• MX Context generates actionable insights to support intelligent automation for Industry 4.0 use cases.
• The solution uses sensor fusion and AI to interpret sensor data that helps enterprises improve their operational environment by eliminating data silos, optimizing resources, as well as enhancing worker safety.
• Launches with two use case suites, tracking and positioning and worker safety, that bring multi-modal sensor fusion and AI inferencing for operational technology.

Nokia  announced MX Context, a new solution that leverages sensor fusion technology to deliver AI-powered contextual awareness for industrial enterprises. Integrated into the Nokia Edge Compute and AI platform for industrial sites, MX Context processes large amounts of data from different sources, providing real-time actionable insights and intelligent automation to enable operational excellence and enhance decision-making.
MX Context is the only solution on the market that provides situational and contextual awareness.

According to MarketsandMarkets, the global sensor fusion market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.8%, reaching USD $18 billion by 2028.¹ This underscores the growing demand among organizations for solutions that unify data and provide rich insights to enhance efficiency, safety, and automation.

Operational Technology (OT) environments generate huge quantities of data from machine sensors, positioning systems, and worker-worn devices. Connecting these assets using private wireless provides industries with real-time data and operational insights. However, the increasing complexity of modern OT environments often creates data silos, which limits enterprises’ contextual awareness. With Nokia MX Context, industrial enterprises can now easily ingest, harmonize, and fuse sensor data to get real-time actionable insights and improve their operations.

Nokia MX Context leverages sensor fusion technology to combine multimodal data from different sources and deliver real-time, AI-powered insights for Industry 4.0 use cases. It utilizes Nokia’s on-premise edge industrial compute solutions, MXIE and MX Grid, for processing, as well as the MXIE Data Lake to store structured and unstructured data for historical analysis, and application data access via APIs.

“Sensor fusion and AI are key capabilities for core industrial automation applications spanning robotics, autonomous work cells, and collaborative scenarios involving humans and machines. Nokia, with its private wireless and on-premise industrial edge compute, is well positioned to offer critical use cases for worker safety and tracking and positioning to bring the power of AI insights to industrial digitalization,” said Ryan Martin, Senior Research Director at ABI Research.

“AI is becoming a strategic element for Industry 4.0 transformation. Nokia’s on-premise compute capabilities offer innovative AI solutions that are OT-compliant and bring the contextual awareness needed for industrial use cases. Nokia MX Context harmonizes real-time data from sensors and sensing technologies. It takes data-driven operational excellence to the next level, transforming data into contextual awareness information that can be used as actionable insights and intelligent automation,” said Stephan Litjens, Vice President Enterprise Campus Edge Solutions, Cloud and Network Services at Nokia.

MX Context also offers low-code visual development capabilities, enabling users to quickly create logical workflows and design dashboards with minimal coding expertise. It seamlessly integrates with Nokia MX Workmate, a powerful gen-AI assistant that enables natural language-based interactions with connected workers.

MX Context suites are modular and built to create use case-based contextual awareness solutions. The first two MX Context suites and associated user applications are tracking and positioning and worker safety.

Tracking and positioning: MX Context is the first industry solution that can ingest and fuse data from various tracking and positioning technologies, like Bluetooth Angle-of-Arrival (i.e., Nokia HAIP), video-based positioning (i.e., Nokia VPOD), worker devices’ GPS, and other MXIE third-party tracking technologies such as HERE HD GNSS and Nordic ID. It provides more accurate and reliable positioning and ensures tracking continuity across mixed industrial environments to optimize asset utilization, inventory management, processes, and material flow.

Worker safety: MX Context ingests and fuses different types of data from Nokia sensory solutions like Nokia VPOD, device sensors (i.e., gyroscopes, accelerometers, and microphones), and third-party applications. AI-based processing and fusion of real-time data provides, for the first time, situational awareness and contextual information, enabling the detection of potential accidents or incidents and facilitating the best response, such as triggering an alert, notifying emergency services, or providing real-time guidance to the worker.

As part of the MX Context sensory solutions that can leverage internal sensors in industrial workers’ handhelds, Nokia will be complementing its portfolio of industrial routers with new variants that boast multi-sensory capabilities (accelerometers, gyroscopes, voltmeters, environmental sensors, etc.). These routers can enhance machine insights and will also utilize advanced GNSS chips for more accurate outdoor positioning.