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Samsung, AT&T unveil new 5G research hub in North Austin

The companies collaborated to open an "Innovation Zone" to explore 5G in a manufacturing setting.

AUSTIN, Texas — There is a new research hub in North Austin. Samsung and AT&T unveiled it Friday at Samsung's semiconductor plant off Parmer Lane.

The companies are calling it an "Innovation Zone," and it is meant to explore how 5G technology can be used in the manufacturing industry.

Different demonstrations inside the plant show how 5G technology and augmented reality can be used to train employees and increase speed of manufacturing.

"Several months ago, we started a collaboration with AT&T and Samsung Electronics America,” said Samsung Austin’s Semiconductor Plant Vice President Jonathan Taylor. “Thinking about how can we test 5G and what it might be able to bring to us in a manufacturing space."

5G is fifth-generation wireless -- essentially the next iteration of wireless cell technology. Used in manufacturing, it could reduce wires and lag between thousands of machines and factory workers.

WATCH: Samsung, AT&T unveil new 5G research hub in North Austin

"5G promises not only to have great coverage but to deliver that content very quickly, and in great scale,” said Taylor. “We can use that technology to learn a lot more about our manufacturing space."

KVUE asked Taylor if people will lose jobs because of this 5G technology.

"We can retrain those people and put them in more impactful positions,” he said. “The reception we get from our employees is actually very good because they're getting more training and doing more impactful things."

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AT&T said it hopes the opening of the "Innovation Zone" improves quality, efficiency and worker safety on factory floors.

"When you think about 5G and the capabilities that it brings, unparalleled speeds, incredibly low latency,” said Mo Katibeh, chief marketing officer of AT&T Business. “As well as the ability to connect billions of devices, manufacturing is absolutely one of the industries that's going to be transformed."

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