Telecom network maker Ericsson has partnered with the Brazil Government to set up a Networked Society Lab in Brazil to test technologies and measure the impact of Internet of Things (IoT) projects.
The Brazilian government aims to improve smart water, agriculture, rainforest protection, disaster prevention and monitoring applications as part of the IoT projects.
According to the latest Ericsson Mobility Report, 28 billion connected devices are forecasted by the year 2021, more than half of which are M2M and IoT connections. The IoT requires long battery lives (10 years) and better coverage, and includes temperature, air quality and flood water sensors.
Ericsson will inaugurate the Networked Society Lab in Brazil on April 29, 2016 in the presence of the Minister of Communications. The project is part of the Ericsson Innovation Center that works in cooperation with universities, customers, suppliers and development agencies to foster the IoT ecosystem in Brazil and Latin America.
Andre Figueiredo, minister of Communications, said: “The Internet of Things is emerging as a very significant agent of transformation as it blends the physical and digital worlds.”
Ericsson Innovation Center in Latin America employs 460 people and has filed 80 patents (42 in Brazil) related to connected buses and bus stops in Goiania, as well as the public safety solution deployed in Sao Jose dos Campos.
Ulf Ewaldsson, chief technology officer, Ericsson, said: “This Networked Society Lab will help bring Brazil one step closer to 5G, where new device and sensor technologies leverage network connectivity to power a variety of use cases, such as smarter solutions in agriculture and natural disaster prevention.”
