How 5G Transformed Manufacturing

Industry 4.0 integrates cyber-physical structures with operational, information and networking technology, allowed by advanced wireless communication and the Industrial Internet of Things (IoT) services.

Fremont, CA: The processing industry is in the middle of a transformation. The launch of 5G has only intensified the production of the factory of the future with the fourth industrial revolution underway. Connected devices can sense their environments and interoperate with each other in these futuristic factories, enabling decentralized decisions to be made. Many expect this change to depend on the underlying technologies of the 5G networks of the next generation. In Industry 4.0 discussions, the need for agile, fluid infrastructure is a recurring theme as the devices in the factories of tomorrow develop and become more sophisticated, and manufacturers realize that they must be able to adapt, reconfigure at will, the networks that link them quickly.

Tomorrow's smart factories are likely to be packed with sensors, each one tracking various aspects of the working environment. This will include linked resources to direct staff accordingly, using information ranging from position to accelerometer data to understand where and how they are being used. The high bandwidth, wireless versatility and low-latency efficiency of 5G make it a natural option to help producers in these environments.

Ericsson's smart factory

Industry 4.0 integrates cyber-physical structures with operational, information, and networking technology, allowed by advanced wireless communication and the Industrial Internet of Things (IoT) services. In order to introduce the smart factory, manufacturing companies rely on 5G to provide ultra-low latency, high bandwidth and secure connectivity. Three Ericsson factories in Sweden, Estonia and China are fast-tracking the introduction of a new wave of smart manufacturing in an effort to make this a reality. The development and deployment in a real manufacturing environment of the first 5G and Industrial IoT systems enable this latest generation of tech enablers to achieve maturity more quickly, ready to change the planet.

Sweden is home to Ericsson's own 5G factory. The site manufactures and ships 5G testbeds worldwide and is the perfect location for testing new 5G and industrial IoT technologies, such as precise localization technology, in a real production environment. This uses low-power tags to relay position data in real-time to the cloud and can be mounted on anything, providing full visibility for decision-makers of any object and computer they choose to keep track of. This makes true digital twins for inventory traceability, decreasing asset loss, and eventually scaling end-to-end performance.

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