A new mode of smart factory automation under 5G technology
1. 5G technology scenarios support intelligent manufacturing
As a new generation of mobile communication technology, 5G technology meets the application requirements of traditional manufacturing enterprises' smart manufacturing transformation for wireless networks, and can meet the needs of equipment interconnection and remote interactive applications in an industrial environment. 5G technology plays a supporting role in industrial applications such as the Internet of Things, industrial automation control, logistics tracking, industrial AR, and cloud-based robots.
1. Internet of Things: With the advancement of the intelligent transformation of factories, the Internet of Things as a key supporting technology connecting people, machines and equipment is receiving great attention from enterprises. While this demand promotes the application of the Internet of Things, it also greatly stimulates the development of 5G technology.
2. Industrial automation control: This is the most basic application in a manufacturing plant, and the core is a closed-loop control system. 5G can provide a network with extremely low time extension, high reliability, and mass connections, making it possible for closed-loop control applications to be connected via wireless networks.
3. Logistics tracking: From warehouse management to logistics distribution, wide coverage, deep coverage, low power consumption, large connections, and low-cost connection technologies are required. In addition, the end-to-end integration of the virtual factory spans the entire life cycle of the product. To connect widely distributed products that have been sold, it also requires a low-power, low-cost and wide-coverage network, and horizontal integration within or between enterprises There is also a need for ubiquitous networks, and 5G networks can well meet such needs.
4. Industrial AR: In the smart factory production process, people play a more important role. Due to the high flexibility and versatility of the factory of the future, this places higher demands on the workers on the factory floor. In order to quickly meet the needs of new tasks and production activities, augmented reality AR will play a key role. It can be used in the following scenarios in the intelligent manufacturing process: such as monitoring processes and production processes. Step-by-step guidance for production tasks, such as manual assembly process guidance; remote expert business support, such as remote maintenance. In these applications, auxiliary AR facilities need to have maximum flexibility and portability in order for maintenance work to be carried out efficiently. 5G
5. Cloud-based robots: In intelligent manufacturing production scenarios, robots are required to have the ability to self-organize and collaborate to meet flexible production, which brings the demand for cloud-based robots. The 5G network is an ideal communication network for cloud-based robots, and it is the key to enabling cloud-based robots.
Summary: 5G technology has become a key enabling technology to support the transformation of intelligent manufacturing, which can connect widely distributed and scattered people, machines and equipment to build a unified Internet. The development of 5G technology can help manufacturing companies get rid of the chaotic application state of wireless network technology in the past, which is of positive significance for promoting the implementation of the industrial Internet and the deepening transformation of intelligent manufacturing.
2. The core of smart manufacturing is smart factory 5G technology smart manufacturing, smart factory automation
The information revolution is intensifying. Manufacturing elements such as machines, equipment, people, and products are no longer independent individuals. They are closely linked through the Industrial Internet of Things to achieve a more coordinated and efficient manufacturing system.
The current transformation of the manufacturing industry can be seen as the integration and promotion of automation upgrades and information technology. It is not only automation and machine substitution, but also factories can realize autonomous decision-making and flexibly produce diversified products. And can quickly respond to more market changes.
The combination of artificial intelligence and manufacturing systems will be inevitable. The use of machine learning, pattern recognition, cognitive analysis and other algorithmic models can improve the ability of the factory control management system and realize the so-called intelligent manufacturing. Get a better advantage in today's competitive environment.
The intelligent manufacturing process mainly revolves around the smart factory, and artificial intelligence plays an important role in the smart factory. The Internet of Things connects all machines and equipment, such as the networking of controllers, sensors, and actuators. Then, AI can analyze the data uploaded by the sensors, which is the core of intelligent manufacturing.
With the development of the industrial Internet of Things, the network and the physical system will be closely linked, that is, the Internet of Things will connect the processors and sensors on the production site, so that the robots can communicate with each other. Communication, and the work of machines and people will no longer be strictly divided. The future manufacturing system will integrate people and machines. Shanghai Dingxiang Automation Technology Co., Ltd., automated production line, non-standard automation, robot application integration, automated assembly line, intelligent automated assembly, precision assembly of parts, automated assembly of medical equipment, precision automated assembly of military equipment, assembly production equipment, factory Self.jpg
Digital twins play an important role. The entire process of intelligent manufacturing has a digital twin model. The system includes anything in the real world, such as applications or operating manuals.
In addition, there is human-computer interaction in the intelligent manufacturing system, that is, the interaction between humans and robots. There is also the use of artificial intelligence to drive and optimize products and processes. The factory needs to do some predictive maintenance or predict the energy consumption of the machine, etc. More and more of these functions can be realized in the smart factory.
III. Prospects for smart factories in the 5G era
From 2016 to 2018, my country's 5G basic R&D testing is divided into three stages. The first phase is the 5G related technology test, the second phase is the 5G technical solution verification, and the third phase is the 5G system verification.
my country launched a 5G technology trial in January 2016. To ensure the smooth development of the experimental work, the IMT-2020 (5G) Promotion Team plans to build 30 stations of 5G field in Huairou, Beijing. After the completion of the second phase of 5G trials, the third phase of trials will be launched at the end of 2017 or early 2018; it is expected that the first standard version of 5G will be completed in June 2018, and the full version may be completed in September 2019. And it is expected to achieve large-scale commercial use in 2020.
