Unleashing 5G for smart manufacturing operations
Ensuring European industry’s sustained competitiveness requires the roll out of smart factories that will be more efficient, safe and sustainable, while also being economically viable. A key element in realising this vision is 5G, the fifth generation of cellular network technology with top Gigabit speeds, real time accuracy (very low latency, the time it takes to send data - at under 5 milliseconds), massive data connectivity (above 10 Gigabits per second) and its ability to connect countless wireless resources in real time. Think remotely operated factory floors, peppered with a multitude of sensors, also known as the Internet of Things (IoT), relaying real time data to far flung operating rooms, contributing to a safer workplace, more efficiency and less waste.
Europe’s smart factories of the future
To usher in smart manufacturing and other applications faster across Europe, the European Commission pushed 5G roll out through its 5G Action plan. Now, armed with the new seamless, wireless technology, manufacturing and other industries are determining what the optimal processes and business models are to make the best use of 5G’s speed and accuracy and fully unleash automation and smart innovation across industry. Working on the collaborative EU-funded 5G-SMART (5G for smart manufacturing) project, manufacturing stakeholders were able to successfully showcase how 5G can be harnessed to seamlessly bring the field to the Cloud, transforming manufacturing operations while making business sense. “Cloud-controlled collaborative robots are gamechangers,” notes Leefke Grosjean, project coordinator and senior radio researcher at Ericsson, describing how 5G-enabled “mobile robots are a key element in logistics and warehousing. By using 5G and Cloud technologies, novel collaborative control solutions can be enabled for these robots. In 5G-SMART we have shown the feasibility and that this approach has a positive impact on efficiency, flexibility, productivity, mobility, and safety in the production plant.”
Remote factory monitoring for maintenance in real time
Another gamechanger that the EUR 10.2 million-5G-SMART project confirmed is the viability of 5G-enabled condition monitoring and predictive maintenance. “Being able to use wireless sensors to collect relevant real-time data opens up new possibilities for monitoring systems to timely detect disturbances and intervene into processes to optimise the fabrication process, reduce production costs, reduce failure rates and thereby waste, and thus have a positive impact on sustainability,” notes Grosjean.
A blueprint for 5G-smart industry
5G-SMART used three industry field testbeds, two in Germany and one in Sweden, to validate, evaluate and demonstrate 5G for smart manufacturing, testing Human-robot interaction and other 5G-enabled applications. Beginning in 2019, the three-year project studied channel measurements, electromagnetic compatibility, as well as private industrial networks at work in real manufacturing sites. Researchers also mapped new business models and provided a blueprint for how mobile network operators, factory owners, and other partners can move forward together, paving the way for the development of future 5G standards, alongside new 5G-enabled solutions and products. In sum, 5G-SMART has proven how the adoption of 5G is equipping manufacturers with new tools to drive safety, efficiency and productivity improvements by enabling the optimum deployment of AI, IoT, automation and other innovation. The project has also laid the foundation for further research and development though close collaboration between the ecosystem’s stakeholders, while establishing 5G as one of the key catalysts for smart manufacturing.
Keywords
5G-SMART, 5G, smart, manufacturing, industry, factory,
