Prime

6G

6G Technologies for Resilient, Smart, and Connected Manufacturing Environments 

Contact person

Markus Rentschler

Research Coordinator, ARENA2036 e.V.

The project is supported by the SNS JU and the European Union’s “Horizon Europe” research and innovation program under grant agreement No. 101272485.

PRIME-6G: Shaping the Next Generation of Connected Factories

PRIME-6G is developing and testing an integrated platform for smart manufacturing environments that combines 6G connectivity, artificial intelligence, robotics, cloud-edge computing, and real-time sensor technology. The goal is to enable resilient, flexible, and autonomous factories and to advance the industrial use of 6G technologies in Europe.

Smart Manufacturing Environments Through the Integration of 6G and AI

PRIME-6G (Pilot for Resilient Industrial Manufacturing Environments with 6G Technologies) is a research project funded by the European Union under Horizon Europe and the Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking (SNS JU). Over a period of 30 months, 13 partners from six European countries will develop and validate technologies for the industrial use of 6G communications.

The focus is on developing an integrated end-to-end platform that combines various future technologies into a single system. These include 6G connectivity, AI-driven optimization, robotics, cloud-edge computing, and real-time sensor technology. The foundation is a cloud-edge continuum that enables the flexible and efficient delivery of services in smart manufacturing environments.

The technologies developed will first be validated in laboratory settings in Madrid and Munich and then integrated and demonstrated in a real-world production environment at ARENA2036 in Stuttgart. The goal is to highlight new possibilities for the autonomous, adaptive, and connected factories of the future.

Enabling Resilient and Autonomous Factories of the Future

PRIME-6G aims to accelerate the adoption of 6G technologies in industrial manufacturing and demonstrate their potential under real-world conditions. The project addresses challenges in existing production systems, including fragmented infrastructure, a lack of interoperability, and limited communication capabilities.

In the long term, the goal is to create a new generation of smart factories that can operate in a fully connected, autonomous, and adaptable manner. By combining deterministic communication, intelligent automation, and distributed computing resources, production environments are to be designed to be more flexible, sustainable, and people-centered.

The solutions developed are designed to enable real-time responses to operational changes, production fluctuations, and new market demands. At the same time, they aim to increase efficiency, resilience, and safety in industrial processes. The final demonstration at ARENA2036 shows how autonomous logistics and real-time environmental sensing can work together as an integrated system in a real-world factory environment.

Thematic focus

AURORA – Connected Robotics and Autonomous Automation

AURORA (Advanced Unified Robotics Operations via Resilient Automation) is investigating how deterministic 6G communications can reliably connect virtual robotics controllers with industrial robots. The project utilizes, among other things, AI-supported network management, digital twins, collaborative robot networks, and AI agents.

SENTINEL – Real-Time Sensing and Digital Twins

SENTINEL (Sensing-Enhanced Network Twin for Intelligent Environments in Manufacturing) uses the fusion of various sensor data to build digital twins of dynamic production environments in real time. The existing 5G/6G infrastructure is used for continuous environmental monitoring and improved robot coordination.

Cloud-Edge Continuum

The project is developing an integrated platform based on a cloud-edge continuum. This enables services to be delivered flexibly and efficiently between cloud and edge systems to meet the requirements of smart manufacturing environments.

Demonstration at ARENA2036

The two use cases, AURORA and SENTINEL, will be integrated into a single platform at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6–7 as part of the ARENA2036 project in Stuttgart and demonstrated in a real-world industrial environment. The project will examine the feasibility of their implementation. The long-term goal is to enable safe and efficient collaboration between humans and robots in real-world production and work environments.