5G URLLC from Ericsson to Accelerate Automation at Audi factory
Ericsson and Audi are stepping up their 5G collaboration by testing Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communication (URLLC) capabilities for factory automation at the car manufacturer’s P-Labs facility in Germany.
Smart factories of the future with automated production systems featuring robots and Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) will be driven in large part by 5G connectivity. Standardized protocols for automation communications – PROFINET and PROFIsafe – demand very low latency and strict latency bounds with required guarantee levels to avoid triggering safety stops in the system. 5G URLLC capabilities meet these high demands with greater mobility, flexibility, efficiency and safety in the production lines.
At Audi’s P-Labs in Gaimersheim, Germany, Ericsson’s 5G system is already live in a real factory environment. Now, plans are underway to introduce 5G URLLC capabilities to the existing system for more advanced factory automation and personnel safety use cases.
Qualcomm and Siemens Set up The First 5G Private Standalone Network in an Industrial Environment Using the 3.7-3.8 GHz Band
Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and Siemens have setup a joint proof-of-concept project at the Siemens Automotive Test Center in Nuremberg, Germany, demonstrating the first private 5G standalone (SA) network in a real industrial environment using the 3.7-3.8GHz band. Qualcomm Technologies is providing the 5G test network and 5G industrial test devices that run on our foundational 5G technologies, and Siemens is supplying industrial end-devices like automated guided vehicles (AGV).
The 5G private standalone network proof-of-concept at the Siemens Automotive Test Center enables Siemens and Qualcomm Technologies to test technologies, solve problems, and come up with solutions for the future of private wireless applications in industrial settings. Qualcomm Technologies set up 5G industrial test devices along with a 5G standalone test network that includes a 5G core network and 5G base station with remote radio head. Siemens provided the actual industrial setup including Simatic control systems and I/O devices.