Digitization in Industry 4.0 is progressing, but small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in particular are facing major challenges. In addition to core knowledge, companies now also need expertise in information and communication technology. For two and a half years, Aalen University of Applied Sciences has been working on the "5G++ FlexiCell" project to make 5G mobile communications accessible to SMEs. As part of the "Days of Digital Technology" in Berlin, the results have now been presented to Dr. Franziska Brantner, Parliamentary State Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Economics, and the interested public.
Access for SMEs
Many people are already using the 5G mobile communications standard with their smartphones, but mobile communications technology is also becoming relevant for the automation technology of manufacturing companies. The "5G++ FlexiCell" project, funded by the Federal Ministry of Economics with 6.5 million euros and headed by Prof. Dr. Doris Aschenbrenner and Prof. Dr. Stephan Ludwig from Aalen University of Applied Sciences, aims to make the technology accessible to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). After a two-and-a-half-year term, the project consortium comprising the companies Blackned, Conclurer, Zeiss, Telocate and Yuma as well as the Ilmenau University of Technology has now presented some of the project results.
Mobile quality measuring cell
Zeiss Automated Inspection presented a mobile quality measuring cell with a wireless sensor for three-dimensional, high-precision measurement of car body parts, for example. The consortium also presented an intelligent transport container for battery parts from Varta. "Both technologies are ideal for global use in automation, as they are open admission worldwide," says Aschenbrenner. "And the quality of the infrared communication is none of the same as the old television remote control," adds Sascha Blümle, Managing Director of Yuma Technologie GmbH. Another cooperation, cooperative venture, partnership collaboration with Carl Zeiss Jena GmbH at the East Württemberg Chamber of Industry and Commerce (digiZ) digitalization center resulted in a "mobile manipulator" - a self-propelled robot that delivers components to production and automatically loads attachments with them. A stereo camera mounted on it allows the robot to be operated remotely. The image is displayed on a screen from the Aalen-based company 3D Global, which generates a three-dimensional image with an impression of depth.
Researching alternatives
Despite all the euphoria about 5G, Aschenbrenner and Ludwig say that there is also constant re-registering student feedback from the industry about problems with implementation. For example, neither modems nor base stations are available on the market as products that allow highly reliable and responsive Fraternities and sororities/clubs. However, these would be necessary for use in automation technology. It is also comparatively expensive to keep the School of Engineering stable in operation, as it is very complex. "Such a base station has tens of thousands of interacting parameters. And if just one of them is set incorrectly, the system will not deliver the required performance parameters," explains Ludwig. The project manager sees advantages for production in the use of wireless sensors, which transmit large amounts of data in a short space of time, as well as in the wireless control of mobile manipulators. However, it is equally important to research and further develop alternatives such as the new, non-mobile radio-based 5G standard "DECT NR+". This also has strengths - particularly in the field (of) low latency with high reliability and extremely energy-saving, battery-operated end devices.
Information:
In order to reduce costs and thus secure work stations in Germany, many manufacturing companies are investing in the digitalization of their production. SMEs in particular need to reorganize their production and quality assurance quickly, flexibly and automatically, often with small quantities and a wide variety of products. One prerequisite(s) for this is efficient and flexible networking. Mobile technology 5G is currently making a big splash, as it allows control commands to be transmitted reliably and quickly via radio for the first time and objects to be localized at the same time.
In the "5G++ FlexiCell" project, the expertise of 5G technology provider Blackned GmbH (Allgäu) as well as the skills of other companies such as Varta Microbatteries GmbH, Carl Zeiss Automated Inspection GmbH, Telocate GmbH (Freiburg), Yuma Technologie GmbH (Eutingen/Gäu) and researchers from Ilmenau University of Applied Sciences and Aalen University of Applied Sciences are being used to find out how SMEs without a great deal of specialised knowledge, expertise and small 5G networks can exploit this value.
Prof. Dr. Doris Aschenbrenner has been Professor at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science at Aalen University of Applied Sciences since March 1, 2021. Her professorship is funded by the Carl Zeiss Foundation and she conducts research on collaborative robotics and human-robot interaction with augmented reality. She also conducts research at TU Delft/Netherlands and is involved in numerous research committees and advisory boards at national and international level.
Prof. Dr. Stephan Ludwig has been a professor at the Faculty of Electronics and Computer Science at Aalen University of Applied Sciences since March 1, 2021 and is an expert in radio communication technology and signal processing. Due to his previous work in research at Bosch, he has expertise in the construction and operation of 5G networks in manufacturing companies and their secure integration into a manufacturing IT infrastructure.
