Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor Company have made a major technological breakthrough in the industrial Internet of Things (IoT) with the achievement of the world’s first end-to-end Reduced Capability (RedCap) trial on a private 5G network. This important milestone was declared on the 26th of February, 2025, and it is a big step forward in the evolution of intelligent manufacturing and industrial IoT.
The proof-of-concept in Ulsan (Hyundai Motor’s Ulsan Plant in South Korea) also received strong positive feedback and it was considered very promising completion of the trial as it demonstrates the possibilities of such private 5G connectivity. The Ulsan Plant is among the biggest imaginary automobile manufacturing facilities, which gives the world 6,000 vehicles per day, and the application of smart factory innovation is the best practice in this case.
RedCap technology was introduced to streamline 5G connectivity in industrial sensor networks and wearables. These are small IoT devices which are supposed to manage the factory. The energy consumption and the mechanical size of the device will be the RedCap’s problems to be solved. Apart from that, it must keep the default data transfer rates. The RedCap technology has the potential to be a major cost-saving, efficient and intelligent automation and monitoring solution in manufacturing facilities as it reduces complexity and power consumption while maintaining the data transfer speed.
The seamless integration of RedCap technology with the private 5G network paves the way for businesses, manufacturers, and public institutions to embrace new opportunities. It provides for managing numerous devices and manufacturing systems from the centric place, thus ensuring a real-time up and downlink of the data.
SVP, Networks Business, B2B·B2G of Samsung Electronics, Simon Lee, clarified how this collaboration is game-changing, as it shows how the business players can blend their valuable skills to create new applications that revolutionize real-world problems.
Jae Min Lee, Vice President of E-FOREST Center at Hyundai Motor and Kia, emphasized that his company is the first Korean company to launch private 5G in mass production. Furthermore, he revealed that Hyundai Motor becomes the world’s first manufacturer that approved the usage of private 5G RedCap technology and this serves as the backing of the company’s global leadership in smart manufacturing technologies.
The implementation of RedCap technology in a private 5G network environment may cause the adoption of advanced connectivity solutions in many industries to expedite. This cutting-edge technology is envisaged to provide construction sites, academic campuses, and other large-scale facilities with increased efficiency and reliability.
With the ongoing transformation of the global manufacturing sector, the RedCap-supported private 5G network and the like will be the utmost to revamp the factory plant floor. Driving productivity and enhancing operational efficiency with smart factory concepts through the use of advanced connectivity systems like RedCap private 5G networks contributed by Samsung and Hyundai Motor Company. This joint effort not only breaks the industry barrier but also sets a new benchmark for industrial IoT connectivity, which in turn will be further opened up to smart manufacturing in the future.
