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5G will transform smart industry and IoT – and here’s how

5G - INDUSTRY 4.0

5G in Smart Industry

Of all sectors, value-adding applications enabled by 5G mobile private networks (MPNs) are the most numerous in industrial domains – for now. It’s only logical, since operational environments are being bombarded with smart devices, sensors and technologies like AI, IoT and AR/VR. This trend drives higher efficiency, better quality and lower costs – as well as the urgent need for a data transfer pipeline that is up to the challenge.

Giving wings to Industry 4.0

For the first time ever, consumers aren’t the loudest voices dictating the standards of a new wireless technology – businesses are. Thanks to close collaboration between standardization bodies and future-focused corporations, exciting new features specifically for industrial firms have been baked right into the DNA of 5G wireless technology.

The result? Applications that boost efficiency, lower operational costs and enable unprecedented safety and customer focus. It’s possible to unlock all of these advantages simultaneously with a single implementation of a 5G mobile private network (MPN).

Faster, stronger and more flexible than ever

When it comes to advantages over other wireless communication technologies like 3G, 4G, WiFi and ad hoc solutions, 5G outperforms on every front. From throughput to speed to reliability, 5G is the first wireless standard to offer everything that industrial companies need to transform their operational processes in one package.

Six key characteristics of a 5G Mobile Private Network include:

1. Ultra reliability: A 5G secure and always-available network with built-in redundancy guanrantees optimal reliability. Multiple small, easy-to-place 5G transceivers (known as ‘small cells’) penetrate into even the most inaccessible areas of production floors and campuses.

2. Low Latency: Significantly faster than 4G and WiFi, 5G ensures that signals sent between machines reach their destinations in micromilliseconds – making it suitable for mission-critical precision process orchestration in real time.

3. Slicing: 5G MPNs offer the ability to split bandwidth into vLANS and dedicate each one to different processes. For example, 10% of available bandwidth can be reserved for emergency communications, and can dynamically be modified in crisis situations.

4. High density with deep coverage: Multiple easy-to-place transceivers penetrate into even the most inaccessible or enclosed areas of production floors and campuses.

5. Security: End-2-End security in 5G will be key with added encryption, additional defense at the edge of the network, and technologies such as network function virtualization, mobile edge computer and network slicing. Data can be processed on the edge, on-premise or in different cloud models, as per your data policy.

6. Extreme data rates: The data throughput speed of 5G far outstrips that of its predecessors, unlocking data-heavy applications (think predictive maintenance, augmented or virtual reality cases and visual quality control) that involve real-time high-definition video processing and machine learning.

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Four applications, limitless potential

When it comes to delivering business value to industrial companies, with input of the industry, we identified four applications that we believe are game changers.

1. Smart safety and security
5G unlocks safety use cases that rely on the processing of high-definition video, such as vehicle and people detection and counting in high risk zones, detection and reporting of proper PPE (personalized protective equipment), posture detection in the case of emergency situations like falls and injuries and the use of drones as sensors to handle the inspection of assets.

2. Smart predictive maintenance & access
High-definition cameras equipped with 5G connectivity can monitor production line equipment to maximize uptime and efficiency and alert when human intervention and maintenance is requested.

Intelligent facial recognition algorithms can be applied in real time, enabling personnel to gain access to specific zones simply by glancing at a camera. Employees can gain instant access to detailed technical documentation even in hard-to-reach areas.

3. Smart operational excellence
Integrate intelligent quality inspection into your lines by installing cameras and applying smart algorithms that detect defects, shapes, correct labeling and liquid levels. Analyze equipment sensor data to tweak production parameters in real time, reducing scrap and ensuring high quality.

4. Smart communication
Replace aging, expensive push-to-talk or DECT workfloor communication solutions with next-generation telephony and even high-definition video.

 

Offering a complete solution, from connectivity to custom apps

Cegeka is uniquely positioned to help you design and implement a 5G local mobile private network that suits your business needs. With our agile development expertise, we build customized applications that harness every advantage of 5G technology to deliver you a high business value.

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Interested in discovering the added value of deploying 5G in your facility or production site?