Powering Industry 4.0: How the 5G ecosystem is helping drive next-gen industrial digitalization
Industry 4.0 in manufacturing is here. As factories embrace advanced connectivity, it’s not just about faster networks; it’s about creating a fully integrated ecosystem where machines, data and people work together seamlessly. Whether it’s autonomous equipment (robots, AGVs) in business-critical operations or drones in a factory, 5G ecosystems are shaping next-gen manufacturing, enabling real-time insights, increased productivity and boosted efficiency. But, how are manufacturers using 5G to support this collaboration, and how are ecosystem providers ensuring their equipment is becoming 5G-capable?

As private 5G networks gain widespread adoption in factories, a new era of limitless potential is unfolding. With speeds up to 100 times faster than 4G, ultra-low latency and unmatched capacity, 5G is unlocking groundbreaking manufacturing innovations along with the essential elements of mobility, reliability, coverage, and security to enterprise production and logistic centers globally.
But a 5G network alone is not enough. To unlock its full potential, an ecosystem of equipment suppliers must align and integrate 5G capability into their products, and the 5G ecosystem is a complex network of interconnected technologies and vendors interworking to ensure the successful implement of private 5G networks. Within this system, various components come together to enable seamless collaboration across use cases, delivering innovation and new solutions for the entire enterprise. The following report showcases three examples.
5G connected equipment: torque tools
Boosting smart integrated assembly with wireless tools
Manufacturers are driving Industry 4.0 forward, seeking smarter, more integrated assembly processes with flexible production capabilities and data-driven operational improvements.
These wirelessly connected nutrunners deliver the flexibility necessary for today’s production lines. As an example, Atlas Copco offers wireless tools and systems leveraging various technologies. While Wi-Fi is a common solution and performs well under ideal conditions, it can struggle in large spaces or around massive metal structures, leading to interruptions that disrupt operations and hinder production. To fully realize the potential of these devices, reliable communication is essential.

Image courtesy of Atlas Copco
Atlas Copco connected tools
Atlas Copco has extensively tested 5G-connected nutrunners with select customers to ensure reliable, uninterrupted operations around the clock. Each tool features a compact, fully integrated 5G, ensuring seamless connectivity.
Flexibility through true mobility
With outstanding coverage throughout the entire factory, including outdoor areas, the 5G-connected tool provided true mobility. This enables movement across the shop floor and uninterrupted work inside or behind structures. It also facilitates real-time workflow adjustments and optimization on the fly.
Reliable communication for process control and quality assurance
The new 5G gateway delivers reliable and predictable real-time communication for each tool, capturing thousands of measurements during a single tightening. This reduces data transfer delays and production line downtime, enhancing productivity. Moreover, the continuous stream of data strengthens trust in process control and quality assurance.
Simplified Security
The SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card is a key feature to provide the next level of simplified and increased security on the factory floor. Easily inserted, the SIM card ensures that the tool is securely connected and ready to use within seconds, offering seamless and secure operations.
5G technology enables robust process control and quality assurance anywhere, anytime, offering unprecedented reliability. It represents the next level of product differentiation and innovation in the following dimensions:
5G connected equipment: cameras for content production
More mobile cameras
Sports and media events can be intense and emotional, especially when broadcast live. Broadcasters are always looking for fresh angles, and this is where 5G comes in – 5G brings mobility and increased flexibility.
While the use of mobile cameras is not new, 5G is being introduced to enable faster setup, more mobile cameras, and move to wherever the action is, quickly.
Media content production puts high demands on connectivity. 5G Cameras are foremost uplink-intensive, even when compressing the video signal with the latest video coding techniques. 5G cameras need to be synchronized with the diverse cameras onsite to provide a consistent viewer experience for the audience. This means that a low latency is required.
Merging the camera feeds over IP
One key driver for 5G is the general migration towards Cloud and IP, to reduce infrastructure complexity: Media Producers can carry multiple different traffic types of UL (Up Link) Program video, Intercom (speech), remote camera configuration & control, return video) onto the same network infrastructure using 5G, which is IP-native.
A recent study by the European Broadcast Union (EBU) describes recent member experiences of 5G in content production:
EBU Members' trials of 5G in content production and contribution
So, what do broadcasters need to use 5G effectively?
First, Spectrum, the highway of mobile networks.
Camera capture requires high bandwidth, and the mid-band (3.5 GHz upward) spectrum of 5G is proven to be effective. For extreme bandwidth cases, mmWave spectrum may serve. Broadcast capture devices may use cellular bonding to provide the needed capacity when a single carrier is not enough.
Next – Low latency and stable throughput to enable fast transmission.
This is transmission speed and bandwidth of the communications link. In practice, this means a round-trip transmission of less than 100 ms, or one tenth of a second is required from the camera up into the TV studio. For these low latencies to be effective, the throughput must be stable which Wi-Fi may not provide.
Then – Broadcasters need cameras that support 5G. Cameras become 5G enabled by connecting an according 5G device with the needed functionality like video encoding, 5G connectivity, etc. This device can be added in the same ways as battery packs are attached to the camera. To operate over 5G networks, cameras such as the Sony Pro may add plug-on backpacks for 5G connectivity.

