China Unicom and Huawei claim that they are installing a commercial 5G-Advanced production line that features ultra-high reliability and ultra-low latency at the Baoding automation technology branch of Chinese firm Exquisite Automotive Systems (EA), Huawei said in a release.
EA is a subsidiary of Great Wall Motor (GWM) and is responsible for the development of intelligent equipment and the design and integration of automated production lines for GWM and other automotive companies.
At Great Wall Motor’s factory in Baoding, Hebei, Huawei that 5G-Advanced equipment will support the car roof production line. Huawei noted that traditional industrial control relies on wired networks to realize the serial connection and control of terminal equipment. However, after a certain period of operations, wire abrasion in mobile application scenarios, such as robot arms, slide units, and swiveling tables, often results in production interruptions, causing an average of about 60 hours of downtime a year.
The Chinese vendor also highlighted that 5G-Advanced networks provide ultra-high reliability and ultra-low latency, making them the “best option” for high-end core manufacturing processes that require high response speeds. According to Huawei, 5G-Advanced networks also boost efficiency by integrating multiple functions, such as data collection and industrial control functions that are provided by two separate private lines in wired networks.
However, it should be noted that while work to define the standard is well underway, 5G-Advanced has yet to formally be completed as a 3GPP standard; Release 18 is expected to be completed early next year. 5G-Advanced will be specified by 3GPP Releases 18, 19 and 20, after which 3GPP’s work will focus on 6G, which will hit the market around 2030.
Yuan Zhanjiang, deputy general manager of EA’s Industry Intelligence Department, said: “Digitalization is a must for the transformation and upgrade of manufacturing enterprises. 5G-Advanced features ultra-high reliability, low latency, and easy deployment. These features have been verified in EA’s 5G-Advanced industrial Internet lab, and will soon start supporting our commercial production lines.”
“We are working with all industry partners to build a 5G-powered industrial Internet that will help enterprises address pain points during their transformations, and ultimately facilitate upgrades to smart manufacturing,” said Fan Ji’an, chief big data scientist of China Unicom. “Powered by 5G-Advanced, industrial applications are moving from auxiliary production to core production systems. We are seeing more typical 5G-Advanced applications appear in key scenarios, further driving the manufacturing industry to go digital,” said Fan.
Huawei is heavily focusing on 5G-Advanced, or “5.5G” technologies, to help the operators maximize the value of their current investments in 5G networks, Huawei’s rotating chairman Ken Hu, said during a virtual keynote session at the Huawei’s 14th Global Mobile Broadband Forum (MBBF), which took place in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, last month.
“Technology is changing so fast, and new demands are evolving every day. So our networks need to keep evolving too. Our industry as a whole needs to get ready for the future and maximize the value of investments in 5G and that’s why we’re working so hard on 5G-Advanced,” Hu said.
During Mobile World Congress Shanghai 2023, Huawei unveiled plans to launch a set of commercial ‘5.5G’ network equipment during next year.