Five ways 5G will change manufacturing

5G could help realize the ideal of modular factories, where machines can be quickly reconfigured to optimize production.

For manufacturers, 5G offers great opportunities to improve operational performance and enhance process resilience. Many new services and opportunities will come from its ubiquitous connectivity.

This quote comes from a report released by the American Manufacturing Institute, which looks at the unlimited potential of 5G in manufacturing. 5G is an important step beyond 4G, and manufacturers may start with LTE for high-bandwidth applications such as streaming video and real-time applications that require very low latency. As more 5G devices become available, it is generally expected that LTE and 5G will coexist on the same dedicated network for at least the next 5 years.

5G technology enables networks to perform significantly beyond previous capabilities. 5G has unique characteristics and attributes that will define its disruptive characteristics. These characteristics include high data rates, higher system capacity, reduced latency, and a large number of device connections.

5G can help realize the ideal of a modular factory, where machines can be quickly reconfigured to optimize production. It can facilitate data collection from dense sensors at a scale that was previously impossible. It can also enable systems to automatically schedule maintenance or order replacement consumables to ensure downtime is minimized before problems occur. It provides self-configuring production lines, proactive equipment maintenance determined by analyzing sensor data, and autonomous vehicles that can start or potentially complete outbound logistics within a day.

A range of applications that 5G can enable:

Digital Twin

Digital twins typically require massive data sets to be effective, and 5G networks can not only facilitate the transmission of these data sets across long distances at extremely high speeds, but with its low-power variants, it can enable sensors to be used in remote areas where remote sensors may be required, such as road stretches or farm fields in agricultural applications.

Industrial Internet of Things

The focus of these device deployments is to measure how efficiently factory machines are running, as well as environmental factors such as temperature and humidity that may affect operation. Industrial IoT sensors can be used to provide factory workers with real-time input on the health of machine operations, helping to ensure worker safety. They can also report potential long-term challenges, such as whether a part needs to be replaced, or whether lubricants need to be ordered to ensure it runs optimally. Industrial IoT-driven data can even unlock new business opportunities in terms of accurately monitoring costs in manufacturing-as-a-service scenarios.

Extended Reality

XR technology covers everything from virtual reality to augmented reality, and it also has many horizontal business applications. XR technology is of particular value in industries such as construction and manufacturing, where participants can see detailed models of complex machinery. Manufacturers can display data and information about machinery in a spatially relevant way, which in turn helps workers with maintenance, repairs and training. XR applications are best experienced through headsets.

Self-driving cars and robots

To reach their full potential, self-driving cars must communicate with other connected smart parts of the transportation network using so-called connected vehicle technologies. 5G can also be used to guide robots or forklifts through factories, using many of the same core enabling technologies, such as advanced computer vision, used for passenger cars. 5G has the potential to enable advanced automation in a zero-touch manner. From forklifts to drones to warehouse shelves, 5G will connect autonomous transportation modes, and all forms of transportation within a factory in the future can be connected to a 5G network.

Security

5G opens the door for multiple high-definition video streams from fixed cameras and drones, potentially also navigated over 5G networks, to ensure the safety of facilities or monitor for any signs of disruption or malfunction, especially when paired with computer vision systems that can analyze the video and detect anomalies or dangerous conditions.