Facing the third phase of trials, in order to cooperate and further enrich the scenarios, my country plans to carry out more trials in 6 cities in the future, including the combination of 5G technology and the core planning of smart cities to help the development of smart cities. Construction; use 5G trials to promote innovation and innovation, and make full use of 5G technology in the industrial Internet and intelligent manufacturing.
Smart factory is one of the important application scenarios of 5G technology. The 5G network is used to seamlessly connect production equipment, and to further open up design, procurement, warehousing, logistics and other links, making production more flat, customized, and intelligent, thereby constructing a future-oriented intelligent manufacturing network. Here, the editor has compiled the industry's prospects for the smart factory in the 5G era, and let us look forward to the arrival of the new era.
1. Boost flexible manufacturing to achieve personalized production
The global population is approaching 8 billion, and the middle-class consumer group continues to expand, which is expected to form a huge market, which will affect the consumption layout. Systems with customer needs and product "information" functions have become the new core of hardware product sales, and personalized customization has become a trend. In order to meet the diversified and individualized needs of products in different markets around the world, manufacturers need to update their existing production models, and production models based on flexible technology have become a trend. The definition of the International Production Plant Research Association is: Flexible manufacturing system is an automated manufacturing system that can produce any range of product families with minimal human intervention. The flexibility of the system is usually limited by the product family considered during system design. . The arrival of flexible production has given birth to the demand for new technologies.
On the one hand, in enterprise factories, flexible production has high requirements for the flexible mobility of industrial robots and differentiated business processing capabilities. 5G uses its own unparalleled unique advantages to help the large-scale popularization of flexible production. When the 5G network enters the factory, while reducing the cost of cables between machines, the continuous coverage of the high-reliability network is used to make the robot's active area unrestricted during the movement, and reach various locations on demand, in various scenarios Carry out uninterrupted work and smooth switching of work content.
5G networks can also enable various business needs with differentiated features. In large factories, different production scenarios have different requirements for network service quality. The key to high-precision process links is time delay, and critical tasks need to ensure network reliability and high-speed data analysis and processing in real time. With its end-to-end slicing technology, 5G networks have different quality of services in the same core network and can be flexibly adjusted as needed. For example, the reporting of device status information is set to the highest service level.
On the other hand, 5G can build an all-round information ecosystem that connects people and machines inside and outside the factory, and ultimately enables any person and thing to share information with each other at any time and any place. While consumers demand personalized products and services, the relationship between enterprises and consumers will change. Consumers will participate in the production process of enterprises. Consumers can participate in product design through 5G networks across regions and query products in real time. status information.
2. The factory maintenance mode is fully upgraded
The production scenarios of large enterprises often involve cross-factory, cross-regional equipment maintenance, remote problem location and other scenarios. The application of 5G technology in these areas can improve operation and maintenance efficiency and reduce costs. What 5G brings is not only the interconnection of all things, but also the information interaction of all things, making the maintenance of smart factories in the future break through the boundaries of the factory. According to the complexity of the factory maintenance work, it can be completed by industrial robots or collaboration between humans and industrial robots according to actual conditions. In the future, every object in the factory will be a terminal with a unique IP, so that the raw materials in the production process have "information" attributes. Raw materials are automatically produced and maintained based on "information". Humans have also become terminals with their own IP. Humans and industrial robots enter the entire production chain to interact with raw materials, equipment, and products with unique IP. While industrial robots are managing factories, people who are thousands of miles away can also receive real-time information to follow up and conduct interactive operations.
Imagine that in a smart factory with 5G network coverage in the future, when an object fails, the fault is reported to the industrial robot with the highest priority "zero" delay. Under normal circumstances, industrial robots can complete the repair work without human intervention based on the self-learning experience database. In another case, the industrial robot judges that the fault must be repaired by humans.
At this time, even if people are far away on the other side of the earth, they can use a simple VR and remote tactile sensing technology to remotely control the industrial robots in the factory to reach the fault site for repair. The movement of people is simulated in real time from thousands of miles away, and people are at this time as if they are on-site to carry out construction.
5G technology enables humans and industrial robots to handle more complex scenes with ease. For example, in the case of multi-person collaborative repair, even if different experts from several continents are separated, they can use VR and remote tactile sensing devices to "gather" at the fault site for the first time. The large traffic of 5G network can meet the massive data interaction requirements of high-definition images in VR, and the extremely low latency makes it possible for people on the other side of the earth to transmit their actions to factory robots without error in the tactile sensing network, and multiple people control the factory. Different robots in the next repair action. At the same time, with the help of the Internet of Everything, humans and industrial robots, products and raw materials are all directly connected to various related knowledge and experience databases. When fault diagnosis, humans and industrial robots can refer to massive experience and professional knowledge to improve the accuracy of problem location. degree.
