5G-SMART Trials

The Kista trial site is located in an Ericsson factory in Kista (Sweden) inside an Ericsson smart factory and has its focus on 5G enhanced mobile robotics applications. Three distinct use cases are realized at this site. The setup consists of two stationary robots and a mobile robot that will collaboratively solve a task of transporting material between different robot workstations. Major parts of robot control functionality are moved into the edge cloud. Machine vision and video analysis are added to support the robot collaboration. In another use case, the purpose is to explore possibilities of enhancing real-time human-robot interactions, e.g. while a technician performs contactless teaching of robot arm motion through demonstration. The third use case deals with providing Augmented Reality (AR)-based visualization of production-related information to the personnel on the factory floor. The feasibility of realizing the use cases using 5G will be evaluated and demonstrated.

The Aachen trial site is located at the machine hall of the Fraunhofer Institute of Production Technology IPT in Aachen (Germany) and has its focus on 5G enhanced industrial manufacturing processes. Two use cases are realized at this site: 5G for wireless tool condition monitoring and 5G for wireless workpiece monitoring for digital twin. For the first use case a 5G-based wireless acoustic emission sensor system has been developed by Fraunhofer IPT and Marposs Monitoring Solutions. The sensor is able to detect critical process conditions and trigger an instant reaction of the machine tool thanks to the URLLC capabilities of the 5G transmission. For rapid processing of measurement signals with high scalability, a factory-located edge cloud is integrated with the 5G and the shop floor network. The edge cloud is configured to flexibly provide microservices and virtual machines. For the second use case a multi-sensor platform (MSP) is developed which is a highly ruggedized and compact device, that allows for an easy connection of different subsystems, sensors or other data infrastructure.  The MSP is used for monitoring and introduces flexibility and versatility on the shop floor, as it is capable of addressing a large variety of possible sensors and applications.

The third trial site of 5G-SMART is a Bosch semiconductor factory in Reutlingen (Germany) where industrial Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) applications and industrial control communication are being explored.  Here, 5G-SMART is working towards the realization of two use cases: Cloud-based mobile robotics and TSN/Industrial LAN over 5G. The intelligence of an Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) is being completely removed and reimplemented in a cloud native manner in the edge cloud, reducing the cost of the robot and simplifying scalability. For this use case, a first demo has been developed that showcases the coordination of the mobile robots using a common map stored in the Edge cloud. Furthermore, 5G-SMART has undertaken two measurement campaigns in the Bosch semiconductor factory. The first measurement campaign has been conducted aiming to better understand the propagation characteristics of 5G radio waves in industrial environments. In the second measurement campaign electromagnetic compliance has been studied.