INTELCOM PROJECT, advanced manufacturing smart streetlights

The purpose of the INTELCOM project is to develop intelligent composite streetlights for 5G telecommunications infrastructure.

Communication needs are increasing in various areas such as mobility (autonomous driving), smart cities (avenues), sports venues (football stadiums, basketball arenas…), university campuses, technology parks, industrial parks, conference centers, trade fairs, airports, etc. In all these infrastructures, tubular structures with mechanical requirements (streetlights, bus shelters, spatial structures of domes and roofs, etc.) can be found, where telecommunications antennas are installed.

However, since they are mostly metallic components, antennas are placed outside the structure, resulting in visual impact and vulnerability to vandalism or adverse weather conditions. Fiberglass-reinforced composites are partially transparent dielectric materials to electromagnetic waves, so the manufacturing of tubular structures would allow the safe integration of 5G antennas inside without exposing them.

The differentiating value of the INTELCOM project lies in the possibility of manufacturing curved tubes through the pultrusion process with UV curing outside the mold and pulled by a robot, allowing a high level of flexibility in production (easy, fast, and reliable machine reconfiguration). Additionally, the new pultrusion machines will be portable, so profiles can be manufactured on-site, avoiding logistical problems inherent in large structures. IRURENA, in collaboration with MONDRAGON UNIBERTSITATEA, has developed this unique technology in the world and has demonstrated its validity for manufacturing components for the automotive industry.

This project aims to demonstrate the validity of the technology in a strategic sector, such as telecommunications infrastructure, so that the new manufacturing process can be consolidated and contribute to strengthening the Basque Country in the field of Advanced Manufacturing.