Amazon Web Services Inc. is integrating its AWS Outposts edge computing hardware with 5G networking technology from Verizon Communications Inc. to support customers that are pursuing initiatives such as warehouse robot implementations. 

The companies announced the partnership today. 

Outposts is a service through which enterprises can purchase appliances that function as miniature versions of the Amazon.com Inc. unit’s public cloud. They can deploy those appliances in their data centers, or other locations such as factories. The main benefit is lower latency: Sensory logs from factory equipment take less time to travel to an appliance located in the same plant than to a remote AWS data center, which means processing can be done faster. 

As part of the partnership with Verizon, AWS has integrated Outposts with Verizon’s Private 5G Edge platform. The platform allows organizations to set up a dedicated 5G network at factories, corporate campuses and other locations. Systems at those locations can use the 5G network to exchange data with one another. 

By combining private cloud hardware with high-speed wireless connectivity, AWS and Verizon hope to offer enterprises an all-in-one infrastructure package for building edge computing environments. The companies are targeting potential customers in a wide range of verticals. 

Manufacturers can run factory management software on Outposts to enable “real-time monitoring, automation, and optimization, as raw material is turned into the final product,” detailed George Elissaios, general manager and director of products at AWS’ edge computing services unit. Warehouse operators can harness the technology to coordinate pallet-carrying robots. Hospitals, in turn, could use it “for rapid access to radiological scans on-site and local processing of sensitive patient data,” Elissaios elaborated.

The integration with Verizon’s 5G technology is aimed at overcoming the limitations of the traditional networking approaches historically used in edge computing environments. One common approach is to build a Wi-Fi network. They’re a cost-efficient option, AWS’ Elissaios explained, but have certain shortcomings: They can be difficult to manage and are prone to performance issues. 

Traditional wired networks offer more reliable performance, but they’re expensive to upgrade because of the need for a large amount of physical hardware. AWS and Verizon argue that bringing 5G into the mix removes this tradeoff while improving network performance in the process.

One of the first customers to adopt the companies’ joint offering is Apple Inc. supplier Corning Inc., which provides the glass used to make iPhone displays. Corning has deployed Outposts hardware with a Verizon-powered 5G network at its North Carolina optical cable plant to power automation applications.

Industrial automation applications and many other latency-sensitive workloads are often designed to support users in a relatively small area, such as a factory site. But in some cases, they have to cover much larger distances. A delivery company’s truck diagnostics system, for instance, might collect sensory data from vehicles spread across an entire city.

For such use cases, AWS offers a separate edge computing offering called AWS Wavelength that it’s also delivering in partnership with carriers such as Verizon. It allows companies to deploy their applications in cloud infrastructure deployed inside Verizon’s data centers. Those data centers, in turn, are located at edge of the carrier’s 5G network, which reduces information travel delays and thereby cuts latency. 

Image: AWS