Private 5G will change the landscape of manufacturing. Examples of Industry 4.0 using private 5G networks will gain momentum in 2022, according to industry experts and then take off in 2023.
“5G provides the means to tackle the manufacturing sector’s greatest challenges, from achieving net zero [greenhouse gas emissions] and attracting future talent to maximizing uptime and accelerating product development,” reported the Manufacturer on Tuesday.
Konica Minolta, Inc. and NEC Corporation have jointly developed an automatic control system for automated guided vehicles (AGVs) in a private 5G-based “Future Factory” system, which is on exhibit at Konica Minolta’s R&D center in Osaka, Japan.
The system detects obstacles several feet away based on images captured by a camera mounted on an AGV, which enables it to detour more efficiently than with a general control system that uses laser radar sensors. The two companies aim to create a safe automatic operation control using large-capacity and low-latency communication, made possible by a private 5G network, even when hundreds of AGVs are operating at the same time.
In Dunton, Essex, the United Kingdom, Ford Motor Company is using 5G to connect production machines. In particular, Ford’s laser welding machines have been retrofitted with 5G sensors and interfaces and connected via a Vodafone 5G mobile private network.
“The motor and battery of a Ford electric vehicle require around 1,000 welds, generating up to 500,000 pieces of data per minute,” the Manufacturer reported. “Capturing and analyzing this data is crucial to help improve precision, quality, productivity and safety.”
By J. Sharpe Smith, Inside Towers Technology Editor
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