IndustryLab – the voice of business, industry and society

Future of Work Life

A new report, Future of Work Life, from Ericsson Consumer & IndustryLab examines how employees and employers navigate the current work environment and their views on the future of work shaped by the pandemic, digitalization and the fluctuating labor market.

AI ethics inside? – challenges and opportunities

This IndustryLab report takes a closer look at the potential unintended consequences that might arise when introducing AI systems, and ways to mitigate these challenges. The first in a series of reports, this edition aims to introduce AI ethics and spark an interest to learn more about how AI needs to be human-centered and aligned with both societal values and ethical principles. The report shares insights from 10 in-depth interviews with AI experts including representatives from industries, unions, governmental agencies and academia in the European Union (EU).

Future of small and medium sized businesses

In this SMB edition of the future of enterprises report, we study not only how digitalization and dematerialization has had an impact on small- and medium sized businesses (SMBs) during the COVID-19 pandemic, but also how it stand to change SMB’s in the coming decade.

Adopting AI in organizations - The journey towards constant change

This report reveals what challenges might occur when implementing AI, and related solution strategies. The report shares insights from research in 5 countries, involving 2,525 managers in a cross-section of organizations which are at different stages of the AI implementation journey – AI-leaders, AI-followers and AI-beginners.

The dematerialized office - White-collar employees expects an Internet of senses in their future office

Welcome to the workplace of tomorrow! In this latest Ericsson IndustryLab study “The dematerialized office - A vision of the internet of senses in the 2030 future workplace”, early adopter white-collar employees in 16 countries, representing the views of around 133 million employees, were surveyed about their expectations on the workplace of 2030.

What are the challenges and opportunities when employees can work remotely using all their senses digitally – vision, sound, touch, taste, smell and more? What are the implications when the full-sense digital enterprise – enabled by 5G and technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) –  becomes a reality?

The report also discusses the main drivers for the internet of senses at work, which include efficiency gains, sales and environmental benefits – as well as some of the barriers, where privacy issues stand out as of particular importance.

Is the world of logistics predictable?

This report takes a closer look at the future of logistics and explores the viability of pre-emptive logistics.

To what extent can a more efficient and sustainable logistics system be achieved by use of digitalization technologies such as IoT, 5G and AI? Advancing the digitalization and tools in terms of connectivity, data sharing and even the vehicles themselves is enabling the logistics industry to evolve towards a truly pre-emptive future. The insights in the report was gathered through online interviews with early adopters and decision makers in China, Germany, Sweden and the US as well as deep interviews with industry experts.

Higher reliability and better protection of the electric power grid with connectivity and automation

The IndustryLab report, Bringing 5G to power - Opportunities and challenges with connected power distribution grids, discusses how cellular communication is an important enabler for building secure, automated and distributed smart grids. Power systems all over the world are on the cusp of a transition from being highly centralized to supporting more distributed electricity generation and storage.

The need to introduce smart ways to monitor, balance and predict power consumption and generation will continue to grow. The power grids of tomorrow will be digital infrastructures, meaning they will be highly connected and automated.

Investments in connectivity will become increasingly important and will play a key role in enabling cost-efficient deployment of renewable energy sources.

Cellular communication is an important enabler to support new power grid architectures and operational models. Ericsson Research and IndustryLab has extensive  industry collaborations with multiple partners to ensure we understand the demands and develop the right technology for real-world applications, and to materialize how our technology will accelerate innovation.

True or False about ICT´s carbon emissions – Explore your digital carbon footprint

With A quick guide to your digital carbon footprint, we try to put carbon emissions from digital services in an easy-to-understand context. The report aims to provide fact-based material on ICT carbon footprint and debunk common myths. Some argue that gaming is comparable in carbon footprint to taking a flight, while others condemn the climate impact of streaming or social media, using flawed or inaccurate figures. The report explains the climate impacts of the ICT sector and how to compare sectors, why data traffic is less influential than often anticipated. It also looks at the personal digital footprint and discusses impacts of digital services such as streaming, gaming, and how digital activities compare to other activities for different user profiles.

Does this matter? Yes, we need to understand impacts better to decarbonize the world and used in the right way, ICT can be an important driver for this. Ericsson has spent more than 20 years researching the carbon emissions of digital, while building extensive data sets and publishing findings in peer-reviewed scientific journals and at conferences. Having reviewed multiple statements about the carbon emissions of digital solutions and compared these to our published results, we are now sharing some of our findings here.

A case study on automation in mining - 5G business value

In this case study, we explore the role of automation in the mining industry and uncover the business value of using 4G and 5G technology in an open-pit mine, in terms of both economics and sustainability.The Boliden Aitik case study shows a reduced cost through automation, with communications being the key enabler. This shows an annual EUR 2.5 million net saving for the Aitik mine alone.The report is based on discussions and interviews with Boliden carried out as part of a study conducted in January–March 2018.

Creative Machines

This report explores what roles AI will be capable of in the job market, and what it means for the human workforce. It does so by comparing the ongoing development with the first industrial revolution. AI will impact all jobs where efficiency and productivity gains can be made, including creative work. Hence impacting all industries and businesses. The report is based on interviews with academia and industry leaders as well as quantitative consumer survey data from Ericsson Consumer & IndustryLab analytical platform.

Bringing 5G business value to industry

In this report we are uncovering the 5G Business value to the industry when we explore the Blisk manufacturing case study. Equipping industrial sites with 5G mobile communications opens up large opportunities for operators to expand their business.

Flexibility in worklife

 It probably comes as no surprise, but the Flexibility in Work Life report shows that the working population places great value on the importance of pleasure and the pursuit of happiness in life just as much as others. Two factors help to make this a reality in today's business environment: managers providing their workforces with mobile devices and smartphones, so employees can work remotely; and the growing importance of flexible working hours. The report examines consumer opinions from a professional perspective, and is based on the analysis of more than 47,000 interviews conducted among a wide selection of workers in 23 countries around the world.