Manufacturing Stands at the Edge of a 5G Innovation Wave

Video courtesy of AT&T; download the b-roll below.

by Wilf Norrlinger, Vice President Networks division, Samsung Electronics America

As 5G networks begin to come online, research is underway to understand the potential benefits that industries can gain from next-generation technologies. Manufacturing is one such industry that stands to gain from 5G, and it is already leading the charge in learning how to benefit from the technology. In fact, a recent white paper published by analyst firm IDC[1] notes that there has been a steady stream of “thought leadership from the manufacturing community about how to leverage 5G.”  The functionality and flexibility of 5G will eventually give factories the near-real time wireless data collection and processing required to drive additional capabilities and improve current applications.

Last year, Samsung Electronics America and Samsung Austin Semiconductor announced they were working with AT&T to create America’s first manufacturing-focused 5G Innovation Zone in Austin, Texas. Today, the companies are proud to announce the opening of the Innovation Zone in Samsung Austin Semiconductor, providing an established research space to evaluate and implement 5G use cases for manufacturing environments, and showcase how 5G technologies can support the smart factory of the future.

Commemorating today with local officials at the Innovation Zone, the companies demonstrated a range of 5G use cases for the manufacturing industry, including:

Industrial IoT for Automated Material Handling: Demonstrates how 5G, 4K live video and IoT sensor data could support factory automation to improve equipment monitoring and preventative maintenance procedures.

Health and Environmental Sensors: Shows how in an emergency situation, 5G and sensors have the ability to help first responders better locate individuals, evaluate their condition, and speed up response times.

Mixed Reality for Training: Spotlights how augmented reality applications can eventually improve factory efficiency and performance through more immersive training. This also demonstrates how 5G could help a network handle a large number of transmissions through improved mobile performance and device connectivity.

The opening of the 5G Innovation Zone marks another step in Samsung’s commitment to advancing 5G in manufacturing. As a global manufacturer across markets and a 5G technology leader, Samsung has partnered with operators in Asia and Europe to evaluate how video analytics can detect product line faults in real time, and how autonomous material handling robots powered by 5G can more efficiently move goods throughout a factory.

Samsung believes the manufacturing industry will benefit from 5G and continues to advance its technology with global operators to drive these new kinds of services and innovations.

For further details about the 5G Innovation Zone’s opening and the demonstrations taking place visit https://about.att.com/innovationblog/2019/06/5g_innovation_zone.html.

[1] IDC White Paper: Sponsored by Samsung, 5G Networks: Driving Business Value in the Next Mobile Era by Patrick Filkins, June 2019