As a new generation of mobile communication technology, the rapid development of 5G technology perfectly meets the application needs of traditional manufacturing enterprises for wireless networks in their intelligent manufacturing transformation. The three major scenarios defined by 5G technology not only cover traditional application scenarios such as high bandwidth and low latency, but also meet the needs of equipment interconnection and remote interaction applications in industrial environments. This feature of wide area network full coverage makes it possible for enterprises to build a unified wireless network.
The development of mobile communication technology
Looking back at the development of mobile communication technology, the first generation used analog technology, which could only support voice calls with limited area and distance. The second generation achieved digital voice communication, enabling simple voice and text interactions, such as SMS and email. The third generation is the well-known 3G technology, characterized by multimedia communication, which can support voice, text, and video interactions. However, due to limited bandwidth, it is difficult to ensure smooth performance when conducting large-scale data interactions, such as video interactions. The fourth generation is the 4G technology currently being deployed, which significantly improves communication speeds and marks the beginning of the wireless broadband era.
Based on current base station tests conducted by telecom service providers, 5G will be faster and consume less power than 4G, with a theoretical bandwidth exceeding 10Gbps. This guarantees that you can download a high-definition movie in one second, while 4G would take at least 10 minutes. Precisely because of this unique advantage, the industry generally believes that 5G will play a significant role in promoting smart manufacturing, autonomous vehicles, VR, and the Internet of Things.
Currently, the 5G standard has not yet been finalized. AT&T President Smith believes that the definition of 5G may be finalized in 2018, and the official 5G standard will be drafted by the United Nations Mobile Communications Union in 2019. The 5G standard will define which wireless technologies can be called 5G, and what characteristics 5G will have.
Three major scenarios defined by 5G
In 2016, Huawei's PolarCode scheme was selected by the international wireless standardization organization 3GPP as the control channel coding scheme for the eMBB scenario, while the uplink and downlink short code schemes for the data channel were assigned to Qualcomm's LDPC code. eMBB, or Enhanced Mobile Broadband, is one of the three major 5G scenarios defined at the 3GPP meeting. Huawei's PolarCode channel coding technology is just one of many core 5G technologies. In addition to eMBB, 5G scenarios also include mMTC and URLLC.
eMBB (enhanced Mobile Broadband): Primarily targeting high-bandwidth mobile broadband services such as 3D/ultra-high-definition video, eMBB will develop related technologies not only in the sub-6GHz spectrum but also in the spectrum above 6GHz. Small base stations will be crucial equipment for eMBB development. Currently, the sub-6GHz spectrum is mostly used in traditional network models developed with large base stations, while millimeter-wave technology using the spectrum above 6GHz requires small base stations to achieve faster speeds.
mMTC (massive machine-type communications): Primarily aimed at large-scale IoT applications. mMTC will be developed in frequency bands below 6 GHz and will be applied to large-scale IoT. Currently, the most visible development is NB-IoT. In the past, common technologies such as Wi-Fi, Zigbee, and Bluetooth were more for small-scale home use, and the backhaul mainly relied on LTE. Recently, with the emergence of widely covered technologies such as NB-IoT and LoRa, the development of IoT is expected to become more widespread.
URLLC (Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communication): Primarily targeting applications such as autonomous driving and industrial automation that require low-latency, highly reliable connections. In smart factories, because many machines have built-in sensors, the process from sensor to backend network, issuing commands, and then transmitting them back to the machine would result in significant latency with existing network transmission, potentially leading to industrial safety incidents. Therefore, URLLC aims to reduce network latency to below 1 millisecond.
5G-supported industrial applications
Internet of Things
With the advancement of intelligent transformation in factories, the Internet of Things (IoT) , as a key supporting technology connecting people, machines, and equipment, is receiving significant attention from enterprises. This demand is driving the implementation of IoT applications and also greatly stimulating the development of 5G technology. Faced with complex industrial interconnection needs, 5G technology needs to adapt to different industrial scenarios and meet most of the connectivity requirements of the IoT. Therefore, 5G and the IoT are complementary; the implementation of IoT applications relies on 5G providing wireless connectivity solutions for different scenarios, while the maturity of 5G technology standards also requires the stimulation and impetus of IoT application demands.
In promoting the implementation of the Internet of Things (IoT), 5G's three major scenarios can support different functional application requirements. For example, eMBB can support high-bandwidth application scenarios such as remote video monitoring and video conferencing; mMTC can meet the data connection and transmission needs of a large number of low-power embedded terminals; and URLLC can reduce network latency to below 1 millisecond to support the real-time performance requirements of systems and devices in industrial automation control processes.
