How Will 5G transform the Industrial IOT?

5G, the next-generation cellular technology, is getting a lot of attention these days. As the influence of Information Technology (IT) on Operational Technology (OT) grows, so does the importance of the Industrial IoT. The potential is huge, and Industrial IoT already enables whole new business models.  But before the full potential of the Industrial IoT can be realized, a modern, open communications infrastructure must replace some of the outdated, proprietary solutions commonly in use in industrial applications.  Industrial 5G appears to provide that infrastructure.

With the First Industrial Revolution (Industry 1.0) we saw mechanization of production. The Second Industrial Revolution (Industry 2.0) showed us the electrification of all processes. Third Industrial Revolution (Industry 3.0) brought the Digitization and Automation in the picture with the introduction of Computers and Controllers. We are currently implementing the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0) and it is characterized by the application of information and communication technologies to the processes. Industrial IoT along with 5G Technologies will therefore improve the implementation of Industry 4.0.

A core requirement of Industrial IoT is the ability to connect sensors, devices, equipment, software applications, manufacturing production processes, workers, and end consumers. Connectivity implies seamless vertical and horizontal integration across all layers of the automation pyramid, providing opportunities to increase operational efficiency from the plant floor to the supply chain by optimizing data, information, and analytics. On-device processing and sensing, CV and AI for autonomous robots, Edge services and data privacy are some applications where 5G will play a major role. The key elements that can boost Industrial IoT are improved connectivity, availability, low (reduced) latency, flexibility, and speed. Flexibility with wireless Ethernet is one of the key features of Single futureproof 5G network. Industrial 5G will play a key role in helping industrial users achieve the goals of Industrial IoT.

The article “The 5G economy: How 5G technology will contribute to the global economy” by IHS Economics / IHS Technology estimated global economic output of >$5 Trillion in 2035. Rough estimation output of 5G enabled industries in the following five categories: Manufacturing $3,364B, Transport $659B, Construction $742B, Utilities $273B, Mining $249B.

Container ports, Oil refineries, Manufacturing, Construction, Mines, Warehouses, Wind farms, Oil rigs are few examples of industries where 5G and IOT will lead to a revolution. Below are the figures with 5G enabled IOT in manufacturing and windfarms to get a clear picture.

Fig 1. Manufacturing with 5G and IOT

 

Fig 2. Wind Farms with 5G and IOT

5G network and industrial IoT requirements

When it comes to designing of 5G network to meet industrial IoT requirements we need to keep some points in mind, those are necessary and not yet implemented. Till date we were suffering with the problem like 

• Unifying connectivity, dedicated network, optimized services, 
• High reliability with low latency in challenging RF environments,
• Replacing wireline industrial ethernet for reconfigurable factories,
• Spectrum to deploy private 5G network. 

Companies are trying to come up with 5G to meet industrial requirements where all these problems are tried to be solve and it offers following as solution to expand in IOT- 

• Private 5G network for all services,
• Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC),
• Time Sensitive Networking (TSN), 
• Dedicated licensed or  Shared/unlicensed spectrum

  

Private 5G networks for Industrial IoT use cases-

Optimizing LTE for the Industrial IoT today which then could be scaled from Gigabit LTE to LTE IoT and upon upgrading it with 5G we could enhance effectiveness of industries.

New opportunities with 5G capabilities

• Ultra-reliable low latency
• Time Sensitive Networks (TSN) and Ethernet replacement
• Enhanced Mobile Broadband (MBB) for new uses like Extended Reality (XR)
• Expand to shared / unlicensed spectrum

Benefits:

• Optimized- Tailored for industrial applications, e.g., QoS, latency
• Dedicated- Local network, easy to deploy, independently managed
• Secure- Cellular grade security and keeping sensitive data local

URLLC Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communication

URLLC Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communication is required for the successful use of 5G. There is 99.9999% reliability on URLLC. Spatial diversity is essential to use 5G communication system. Coordinated multi-point (CoMP) provides spatial diversity with high capacity for transmission of data. CoMP enabled with dense deployment of small cells with high bandwidth backhaul. Other diversity limited Frequency diversity does not address RF blockage/shadowing. Time diversity limited as ultra-low latency dictates timing

CoMP expands 5G: capacity or ultra-reliability trade off Capacity from spatial multiplexing -Allows multiple transmissions at the same time to multiple location without interfering. Can also be used to by multiple operators to share spectrum more efficiently. Ultra-reliable low latency communication Reliability from spatial diversity Spatial diversity can overcome radio shadowing in challenging radio environments. Key for URLLC1 to meet 99.9999% reliability and challenging industrial IoT applications.

Fig. 3 and 4 Spatial Diversity benefits

Time Sensitive Networking (TSN) in Industry

In industries, time synchronization of machines and deterministic packet delivery could be bettered with the help of industrial ethernet using TSN. With help of reserved time slots allow co-existence with best effort traffic.

