The trial ran from 2019 to 2022. Result: “technological maturity of 5G ORAN networks will soon reliably meet industrial SLAs”
m3connect says it explored the possibilities of intelligent factory applications with three Bavarian partner companies as part of a three-year research project between 2019 and 2022. The project was supported by the Bavarian State Ministry of Economic Affairs, Regional Development, and Energy.
Autonomous logistics
The project, Autonomous and Connected Logistics, tested autonomous transport systems and mobile devices under real operational conditions in a 5G campus network at the BMW Group Dingolfing plant (photo courtesy of BMW). m3connect collaborated with partners Accelleran, a manufacturer of RAN software, and Benetel, a provider of RAN hardware, for the project.
m3connect installed a private mobile network covering roughly 25,000 square meters at the Dingolfing site to enable wireless communication with AutoTrailer, an autonomous vehicle manufactured by Stäubli WFT.
The AutoTrailer automatically transports containers the 500 metres of so from when they arrive at the dock gates to the shipping area. Once loaded with spare parts, the trailer moves the loaded container to a collection point, ready for shipping.
As part of the project, employees were able to communicate directly with the autonomous vehicle via mobile devices on the parking lot. Test drive data was transmitted and processed via the private mobile network into the cloud. The 5G infrastructure supported monitoring and evaluation to assess the performance of the transport system.
Satisfactory results
The project tested the productivity of the logistics applications within the 5G campus networks to gain insight into the potential of 5G in industrial settings.
“We used exclusively OpenRAN hardware and software in this research project. This standard guarantees our ability to expand and scale the private 5G mobile network in a modular fashion, independent of the manufacturer.
“As ORAN products were in the early stages of technological development during the project, we faced some stability issues but were able largely able to overcome them during the project. The technological maturity of 5G ORAN networks will soon reliably meet industrial SLAs [service level agreements],” said Justin Eichenlaub, Head of Cellular Solutions at m3connect.
3Connect concluded: “Private 5G mobile networks are a central component on the path to a fully connected production, particularly contributing to comprehensive and robust machine communication in extensive logistics areas.
“The ability to operate these networks independently and integrate them into existing industrial networks allows for maximum protection of sensitive and mission-critical data and reduces dependencies on external suppliers.”