3. Industrial robots join the "management"
In the future of smart factory production, it involves the judgment and decision-making of logistics, feeding, warehousing and other solutions. 5G technology can provide a cloud-based network platform for smart factories. Precision sensing technology acts on countless sensors to report information status in a very short period of time. Large amounts of industrial-grade data are collected through 5G networks, huge databases begin to form, and industrial robots combine the supercomputing capabilities of cloud computing for independent learning. And accurate judgment, give the best solution. In some specific scenarios, with the help of D2D (Device-to-Device, meaning: device-to-device) technology under 5G, objects can communicate directly with each other, which further reduces the end-to-end delay of the service and realizes the offloading of the network load. At the same time, the reaction is more agile. The time for each link of production has become shorter, the solution is faster and better, and the production and manufacturing efficiency has been greatly improved.
We can imagine that in the next 10 years, 5G networks will cover every corner of the factory. Industrial robots controlled by 5G technology have moved from the glass cabinet to the outside of the glass cabinet, in the workshop day and night.Shuttle freely in the middle to carry out equipment inspection and repair, feeding, quality inspection or difficult production actions. Robots become middle-level and basic-level managers, through information calculation and precise judgment, production coordination and production decision-making. Only a few people are needed here to undertake the operation monitoring and senior management of the factory. Robots become human's senior assistants, replacing humans to complete tasks that are difficult for humans, and humans and robots can coexist in the factory.
4. Allocate resources on demand
5G network provides solutions suitable for various manufacturing scenarios through network slicing, realizing real-time efficiency and low energy consumption, and simplifying deployment, laying a solid foundation for the future development of smart factories.
First, use network slicing technology to ensure that network resources are allocated on-demand to meet network requirements in different manufacturing scenarios. Different applications have different requirements for delay, mobility, network coverage, connection density, and connection cost. The flexible configuration of 5G networks, especially the reasonable and rapid allocation and reallocation of network resources, puts forward more stringent requirements.
As the most important feature of the 5G network, the end-to-end network slicing capability based on a variety of new technology combinations can flexibly and dynamically allocate the required network resources to different needs and capabilities in the entire network Release; Create network slices according to the blueprint and input parameters provided by the service management to provide specific network characteristics. For example, extremely low time delay, extremely high reliability, extremely large bandwidth, etc., to meet the network requirements of different application scenarios. For example, in the smart factory prototype, in order to meet the key transaction processing requirements in the factory, a key transaction slice was created to provide a low-latency, highly reliable network.
In the process of creating network slices, resources in the infrastructure need to be scheduled. Including access resources, transmission resources, cloud resources, etc. And each infrastructure resource also has its own management function. Through network slicing management, according to the different needs of customers, provide customers with shared or isolated infrastructure resources. Due to the mutual independence of various resources, network slicing management also performs collaborative management among different resources. In the smart factory prototype, the use of a multi-level, modular management model is shown to make the management and collaboration of the entire network slice more versatile, more flexible and easy to expand.
In addition to key business slices, the 5G smart factory will additionally create mobile broadband slices and large connection slices. Different slices share the same infrastructure under the scheduling of the network slice management system, but do not interfere with each other, maintaining the independence of their respective services.
Secondly, 5G can optimize network connections and take local traffic offloading to meet low latency requirements. The optimization of each slice for business needs is not only reflected in the different network functional characteristics, but also in flexible deployment schemes. The deployment of network function modules inside the slice is very flexible and can be deployed in multiple distributed data centers according to business requirements. The key transaction slicing in the prototype is to ensure the real-time performance of transaction processing, which requires high latency. The user data plane function module is deployed in the local data center close to the end user to reduce the latency as much as possible and ensure real-time control of production. And response.
In addition, use distributed cloud computing technology to deploy industrial applications and critical networks based on NFV (Network Function Virtualization) technology in local data centers or centralized data centers in a flexible manner Features. The high-bandwidth and low-latency characteristics of 5G networks have greatly improved intelligent processing capabilities by migrating to the cloud, paving the way for the improvement of intelligence.
With the connection of the 5G network, the smart factory has become an application platform for various smart technologies. In addition to the application of the above four types of technologies, smart factories are expected to be combined with a number of advanced technologies in the future to maximize resource utilization, production efficiency and economic benefits. For example, with the help of 5G high-speed network, collect energy efficiency related data of key equipment manufacturing, production process, energy supply and other links, use energy management system to manage and analyze energy efficiency related data, and discover energy efficiency fluctuations and abnormalities in time, which is the premise of ensuring normal production. Next, adjust the production process, equipment, energy supply and personnel accordingly to achieve energy efficiency improvement in the production process; use ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning, meaning: enterprise resource planning) for raw material inventory management, including various raw materials and supplies Quotient information. When a customer order is placed, ERP automatically calculates the required raw materials, and calculates the purchase time of raw materials in real time based on supplier information, ensuring that the inventory cost is the lowest or even zero while meeting the delivery time.
Therefore, the smart factory in the 5G era will greatly improve working conditions, reduce manual intervention on the production line, and improve the controllability of the production process. Interconnection between production and sales, and on this basis, realize the integration and optimization of resources, thereby further improving the production efficiency and product quality of the enterprise.