New Oracle Industry Lab spotlights worker upskilling

Oracle and Festo are joining forces to help educators create new opportunities and solve tough challenges at the Oracle Industry Lab. Opened in early May, the facility provides hands-on, simulated industry settings for customers to experiment, learn, and bring transformative technologies to life. At the lab, visitors interact with a Festo “Learning Factory” used in training and workforce-development programs worldwide. The Learning Factory models the next generation of Industry 4.0 production facilities and provides students with a holistic platform to understand smart manufacturing. The automated machinery uses advanced sensors, controllers and software to produce “lot size one” simulated cell phones. Students learn and follow the process from order entry through production to final distribution. “We are thrilled to be working together with the Oracle Industry Lab where we partner with the leading information company to harness the power of data for the education and training sector. The demand for skilled workforce in manufacturing is skyrocketing, and innovations such as this will prepare the next generation of workers,” said Ted Rozier, director of engineering with Festo Didactic Inc.