How 5G contributes to Industry 4.0

During the COVID-19 pandemic, industries across the board have begun to thrive as they transform digitally. Emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), machine learning, and artificial intelligence (AI) have grown especially fast, but how can these technologies be effectively connected?

In the era of Industry 4.0, 5G lays the foundation for the digital transformation of enterprises. Machine learning, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things all rely heavily on the high-bandwidth, low-latency properties provided by 5G connections, while workplaces such as construction sites require dedicated 5G to truly see the progress brought about by digital transformation.

With digital transformation enabled by 5G technology, businesses can expect to see smarter robots powered by machine learning and AI with greater productivity and monitoring capabilities. Not only will the efficiency of the machines increase, but so will the efficiency of the workers, who can also benefit from greater safety.

According to Nokia, 75% of enterprises are already using 5G for video surveillance purposes, but they want to go further, such as using cameras with analytics as sensors to detect risks, defects, and enable real-time detection of faces, objects, risks and events - things that 5G can facilitate.

Nokia found that the energy and manufacturing sectors have the highest awareness of 5G and are exploring its potential for advanced use cases such as maintenance, remote machine control and cloud robotics.

Wind Farm

Wind turbines rely on the wind to extract optimal energy. However, as they spin and extract energy from the wind, they create a wake.

The wake of a wind turbine interferes with the efficiency of other wind turbines around it, interfering with their energy production. As a result, they need to be spaced far apart, limiting the number of turbines that can be deployed in a particular location.

Cloud computing service Vayu AI is testing a solution in Montana, U.S., using a dedicated 5G network to address this problem. It uses autonomous drones that use 5G connections to relay real-time data about the location of wind turbines and the rotation of nearby turbines to control systems.

Powered by machine learning, the system can change the angle of each turbine so that they work in harmony to produce better results - a process known as wake steering.

This solution allows wind farms to place turbines closer together, increasing overall power generation.

After evaluating 1,500 U.S. wind farms, Vayu AI determined that advanced wake steering technology could increase wind farm capacity by 30% and 68%.

For offshore wind farms, where wind turbines need to be closer together, wake steering will be extremely beneficial and important.

This data collected by 5G networks will allow for the creation of a digital twin of the wind farm, improving its efficiency and productivity.

Ultimately, wake steering could double the amount of electricity a wind farm produces.

Robots that improve productivity

In factories, handling robots carry heavy objects along planned routes. Although they relieve the burden of human labor, they can be further digitized because their handling routes cannot be changed and are dangerous for human employees.

This is because programmed routes are fixed and expensive to change, which limits the flexibility of the plant to respond effectively.

On top of that, handling robots must work completely separately from human workers to reduce the risk of collision accidents, which means a lot of factory space is wasted.

IoT provider Thundercomm’s 5G industrial handling robots could address this problem by embedding AI in the robots, making them smarter and helping improve their performance over time.

Using onboard cameras on the robots, they can capture still or moving images to help train them to recognize specific objects. Machine learning then takes place in the cloud or at an edge computing facility, using the results to improve the image recognition software on the robot's onboard module.

The “5G Robot” also uses its machine vision to make factories safer by detecting nearby workers and taking appropriate measures to prevent accidents.

Supporting safe and efficient construction sites

Because construction sites are dynamic and temporary, they often lack the security monitoring and ICT infrastructure to truly benefit from digital technologies.

Telecommunications provider Singtel addressed both challenges by deploying a dedicated 5G network and edge computing capabilities to support a construction site in Singapore.

On construction sites owned by Gammon, a construction and engineering contractor, 5G is used to connect robots that can 3D scan the site, security cameras, drones, and headsets for augmented reality services.

These high-resolution cameras, supported by high-capacity and low-latency connections, are particularly helpful in monitoring large and complex construction sites.

Gammon estimates that using 5G-connected robots rather than human employees to inspect construction sites could make the process 30% to 40% more productive.

At the same time, the company believes that 5G-connected security cameras will be able to significantly improve safety by instantly detecting potential dangers.

James Chan, assistant director of 5G ecosystem and partnerships at Singtel, explained: “Supervisors can only look at one place at a time. With high-resolution, connected cameras, I can run all these different AI algorithms on the same video feed at the edge to check for equipment, social distancing and other potential hazards. If there are irregularities, an alert can be sent to the supervisor’s mobile computing device.”

5G-enabled cameras can also provide digital models of construction sites that can be used to monitor progress, verify work quality, manage assets and equipment, and ensure compliance with safety and environmental regulations.