Industrial Automation Control
Automation control is the most fundamental application in manufacturing plants, with closed-loop control systems at its core. Within the control cycle of this system, each sensor performs continuous measurements, and the measurement data is transmitted to the controller to set the actuators. Typical closed-loop control processes have cycles as low as milliseconds, so system communication latency needs to be at the millisecond level or even lower to ensure precise control, while also requiring extremely high reliability. If excessive latency occurs during production, or if errors occur in the control information during data transmission, production may be halted, resulting in significant financial losses.
5G offers extremely low latency, high reliability, and massive connectivity, making closed-loop control applications possible via wireless networks. Based on Huawei's 5G testing capabilities: air interface latency can reach 0.4ms, single-cell downlink speeds can reach 20Gbps, and a single cell can support over 10 million connections. Therefore, it is clear that only 5G networks among mobile communication networks can meet the network requirements of closed-loop control.
Logistics tracking
In the already established machine-to-machine market, applications will include people tracking and high-value goods in transit. However, relatively high connectivity costs limit the market's growth. 5G is expected to offer additional advantages in terms of deep coverage, low power consumption and low cost (economies of scale), and as a 3GPP standard technology. Improvements offered by 5G will include optimized logistics across a wide range of industries, enhanced worker safety, and improved efficiency in asset location and tracking, thereby minimizing costs. It will also expand capabilities to enable dynamic tracking of a broader range of goods in transit. As online shopping increases, asset tracking will become even more critical.
In logistics, from warehouse management to distribution, there is a need for connectivity technologies that offer broad coverage, deep coverage, low power consumption, massive connectivity, and low cost. Furthermore, the end-to-end integration of virtual factories spans the entire product lifecycle, requiring low-power, low-cost, and wide-coverage networks to connect widely distributed sold goods. Horizontal integration within or between enterprises also necessitates ubiquitous networks, and 5G networks can effectively meet these needs.
Industrial AR
In the production process of future smart factories, humans will play a more significant role. However, due to the high flexibility and multifunctionality of future factories, higher demands will be placed on factory floor workers. Augmented Reality (AR) will play a crucial role in quickly meeting the needs of new tasks and production activities, and can be used in smart manufacturing scenarios such as: monitoring processes and production flows; providing step-by-step guidance for production tasks, such as manual assembly process guidance; and providing remote expert support, such as remote maintenance.
In these applications, auxiliary AR facilities need to be highly flexible and lightweight to ensure efficient maintenance. Therefore, the equipment's information processing functions need to be moved to the cloud, with the AR device only providing connectivity and display capabilities. The AR device and the cloud are connected via a wireless network. The AR device will acquire necessary information in real time through the network (e.g., production environment data, production equipment data, and troubleshooting guidance). In this scenario, the content displayed on the AR glasses must be synchronized with the movement of the camera in the AR device to avoid visual field misalignment. Generally, a synchronization time of less than 20ms from visual movement to AR image response time provides good synchronization. Therefore, the cloud-to-AR content transmission from the camera to the cloud must be less than 20ms. Excluding screen refresh and cloud processing latency, the bidirectional transmission latency of the wireless network must be within 10ms to meet the real-time experience requirements. LTE networks cannot meet this latency requirement.
Cloud-based robots
In smart manufacturing scenarios, robots need self-organizing and collaborative capabilities to meet flexible production requirements, which leads to the demand for cloud-based robots. Compared to traditional robots, cloud-based robots need to connect to a control center in the cloud via a network, relying on a platform with ultra-high computing power, and using big data and artificial intelligence to perform real-time computational control of the manufacturing process. By moving a large amount of computing and data storage functions to the cloud through cloud technology, the hardware cost and power consumption of the robot itself will be greatly reduced. Furthermore, to meet the needs of flexible manufacturing, robots need to be able to move freely. Therefore, in the process of robot cloudification, wireless communication networks need to have extremely low latency and high reliability.
5G networks and cloud-based robots
5G networks are the ideal communication network for cloud-based robots and are key to enabling cloud-based robots. 5G slicing networks can provide end-to-end customized network support for cloud-based robot applications. 5G networks can achieve end-to-end communication latency as low as 1ms and support 99.999% connection reliability. These powerful network capabilities can greatly meet the latency and reliability challenges of cloud-based robots.
Summarize
5G technology has become a key enabling technology supporting the transformation to intelligent manufacturing. 5G can connect widely distributed and scattered people, machines, and equipment across three major scenarios, building a unified interconnected network. Due to its high real-time performance and reliability, 5G technology can be applied not only in industrial scenarios but also to support personal mobile internet applications. The development of 5G technology can help manufacturing enterprises break free from the previously chaotic application of wireless network technologies, which is of positive significance for promoting the implementation of the Industrial Internet and the deepening transformation of intelligent manufacturing.
