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Written by Arnd Sibila | September 17, 2020

Smart factories: Mobile network characteristics and main KPIs (part 1)

The 5G technology has been standardized in the 3GPP Release 15, forming the basis of today’s commercial 5G networks. With the 3GPP Release 16, which is heavily influenced by the 5G Automotive Association (5GAA) and the 5G Alliance for Connected Industries and Automation (5G-ACIA), we are expecting significant improvements in latency reduction, network synchronization, and the integration of 5G into industrial Ethernet networks. These developments will make 5G a suitable technology for fulfilling the requirements of smart factories (Industry 4.0). At the start of this journey, private network operators will also rely on LTE technology (4G).

Smart factories: Mobile network characteristics and main KPIs (part 1)

Why are factories expected to become “smart”?

Factory owners aim to make the manufacturing process and production facilities more flexible and adaptable to reduce the cost of operations by minimizing downtime, achieved by modifying production lines, synchronizing inventory management, and efficiently organizing personnel and equipment.

An ABI Research/Ericsson report1 from October 2019 forecasts the following:

  • 4.3 billion wireless connections by 2030 in the smart manufacturing market
  • The potential to boost gross margin by 5% to 13% for factory and warehouse operations that fully embrace Industry 4.0 by moving to private cellular technology
  • Revenue growth for wireless connections in smart manufacturing from US$ 0.5B in 2020 to US$ 25B in 2030
  • Manufacturers and factory owners could expect a 10x return on investment (ROI) on cellular Industrial 4.0 solution investment

Thus, turning factories into smart factories becomes a commercial necessity because the “cost of inaction” will cause significant disadvantages to traditional factory owners; competitors with smart manufacturing will have less downtime while producing more.

What characterizes a smart factory?

In a smart factory, many different use cases are assumed as specified in the well-known 5G triangle.

Smart factories: triangle displaying 5G use cases

eMBB: Although we do not expect the need for very high data rates and capacities in smart factories, we see the need for augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) use cases. AR/VR can increase operational efficiency in a factory due to the guidance of manual assembly, asset diagnostics for technicians, and training (i.e., human beings will get visible instructions to operate complex machines).

URLLC: Connected and collaborative robots are key tools to increase productivity in a smart factory. They should be able to work safely alongside human beings and execute repetitive tasks much faster with fewer errors. Self-driving automated guided vehicles (AGV) and autonomous mobile robots (AMR) improve factory logistics by automatically transporting goods in the factory and providing the right amount of material at every location. AMRs move autonomously, navigating safely between human beings and other objects.

mMTC: Smart factories rely on numerous sensors for inventory control, supply chain management, and predictive maintenance (to identify anomalies and decrease downtime). The information and data they provide will help to improve logistics. For mission-critical manufacturing, sensors will supervise the wireless connectivity in the factory and report any deviations from the targeted performance to a performance monitoring system in real-time.

Some of the factory and warehouse use cases described above can already be implemented with the LTE technology (4G). 5G is still in its trial phase for Industry 4.0 applications, and the 3GPP will periodically release more Industry 4.0-enabling features over the next years. Nevertheless, the key requirements for smart factories remain reliability, latency, and security.

Smart factories requirements of 5G being security, reliability, and latency

Main KPIs of mobile networks in smart factories

A smart factory is a critical environment that needs to meet rigid requirements on the connectivity and reliability of machines and robots as well as on the data security and employee safety, especially if the connectivity is provided by wireless technologies. These requirements need to be checked, verified, monitored, and, if corrective action is needed, optimized.

The reliability of wireless connections is mostly realized by redundant connections. Every location inside a smart factory needs to be served by 3, 4, 5, or more wireless access points; when done in a coordinated way, the setup ensures redundancy while minimizing interference.

This redundancy concept needs to be verified with network testing solutions. Verifications should be made upon the smart factory rollout and every time after factory modifications since they might affect the signal propagation significantly.

Latency, or the time a signal needs to travel through the system, is another crucial requirement of smart factory networks that needs to be carefully controlled. We distinguish between round-trip latency and one-way latency.

AR/VR use cases, for example, need low round-trip latency, because if the technician wearing AR/VR glasses moves his head, the image depicting instructions needs to update very quickly to ensure proper operation. Robot control, on the other hand, requires low one-way latency. The system sends an order to the robot, and the robot has to act immediately (e.g., stop movement); it is just one-way communication.

Round-trip latency in smart factories
AR/VR use cases need low round-trip latency.
One-way latency in smart factories
Robot control requires low one-way latency.

So far, we have observed in tests that the one-way latency does not typically equal half of the round-trip latency. Therefore, it is important to test and verify both latency options in smart factories.

Stay tuned for the next post in this series, explaining the different phases of network testing in smart factories and the corresponding test solutions. In the meantime, find educational videos and more information on our dedicated smart factory web page.

1ABI Research/Ericsson report: Unlocking the value of industry 4.0

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