The Potential of 5G Smart Manufacturing
Fibocom explains how 5G can help manufacturers develop innovative, synchronized solutions and rise to the challenge of Industry 4.0.
Digital technologies have ushered in an era of 5G smart manufacturing, hyper-efficiency, and limitless productivity. The low latency and massive data capabilities of 5G enable manufacturers to deploy fully automated solutions that can be adjusted in real time for optimal productivity and sustainability.
The Manufacturing Bottleneck
At present, factories and manufacturers are facing a number of key challenges, limiting their ability to provide tailored, customer-centric solutions in real time. Manufacturers are increasingly expected to be able to produce bespoke solutions and products and to drive greater gains in productivity through advanced automation. Despite technological advances in automation, however, overall economic productivity from factories has decreased.
Key Technologies Underpinning IIoT
- Digital twinning
- Multi-access edge computing (MEC)
- Machine vision
- Time-sensitive networking (TSN)
- Network slicing
Meeting IIoT Connectivity Demands With 5G
Using the technologies discussed, operational success is driven by ultra-low latency, high reliability, and wireless communications. While existing wi-fi and cable solutions offer some capabilities in this regard, only next-generation cellular technologies will be able to meet the challenge of scaling the number of interconnected IoT devices. 5G solutions are expected to be able to handle in the range of 1 million connected devices per square kilometer, far outstripping existing Wi-Fi and cable capabilities.
Building Smart Factories With 5G and IIoT
With key technologies and next-generation connectivity in place, a huge array of additional Industry 4.0 use cases becomes a reality. Some of the core areas where IoT devices add value in industrial and manufacturing contexts are:
- Sensor data
- Process improvement
- Enhanced safety and security
- Intelligent operations
Read the latest Fibocom white paper to learn more about how 5G smart manufacturing can empower manufacturers to develop innovative, synchronized solutions and rise to the challenge of Industry 4.0.
