Hardware
5G smart factories pave way for Fifth Industrial Revolution: Compassion
Jan Diekmann, technical account manager at Ericsson, presented a keynote on the power of 5G in manufacturing environments not only to streamline lean processes but to pave the way for the next industrial revolution: compassion.
June 14, 2023 by Daniel Brown — Editor, Networld Media Group
Far more than a tool for consumers to download the latest Hollywood films on the go, 5G is the future for manufacturing — in fact, it is already becoming the norm for a growing number of global firms, thanks to its ultra-high bandwidth, low latency and agile deployment options. And that's only the start, as other verticals catch on to the benefits of the technology.
This is according to a keynote address delivered by Jan Diekmann, technical account manager at Sweden-based tech firm Ericsson, in a talk entitled "How the 5G platform is enabling the next generation of lean production," delivered in the Grand Riverview Ballroom at the Huntington Place Convention Center during the Detroit Automate 2023 conference.
"5G as global technology is the perfect platform to bridge these islands of information within the production, but also within the lifecycle of the product out in the field," said Diekmann, whose company is a manufacturer of 5G equipment helping to develop the upcoming 6G framework.
5G overview
Diekmann provided an overview of 5G for the manufacturing and tech firms in attendance.
The first benefit of 5G is the sheer speed and availability of new transmission bands, which provides much quicker data transmission than 4G and LTE technologies, along with latency reduction and latency predictability features that continue to develop.
"That's what you need for industrial automation products," Diekmann said. "You can say an average of whatnot at 16 milliseconds might be okay; but if you peak out and lose packets, that's not what you want. So 5G comes with the promise of low and predictable latency," he added, along with support for handling more devices at once than prior technologies.
5G includes positioning tools, which allow you to locate your equipment on a factory floor — a growing concern, with the rise of autonomous mobile robotics. The system also allows better mobility and flexibility than 4G and Wi-Fi.
Governments are also signing on to the 5G wave of the future, Diekmann said. Because 5G requires licensing of specific spectrums (unlike Wi-Fi), a growing number of governments worldwide are offering reserved spectrums to industry at attractive prices to facilitate this wireless transition. "And for me, that's a very good sign because giving spectrum to industries by government is an investment," Diekmann said.
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5G coverage continues to expand, Diekmann explained, including this slide for reference during the keynote. Image: Daniel Brown/Networld Media Group. |
5G for lean manufacturing
So, what does all this have to do with manufacturing?
"Lean manufacturing is mainly defined by increased customer focus and sustainability," Diekmann said. "Creating that customer value requires a few new paradigms."
A leading shift involves the rise of customization demand with more and more variants required by customers from their suppliers; this in turn requires more agile production processes and lines. Instead of a cumbersome, modular approach (in which components are swapped out for different variants), modern lines need to service an increasing number of variants on a single pipeline, with the ideal solution eventually being one pipeline for all variants as the ultimate combination of flexibility and efficiency; though, as Diekmann noted, there are still a few steps before the industry gets there.
"You will need much, much higher flexibility in your production — that applies to your shop floor layout, that applies to your supply chain," Diekmann said. "But that also applies to the knowledge of your workforce that now needs to be much more flexible, much more universal than just doing one piece within the chain.
"Reliable and predictable connectivity without re-cabling, etc., is of course an ingredient that is becoming more and more necessary," he concluded, and that is where 5G comes in, allowing virtual reconfigurations with far less time, energy, expense and environmental impact than previously possible.
Going even broader, manufacturers are learning that they must apply this lean approach to the entire flow efficiency, Diekmann said, from origin to delivery.
5G for sustainability
As industry and consumers demand more sustainable processes and products, sustainability is a major feature of the 5G revolution, Diekmann explained, adding that Ericsson's goal is to be carbon neutral by 2030.
"First of all, reduce waste and lack of quality," he said. "We've seen here in the show really great propositions from companies that do advanced video analytics for quality inspection and quality assurance all along the production line. If you're able to deploy these measures more freely and in more places than you could potentially do with cables… then you will have a big gain in your overall quality/flow from beginning to end."
5G also allows pre-planning using digital twins, which are high-fidelity virtual versions of real world systems used for a variety of purposes, especially for simulating operations and conditions in various configurations of that system. This all allows many configurations (say, of an assembly line, factory floor, or armature configuration) to be tested and refined virtually, quickly, and cheaply before real-world implementation (another benefit for profits, efficiency and sustainability), along with wider deployment of robust sensor networks across the facility to streamline all aspects of the operation with real-time data.
Indeed, the rise of machine learning and AI systems designed to leverage, interpret and implement that growing body of data means 5G's rise goes hand in hand with the AI revolution, making constant, iterative improvement ever more affordable for operators across categories as factories become smarter, Diekmann explained, starting with optimizing layouts, path-planning and time-planning. "5G is an accelerator, a technology that allows you to gather all that information from wherever it's needed," he said.
Live deployments, insights
With a growing number of live deployments, Diekmann shared insights from live 5G factory environments. "We've been running a number of deployments with customers in the manufacturing space," Diekmann said. "And the first question is always, what can I connect. And literally, you can connect almost everything."
Of course, 5G isn't always going to be the answer, Diekman said; if you have a cabling solution that works well and that you don't plan to change within the next five years, it will of course make sense to save innovation for pain points rather than fixing something that isn't broken in your production line.
Manufacturing plants are now also able to tell quality data from junk data more efficiently to fuel data-based decision-making, which, with the rise of autonomous mobile robots — also known as AMRs — drones, AI node networks and the like, is increasingly performed by machines and robots on the floor, making 5G's capacity as a machine-to-machine communications facilitator central.
5G paving the way for 5th Industrial Revolution: Compassion
Still, humans aren't going anywhere, Diekmann stressed.
The rise of mixed reality in manufacturing and production environments, including AR glasses, is part of why 5G is essential to provide mobility and low-latency, high-bandwidth coverage to workers using those technologies throughout these environments. This enhances safety, Diekman said, along with the way 5G facilitates live data around the location and movements of both humans and AMR systems.
5G isn't here to replace humans, Diekmann explained. "We will have still the workers around," he said. "Of course, they will not go away. And that's good because the human brain is still unique. And what you need to help your workers to interact with the machinery, to make smarter decisions on the spot, [is] to have all the information needed available."
Uniquely human tasks, such as unplanned events response and fixing abnormalities, will remain with human workers for the foreseeable future, Diekmann said, adding that where the Fourth Industrial Revolution, commonly called Industry 4.0, is the rise of human-machine collaboration, the Fifth Industrial Revolution, which he believes will incorporate things like the upcoming 6G networks in development now, will be a revolution of compassion, "where the machines will sense the humans' condition, needs and preferences."
"And humans and machines will work together in a much more efficient way than they do today."
About Daniel Brown
Daniel Brown is the editor of Digital Signage Today, a contributing editor for Automation & Self-Service, and an accomplished writer and multimedia content producer with extensive experience covering technology and business. His work has appeared in a range of business and technology publications, including interviews with eminent business leaders, inventors and technologists. He has written extensively on AI and the integration of technology and business strategy with empathy and the human touch. Brown is the author of two novels and a podcaster. His previous experience includes IT work at an Ivy League research institution, education and business consulting, and retail sales and management.
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