Virginia Tech Applied Research Corporation (VT-ARC) is pleased to be selected as a prime contractor to develop and integrate several enhancements into the 5G network architecture for a smart warehouse at the U.S. Marine Corps Logistics Base (MCLB) in Albany, GA. This three year contract represents a collaborative effort between multiple academic and industry partners and is one of several initial investments by the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OSD/R&E) to expedite the DoD 5G Strategy. This smart warehouse will serve as a prototype capability which is intended to be federated across the 4,600 sites and 560,000 installations across the DoD.
The VT-ARC Team consists of several industry and academic partners which include several departments from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), B3 Advanced Communications, George Mason University, Intelligent Automation Inc., Keysight Technologies, Old Dominion University, Perspecta Labs, the University of Virginia, and Virginia Commonwealth University. Each of these academic partners are members of the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI), a highly connected network of higher education, industry and government partners coordinated by the hub at Virginia Tech to establish Virginia as a global center of excellence for cyber security research, innovation, and workforce development. The CCI 5G testbed is an instrumental component to the successful development and integration of the smart warehouse prototype in Albany, GA. During the Executive Day Kickoff, John Forte, President and CEO of VT-ARC stated that “VT-ARC is honored to be part of such an important initiative to apply technologies and capabilities that safeguard the nation, the warfighter and improve the human condition.”
The integration of next generation wireless technology into a smart warehouse environment will support DoD force modernization goals to enable adaptability, flexibility, and agility across a range of military operations. As a key member of this project, the VT-ARC team will enable the smart warehouse network architecture to provide cyber security resiliency, improved position accuracy, low latency updates and energy efficiency communications of user equipment (UE) and internet of things (IoT) devices; all of which are critical for establishing an efficient, secure smart warehouse. The MCLB Albany Smart Warehouse consists of a three million square foot indoor warehouse in which the integration of this 5G network will improve the logistics and warehouse operations such as receipt, storage, issuance, inventory control and the auditing of materiel and supplies that directly support the Fleet Marine Force (FMF). VT-ARC is excited for its role in infusing the Marine Corps Logistics Base with advanced wireless technology and for the enhancements it will bring to the DoD. We look forward to working closely with the industry and academia partners which have been brought together to achieve part of the DoD 5G Strategy. More information about the DoD 5G Strategy and ongoing efforts, visit www.cto.mil/5G.