Private 5G Drivers & Use Cases In Manufacturing

PRIVATE5GDRIVERS&USECASESINMANUFACTURING LeoGergs PrincipalAnalyst ThiswhitepaperhasbeensponsoredbyVerizonBusiness. www.abiresearch.com TABLEOFCONTENTS INTRODUCTION:WIRELESSCONNECTIVITYSOLUTIONSINMANUFACTURING1 COMMONCONNECTIVITYTECHNOLOGIESUSEDINMANUFACTURING2 PRIVATE5GCAPABILITIESFORMANUFACTURING3 NETWORKSECURITY&INTEGRITY3 ROBUSTHANDOVERSBETWEENACCESSPOINTS4 PRIVATE5GUSECASESIN MANUFACTURING4 SECURITYAPPLICATIONS&SAFETYPROVISIONING5 CONNECTEDWORKERS&WORKERSAFETY5 PROCESS&CONDITION-BASEDMONITORING5 ADDRESSINGKEYCONCERNS: EXPERTQ&AFORU.S.MANUFACTURERS6 HOWTOGETSTARTED:AGUIDETODEPLOYINGPRIVATECELLULARNETWORKS8 1.PRE-DEPLOYMENT8 2.DEPLOYMENT&COMMISSIONING9 3.POST-DEPLOYMENT9 INTRODUCTION:WIRELESSCONNECTIVITYSOLUTIONSINMANUFACTURING Recentyearshavebeentumultuousformanufacturers,markedbytherecentpandemic,geopoliticaltensions,andeconomicuncertainty.Thesechallengeshaveaffectedbothconsumersandbusinesses,drivinguppricesforenergyandotherresourcesduetoheightenedgeopoliti-caltensionsandexacerbatinglaborshortages,whichhaveforcedmanufacturerstotemporarilydownscaleorevenhaltproductionasadirectconsequenceofstaffshortages.Asaresult,thereisapressingneedforindustriestoadoptmoredigitalandautomatedapproachestoproductionandqualitycontrol,knownasIndustry4.0.Thisshiftiscrucialformaintainingmanufacturers’bothshort-andlong-termprofitability.Increasedautomationwillreducetherelianceonmanuallabor,hencesafeguardingbusinesscontinuity.Furthermore,theincreaseddigitalizationwillstrengthenefficientproduction,meaninglesscostsperproducedgood. IntheframeworkofIndustry4.0,ensuringseamlessconnectivityandeasyaccesstooperationaldataiskeytosuccess.TheseelementsareessentialforadoptingtechnologiessuchasassettrackingandtheuseofAutomatedGuidedVehicles(AGVs),orrobotics,digitaltwins,connectedwork,andtheconnectedfactory.Currently,themainmethodsforachievingconnectivityinmanufacturingsettingsarethroughfixedorWi-Ficonnections.However,theseapproacheshavetheirdrawbacks: •Fixedconnectionsrequiremachinesandsensorstobephysicallyattachedatspecificpoints,makingtheexpan-sionoffacilitiesortheadditionofnewconnectionsexpensiveduetothehighcostsassociatedwithcableinstal-lation,whichABIResearchestimatestobe70%to80%oftotalconnectivityinstallationexpenses,includingbothhardwareandlabor. •Wi-Fitechnology,despiteitspresenceintheindustrialsectorandtheadventofWi-Fi6,faceschallengessuchasensuringreliability,fasthandover,androbustcommunication,whichoftennecessitatetheuseofspecializedaccesspointsanddevices,leadingtoincreasedcostsandalimitedvaluechain. Cellularconnectivity,whichfollowsaglobalstandardandbenefitsfromacomprehensivevaluechain,presentsacompellingalternative.Cellularnetworksarecharacterizedbytheirmobility,reliability,security,andcapacitytosupportahighdensityofdevices,outperformingothercommunicationstandards.Thecellularecosystemhasalsobenefitedfromeconomiesofscaleformanyyears,makingdevicesandconnectivitymodulesmoreaffordable. COMMONCONNECTIVITYTECHNOLOGIESUSEDINMANUFACTURING Lookingatthefactoryflooroftoday,wiredconnectionsarestillthepredominantwayofconnectingdifferentproduc-tionmachinesandcomponents.Atthesametime,ahighdegreeoftechnologyfragmentationleadstoapatchworkrugofconnectivitytechnologiesonfactoryfloors,asTable1shows. Table1:Advantages&DisadvantagesofConnectivityTechnologiesinManufacturing (Source:ABIResearch) CONNECTIVITYTECHNOLOGY ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES Highdatatransferratesforreal-timecommunicationReliableandstableconnectionforcriticalapplicationsStandardizationensurescompatibilitybetweendevicesfromdifferentmanufacturers. Maintenanceofwiredconnectionscanbelabor-intensive Wiredinfrastructurepreventsflexiblemanufacturing&otherdynamicprocesses SimpleimplementationWidelysupportedacrossmanufacturers,creatingscalabilityeffects.Compatibilitywithmanyindustrialdevices. Ethernet-based:Relianceonfixed-lineconnectivityLimitedbandwidth,affectingperformanceindata-intensiveapplicationsChallengingtoimplementforlarge/complexnetworks StandardizationpromotesinteroperabilitybetweendevicesandsystemsfromdifferentvendorsAdvancedsecurityfeaturesensuresecurecommunicationinindustrialsettings. Compleximplementation,requiringahighdegreeofexpertiseOPCUAmayrequiremoreresourcescomparedtosimplerprotocols Supportforreal-timecommunicationEasyscalabilityProvisionofadvanceddiagnostics&maintenancemeasuresSeamlessintegrationwithexistingITsystems CompleximplementationHighinitialdeploymentcost(incl.switches&devices)SpecializedhardwarerequiredResourceintensive(bandwidth&processingpower) EnhancedsecurityformanufacturingoperationsCost-effectivedeploymentofwirelessconnectivityFamiliaritywithindustrialWi-Fiprovidesanincumbentadvantage LimitedrangecomparedtootherconnectivityoptionsPotentialforinterferenceincrowdedWi-FienvironmentsSecurityvulnerabilitiesincertainimplementationsNorobusthandoverspreventshighmobilityusecasesSensitivetoenvironmentalfactors,e.g.,temperature Thewidespreaduseofdisparatetechnologyanddependenceonwiredconnectionspreventmanufacturersfromfull