[New Delhi, India, September 04, 2017] Huawei announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Festo to jointly explore the 5G network application of manufacturing and to promote the digital transformation of the manufacturing industry with 5G Slicing Technology.
This MoU is based on 5G Cloud Robotics to test the Robot as a Service (RaaS) concept, which is part of the manufacturing digital transformation that supports the shift from mass production to mass customizing and offers value-based services in smart factories. According to this concept, computation is moved from the robot to the fabrication cloud. Due to the strong requirements of the low latency control loop, 5G radio technology must be used to link both cloud and robot.
The 5G Cloud Robot project is based on a moving robot platform that consists of a handling apparatus (robot arm) with six degrees of freedom. The 5G-based link utilizes 5G slicing network principles. An uRLLC (Ultra Reliable and Low Latency Communications) slice is used to fulfill the strong real-time and high reliability requirements of the closed control loop. Trajectories and control messages are calculated in the fabrication cloud, which supports low-latency service and ensures the scalability of the computing power and energy savings on the robot platform. 5G-based RaaS in combination with factory clouds decouples the capability of industrial robots from the very fast changing computing requirements. 5G slicing technology can guarantee service SLA to meet diversified business requirements, which can also enable dynamic engineering solutions on demand tailored with QoS according to dynamically assigned safety levels.
“Mobile communications networks are developing and evolving rapidly, and will gradually penetrate a variety of vertical industries,” said Yang Chaobin, President of Huawei’s 5G Network Product Line. “5G will meet the diversified network needs of industry, enabling more vertical industry applications with end-to-end slicing solutions. Huawei, as a leading provider of wireless network solutions, will work with vertical industries to explore new 5G applications and create greater value. Our cooperation with Festo will promote development of an intelligent manufacturing industry.”
“In the factory of the future, everyone and everything will stay connected to rely on manufacturing services provided in industrial clouds,” said Dirk Pensky, the head of Festo’s Software Engineering Department. “On the one hand, some of those services need high bandwidth to transfer information to and/or from the cloud, e.g. image processing and AR/VR services. On the other hand, industrial control services require low to ultra-low latency and highest reliability,” he explained. “Festo is involved in different activities to shape the future of our factories. 5G will become the communication technology for smart manufacturing and we aim to prove that with this cooperation.”
About Huawei
Huawei is a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider. Our aim is to enrich life and improve efficiency through a better-connected world, acting as a responsible corporate citizen, innovative enabler for the information society, and collaborative contributor to the industry. Driven by customer-centric innovation and open partnerships, Huawei has established an end-to-end ICT solutions portfolio that gives customers competitive advantages in telecom and enterprise networks, devices and cloud computing. Huawei’s 180,000 employees worldwide are committed to creating maximum value for telecom operators, enterprises and consumers. Our innovative ICT solutions, products and services are used in more than 170 countries and regions, serving over one-third of the world’s population. Founded in 1987, Huawei is a private company fully owned by its employees.
For more information, please visit Huawei online at www.huawei.com
About Festo
The Festo Group is a leading world-wide supplier of automation technology and solution provider for technical education. As a globally-oriented and independent company with its headquarters in Esslingen, Germany, it has become the performance leader in its industry over the last 50 years, thanks to its innovations and problem-solving competence in all aspects of factory and process automation as well as its unique range of industrial training and education programs.
For more information, please visit Huawei online at www.festo.com