Research on 5G promoting industrial information transformation and upgrading

Three years after 5G was put into commercial use, my country has built the world's largest 5G network. 5G is playing an enabling role in many fields such as industry, medical care, education, and transportation. Especially in the industrial field, 5G applications have achieved initial results, helping enterprises to achieve flexible production, improve the circulation efficiency of production areas, improve the quality of enterprise products, and help enterprises reduce costs and increase efficiency. However, it should also be noted that industrial enterprises face obstacles such as large investment, few references, and many hidden worries when promoting 5G applications. In this regard, the next step is to promote the in-depth integration of industrial 5G applications from four aspects: improving the 5G network supply capacity in the industrial field, actively setting industry application benchmarks, promoting 5G equipment cost reduction and quality improvement, and improving the level of 5G security applications, thereby accelerating the process of industrial information transformation and upgrading.

5G empowers industry and shows initial results

With the continuous acceleration of 5G construction, my country's 5G application projects have exceeded 20,000, covering more than 20 major industry categories such as industry, energy, medical care, culture and tourism, covering 31 provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the central government) and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in my country.

In the manufacturing process, it helps enterprises achieve flexible production. Enterprises connect various production equipment to the 5G network to achieve wireless connection of equipment, which can not only reduce the cost of cables between machines, but also support enterprises to adjust and layout production lines in real time according to actual order production needs, greatly reducing the time for re-layout of production lines. At the same time, using software such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) and manufacturing execution system (MES) to combine data such as production line equipment information and real-time production information with order information can meet the flexible production needs of small batches and multiple varieties. For example, Haier's interconnected washing machine factory has accelerated the transformation and upgrading of informatization and digitalization, actively explored the application of 5G industry, and adopted 5G and other related technical means to keep the process consistent. At the same time, it adopted the form of diversion at some detection positions to achieve a production line that can produce pulsator and drum washing machines at the same time.

In the logistics link, improve the circulation efficiency of the production area. By connecting the automated equipment in the factory area, mining area, storage center, production center and other areas to the 5G network, using the intelligent logistics scheduling system, combined with edge computing and high-precision positioning technology, the logistics terminals in the area are scheduled and managed to realize the automation and intelligence of transportation, sorting, distribution and other operations. At the same time, combined with order requirements and production link data, integrated into the process and process, ensure the production rhythm, and improve the logistics and production efficiency of the enterprise. For example, ZTE cooperated with China Telecom Chengdu Logistics Center to apply its own experience in 5G research to logistics, and took advantage of the wide connection range and large number of connections of the 5G network to integrate the complex logistics business, so that the efficiency of the entire warehousing and distribution was improved by 50%.

In the quality inspection link, improve the quality of enterprise products. Industrial product quality inspection is one of the most widely used scenarios of 5G in factories. "5G+machine vision" replaces manual work with machines to carry out operations such as product defect detection, size detection and disordered grabbing by manipulators, turning sampling inspection into full inspection, which has the advantages of "more accurate, faster and easier"; and based on deep learning technology, continuously improve the accuracy and efficiency of inspection, thereby improving the quality and yield rate of enterprise products. "5G+machine vision" not only solves the problems of low precision, low accuracy and low efficiency of manual inspection, but also indirectly alleviates the realistic pressure of "difficulty in recruiting workers" for enterprises by liberating labor, and reduces the labor costs of enterprises. At present, the steel industry uses the "5G+8K surface inspection system" to increase the steel defect detection rate to more than 90% and the defect recognition rate to more than 85% through full product inspection.

In the management link, it helps enterprises reduce production costs and increase efficiency. 5G can provide network support for various types of monitoring equipment, and combine with other technologies to warn and handle abnormal behaviors in energy management and equipment operation and maintenance. For example, "5G+energy monitoring" uses 5G networks to connect various sensors in production equipment, and combines edge computing, cloud platforms and other technologies to monitor the operating parameters of production, energy media, and key energy-consuming equipment in real time, and promptly discover problems and optimize them. At the same time, 5G combines artificial intelligence technologies such as fault prediction mechanism modeling to monitor the health parameters of production equipment in real time, analyze equipment operation trends, and formulate equipment operation and maintenance plans in a timely manner, so as to achieve equipment safety prediction and production auxiliary decision-making, reduce equipment operation and maintenance costs, extend service life, and ensure continuous, safe and efficient production processes.

Three major pain points restrict industrial transformation and upgrading

However, the application and development of 5G in the industrial field still faces various difficulties and obstacles, which are mainly concentrated in the following three aspects.

High investment for enterprises. High equipment transformation, application development and operation costs are the "roadblocks" faced by enterprises in promoting 5G applications. The design of 5G terminal chips and modules is extremely complex, the R&D threshold is extremely high, and the investment is huge. The price of 5G terminals in mass production in the early stage of industrial development is naturally high. At present, the price of a 5G module is hundreds or even thousands of yuan, which is a huge cost gap compared with the dozens of yuan of existing 4G modules. At the same time, the number of modules required for industrial enterprises to carry out 5G applications is hundreds or thousands, which means that industrial enterprises face high equipment transformation costs in transformation and upgrading. At the same time, since 5G industry applications are still in the early stages of development, platforms need to be redeveloped for different scenarios in various industries, and application R&D costs are not cheap. In addition, long-term operating costs are also a problem faced by industrial enterprises. Not only is the customization cost of industry-specific networks high, but also the costs of 5G energy consumption and traffic generation must be considered.

There are few references for enterprise applications. China has all 41 major industrial categories, 207 medium industrial categories, and 666 small industrial categories in the United Nations industrial classification. The attributes and characteristics of different industries and enterprises are different, and the application scenarios vary greatly. For example, industrial automation requires low network latency, but not high transmission bandwidth; while video monitoring and detection applications require high bandwidth, but not high network latency. At present, 5G industry applications are still in the early stages of development. There are not many "model rooms" that can show the application effects to enterprises in various industries, and there is a lack of "universal templates" that can be used immediately. Therefore, it is difficult to achieve large-scale industry applications in the short term.

