Utilizing 5G in Industrial Robotic Applications

Sensor-based real-time control is being used in robotics for different purposes. The trend is to develop intelligent robots that can understand and react on environmental situations. This leads to the integration of more complex algorithms and involving multiple sensors and mobile assets for a more flexible and intelligent motion control. The requirement on computing power becomes often higher than it could be performed on the robot controller itself. Using an external computer introduces, nowadays, significant communication delays that make real-time control difficult or even impossible. Furthermore, to integrate mobile assets in a motion control scenario wired communication cannot be employed. A 5G network / local factory cloud may bridge this gap. In this paper we describe why 5G technology can make a significant contribution to enable new types of industrial robotics applications. Moreover, we present various use cases and discuss simulation results of a 5G-based robotics application in an industrial environment.