Industrial Networks

For industrial production environments, having a high-speed network might not be the top priority, but a highly efficient and reliable network is essential. For a long time, wired networks have been the preferred choice in industrial settings due to their high speed, stability, and low latency, supporting the normal operation of the entire industry.

However, under the conditions of Industry 4.0, the method of relying entirely on wired networks is starting to show some drawbacks. Firstly, the kilometers-long cables still visible in traditional factories pose significant difficulties in wiring the entire factory. Secondly, in some factory environments where proximity is not suitable, wired deployment and maintenance pose certain challenges to safety. For these reasons, the industry is increasingly considering wireless solutions.

Challenges in Deploying Industrial Wireless Networks

However, achieving full wirelessness in a factory is not yet realistic at least for now. Under the trend of digital transformation, many devices have indeed become wireless, such as AGV vehicles, wireless PLCs, asset tracking tags, and handheld mobile terminals. However, most production equipment still requires wired connections, and these devices have proven reliability and are irreplaceable.

Therefore, a full wireless transformation of traditional factories is essentially equivalent to rebuilding them. If the goal is to build a fully wireless factory from the beginning, it would require customized solutions from vendors, such as Huawei’s fully wireless Songshan Lake Southern Factory, which was transformed using their Wi-Fi 6 CPE.

Additionally, although wireless networks are named “wireless,” they still coexist with many other wireless networks. Therefore, meeting QoS requirements in terms of jitter, latency, and packet loss is still challenging. Although deploying industrial wireless networks also means cost savings, the deployment cost of large-scale wireless networks is still not low.

Finally, while wireless networks provide convenience in network resource scheduling for industrial control, sticking to the old way of allocating resources would only lose this advantage. Therefore, relying on AI to assist in scheduling is the right approach, which introduces new development needs that vendors and solution providers must balance.

So, when we talk about wireless networks in industrial scenarios, we are more referring to them as supplementary and redundant solutions, or even as a solution still in the process of being perfected, rather than a solution that must replace wired networks. It is undeniable that any connection technology has gone through this process, and even the 5G network, which has already taken the lead in the mobile communication field, wants a piece of the pie in industrial networks.

Can 5G Be a Puzzle Piece to Complete Industrial Wireless Networks?

The new features introduced by 5G pave the way for its entry into industrial control. For example, URLLC (Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communication) provides ultra-reliable low-latency communication, a feature that was missing and the reason why industrial networks initially denied or were skeptical of wireless networks. Another feature is mMTC (Massive Machine-Type Communication), which mainly targets various sensors in industrial scenarios. By equipping devices with corresponding wireless sensors, remote monitoring, upgrading, and maintenance can be achieved.

With these features, 5G offers an irresistible connection solution for industrial applications, especially for those requiring high reliability and low latency in industrial communication, where URLLC hits the nail on the head. After all, industrial environments are more sensitive to latency than our daily work and living environments, otherwise, the normal and efficient operation of factory processes cannot be guaranteed. Relevant vendors are also taking action, whether they are chip vendors or module vendors.

For example, last year, ZTE released a series of 5G products for industrial scenarios, such as the ZM9200 5G module based on Qualcomm’s SDX55 chip, the ZM9010 based on UNISOC’s V510 chip, 5G power CPE, and outdoor routers. These products make full use of 5G’s high-precision timing and low-latency features and provide common industrial interface support.

In addition to access, 5G networks also bring various use cases to industrial scenarios, such as network function virtualization, network slicing, and multi-access edge computing. Network function virtualization (NFV) is a product of software-defined networks (SDN) and is one of the keys to optimizing 5G core network resources. In industrial scenarios, NFV achieves load balancing and flexible adjustment while eliminating physical nodes in traditional architectures, achieving true automated operation and maintenance. To achieve this, either operators need to push forward with stricter standards for cellular network slicing in industrial scenarios, or build a private network for industrial parks based on existing infrastructure. In any case, 5G networks have their own “pits” to fill if they want to fill the “pits” in industrial networks.