There are many hidden concerns about enterprise upgrades. At this stage, industrial enterprises attach great importance to the transformation and upgrading of informatization, and have accelerated the access to the Internet and the cloud. However, the demand for high-speed, low-latency and high-quality wireless communications is still limited. The high investment and the uncertainty of the benefits after 5G application will affect the demand of enterprises for "5G+Industrial Internet". At the same time, the industrial manufacturing field has high security requirements for the construction and management of 5G networks, especially in data collection, video monitoring, production scheduling and other links. Industrial enterprises have more concerns about the security of network equipment systems and terminal security. As more and more 5G devices are connected to the industrial Internet, the large number of intelligent terminals and the heterogeneity of technical architecture will lead to increasing difficulty and complexity in network security management. In addition, the application of new technologies such as software-defined networking (SDN), network function virtualization, edge computing and cloud computing will also lead to an increase in network attack surfaces, and the widespread use of open source code will further aggravate network security risks.

Four suggestions to promote the transformation and upgrading of industrial informatization

In view of the problems and obstacles faced by industrial enterprises in upgrading 5G applications, it is recommended to focus on four aspects: network supply, setting industry benchmarks, reducing equipment costs and improving quality, and network security, to promote the application of 5G in the industrial field and promote the information transformation and upgrading of industrial enterprises.

First, we should insist on being moderately ahead of the times and continue to improve the 5G network supply capacity in the industrial field. We should further improve the 5G network coverage rate and coverage range in key areas such as industrial parks, enterprise factories, ports, and mines, and build a 5G network with wide coverage, high quality, and strong technology as soon as possible; on this basis, we should continuously optimize and upgrade key technologies such as end-to-end network slicing, 5G industry virtual private networks, and high-precision indoor positioning. We should strengthen the guarantee capacity of 5G frequency resources, accelerate the migration process of 700MHz, promote the deployment of 5G networks in this frequency band, and give full play to the role of high-quality frequency bands as soon as possible. We should strengthen the research on the application of 5G millimeter wave frequency bands, explore the use of market-oriented means such as auctions and bidding to allocate millimeter wave frequency use rights, accelerate the research on the licensing model and management rules for the use of 5G industrial dedicated frequencies, and promptly introduce relevant institutional regulations to regulate frequency use.

Second, set up industry benchmarks and promote industrial enterprises to accelerate the transformation and upgrading of informatization and digitalization. China Mobile, China Unicom, China Telecom and other network operators and industrial Internet platform operators are encouraged to focus on the rigid needs and pain points of industrial enterprises, set up 5G application benchmarks in industries such as steel, coal mining, automobile manufacturing, home appliance manufacturing, and electronic manufacturing, and give full play to the leading role of leading enterprises; at the same time, the government will take the lead in jointly building an integrated "industry-university-research" platform with leading enterprises in various industries, universities, scientific research institutions, communication operators, and financial institutions to carry out 5G application solution research and development and integrated services for small and medium-sized enterprises. On this basis, leading enterprises and operators actively drive the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain to deeply explore industry needs and application scenarios, create industry-specific application scenarios and high-level demonstration projects; local governments and enterprises jointly carry out "5G+Industrial Internet" pilot demonstration projects, promote the in-depth application of 5G in quality inspection, operation and maintenance, and other fields, actively create benchmark enterprises and projects, strengthen the demonstration and leading role, form a mature model, and actively replicate and promote it in the upstream and downstream of the industry and industrial chain.

Third, promote the cost reduction and quality improvement of 5G equipment, and promote the industrial field to accelerate the realization of the Internet of Everything. The industrial production environment is relatively harsh, and there are many and complex special application scenarios such as high temperature, high humidity, and high pressure. Therefore, it is necessary to further guide equipment manufacturers to develop dedicated network base stations and terminal equipment according to industry needs. Vigorously promote the large-scale commercial use of 5G modules, encourage terminal companies to accelerate the lightweight upgrade of products, realize customizable equipment production, build a module classification and industrialization system, guide manufacturers to carry out precise product research and development according to the needs of different scenarios, and continuously improve the environmental adaptability of 5G modules. Promote large-scale applications, thereby reducing the research and development and production costs of base stations and other equipment. Guide equipment vendors to combine the actual needs of enterprises and continuously enrich the terminal product form, so as to facilitate the sinking of 5G terminals to production lines, enterprise factories, industrial parks, logistics parks, etc. Encourage terminal equipment companies and high-end equipment manufacturers to strengthen cooperative research and development, pre-install 5G capabilities in high-end equipment and open interfaces.

Fourth, ensure network security and reduce worries about industrial transformation and upgrading. Accelerate the establishment of a full-process and full-cycle security management mechanism for 5G applications, guide operators, small and medium-sized enterprises, platform companies, etc. to establish a 5G application risk assessment mechanism, and apply it in the process of research and development and promotion. Increase the intensity of supervision and inspection of 5G applications and related infrastructure, and continuously improve the security level of the 5G application ecosystem; promote the use of commercial encryption in 5G applications, and do a good job in the security assessment of encryption applications; strengthen the discovery, sharing and collaborative disposal of 5G network security threat information; encourage local governments, relevant enterprises, scientific research institutions, and universities to jointly build a 5G application security innovation research center, and quickly form a package of 5G application security solutions with high standardization, strong replicability, and easy promotion; actively carry out pilot demonstrations and promotion of security technology applications, and promote the popularization of best practices in leading enterprises in key industries such as mining and steel.