) platform in a live advanced LTE network in Turin, securing the Italian communications service provider for 5G early adoption.