 

Fig 5. TSN in Industry

Adapting 5G to support Time Sensitive Networking (TSN). 

How can 5G be coupled with TSN is shown in figure below.

Fig 6. TSN with 5G and Industrial Ethernet.

Upgrading existing industrial networks with wireless 5G

Fig. 7. 5G transformation of Industrial Network

Benefits of upgrading TSN with 5G and industrial Ethernet:

Ethernet over 5G

•       Transport Ethernet frames over 5G

•       Efficient transport of broadcast packets, including loop prevention

•       Automatic address discovery

Quality of Service (QoS)

•       Interface between 5G control plane and TSN for QoS management

•       Define new 5G QoS identifier for industrial Ethernet

•       Admission control & interaction with TSN QoS framework

Time synchronization

•       Time synchronization architecture

•       Microsecond synchronization for all nodes

•       Broadcasting precise time by gNB

Spectrum Types in Private 5G NR Networks 

Private 5G NR networks can use different spectrum types while providing a wide range of new services including URLLC

Licensed spectrum- Operators can allocate a portion of their spectrum in a specific area, e.g., at an industrial plant.

Dedicated spectrum- In some regions, spectrum is dedicated for specific use such as 3.7 GHz in Germany for industrial

Unlicensed/shared spectrum- 3GPP Rel-16 adds support for unlicensed spectrum (5G NR-U) including standalone operation; can support URLLC services in non- public locations controlled by tenant/owner

New sharing paradigms- CoMP with spatial sharing can provide significant capacity gains, predictable QoS and URLLC services.

 

 

5G NR in unlicensed spectrum (NR-U) part of 3GPP R16

For wide range of deployments and opportunity for new sharing paradigms

Fig. 8. 5G

Boosting existing deployments by aggregating with licensed spectrum.

Expanding 5G market with new types of deployments such as industrial IoT. Significant capacity or reliability, and ability for predictable resources while sharing spectrum. Utilizes 5G NR CoMP indoor OTA test network.

Unlicensed spectrum can support demanding Industrial IoT.

Though it is possible with regular LBT¹ using random access as it results in random delays also demanding IIoT² apps which require predictable latency but with unlicensed spectrum its possible to support Industrial IOT. 

Controlled private environment improves latency of the total system. There is no interference from other networks, but there are still random delays within private network. Synchronization in time is key for predictability, Current regulation allows synchronized FBE3 based sharing for predictable low latency. CoMP improves capacity and reliability; Time synchronization also allows for spatial 5G COMP — a key technology for URLLC. Frequency diversity adds more reliability, Frequency diversity providez reliability against rouge devices trying to access. URLLC services feasible using time synchronized NR-U in controlled environments and today’s regulation rules.

 

Key industrial IoT functionality targeted for 3GPP rel. 16. 5G NR is being designed to meet Industrial IoT requirements by Qualcomm.

Requirements- Multiple verticals including industrial IoT.

URLLC- Sub-ms latency and 99.9999% reliability.

Time Sensitive Networks (TSN)- Handling of Ethernet switch functions, Enhanced Quality of Service (QoS), Microsecond time synchronization.

Spectrum- 5G NR in unlicensed or shared spectrum.

 

Wireless Edge to 5G and IOT 

To scale, intelligence must be distributed to the wireless edge. Trillions of connected things using Cloud Computing. Massive amount of data needs to be stored.

On-device capabilities complemented with edge cloud at wireless edge against traditional methods.

Fig 9. Central Cloud- Edge Cloud- On Device.

 

Edge cloud

Distributed/virtualized core¹, mobile edge compute², cloud RAN, …

•       Ultra-low latency—key to 5G use cases

•       Processing to augment on-device

•       Local content, analytics, management

•       Opportunity to provide tailored value

On-device

Sensing, processing, security, intelligence

•       Privacy as data stays on device

•       Immediacy—tasks on device

•       Efficient use of bandwidth

•       Personalization with privacy

Fig. 10 Wireless Edge for The Industrial Cloud

The modern 5G network will allow for Industries to take IOT and allow humans to reach the never imagined level of automation. The efficiency will get the boost along with lifting the Global Economy but IOT enabled automation raises concerns regarding loss of job opportunities, at the same time it will also increase job opportunities in technology domain. Along all this aspects 5G and Industrial IOT are here to stay and take human civilization ahead.

 

 

 

References:

www.qualcomm.com & www.qualcomm.com/blog

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5G 

 

 Blog by- 

Swapnil Deshmukh  ENTC   

Pankaj Pawar                 ENTC    

Rutvij Chivate                 ENTC

Avadhoot Kulkarni         ENTC

Ameya Dalvi                 INC