Image courtesy of Sony
Media Producers are actively trialing 5G technology for various use cases and scenarios. The media production eco system is well prepared for using 5G, since a high number of integrated 5G devices are commercially available, which can be connected to already deployed professional cameras. In several cases, media producers are using 5G technologies already in commercial productions.
These 5G-enabled devices are already in commercial use by media producers, who are also leveraging smartphones (with additional accessories like external microphones, gimbal stabilizers, etc). Networks which provide low latency at a stable, high throughput are becoming available, either provided by dedicated network deployments or increasingly often by public network deployments.
For examples of 5G for content production for live high-profile events;
Deutsche Telekom kicks off 5G TV coverage at Euro 2024 - TVBEurope
Ericsson, 3 Denmark, TV 2, and Sony kick off live broadcast
5G connected equipment: autonomous guided vehicles
Autonomous materials handling equipment
Autonomous guided vehicles (AGVs) and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) are essential in modern factories, transporting everything from small items to entire vehicles through the production line. In semi-conductor fabs, Autonomous Material Handling Systems (AMHS) move materials along ceiling paths, while logistic centers use remote-control fork-lifts.
Boosting agility with 5G
These systems are continuously evolving, handling more types of workloads and offering greater flexibility in routes while operating collaboratively alongside workers. 5G enhances this agility, by providing wireless connectivity that supports flexible routing with high performance and reliability.
Integrating 5G capability
As production and logistics sites adopt 5G, equipment manufacturers must also integrate 5G in their designs. This involves embedding a 5G connectivity chip into mini vehicles, typically housed in a gateway module with robust casing. For global markets, modules must be compatible with local spectrum variations.
Performance matters
Connectivity performance is critical. Key factors include throughput (the speed of data transfer) and stable latency (the time for signals to transmit and respond). These specifications are vital for effective onsite functionality.
Ensuring safety
Even in high-automation zones, worker safety remains a priority. AGVs and workers require real-time awareness to prevent collisions. If a risk is detected, the vehicle must top immediately – a feature a feature ensured by industrial automation standards like Profinet.
Profinet and similar protocols are cycle-based, they expect arrival of data packets to be confirmed within a time-limit (cycle). If the confirmation fails after several pre-determined retries, the system flags a risk and stops operation for safety reasons. This can all happen in typically less than 100 ms – less than a tenth of a second.
The connectivity for this must be secure, reliable and with stable latency. 5G meets these requirements. 5G also uses licensed spectrum bands which assure the spectrum resources are always available for production operations.

LG Electronics deploys hundreds of 5G-connected AGVs in its Tennessee white goods manufacturing plant.
LG Electronics manufacturing center in Clarksville Tennessee, named a “Lighthouse Factory” by the World Economic Forum, deploys the latest technology.
With the site spanning 1 million square feet, (about the area of Chicago's Millennium Park), it deploys more than 160 5G-enabled AGVs and AMRs to facilitate internal materials movement.
At the Atlanta MODEX 2024 trade show LG Business Solutions presented the CLOi CarryBot family of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) which collaborate with workers (“cobots”) to move materials between employee work zones, improving agility in the process. And further private 5G technology developments are ahead for dedicated robot networks.
Conclusion
As manufacturing sites introduce agile production processes and dynamic cells rather than static lines, mobility is essential, and the connectivity networks must support smooth handover, as 5G does. As enterprises introduce autonomous equipment collaborating alongside workers, requiring mutual awareness and fast response for safety reasons, reliable network performance and coverage is key.
5G steps in, being designed for mobility, high performance, stable latency, and security. For 5G to be effective in the enterprise sites, the ecosystem needs to evolve to support 5G in step with the enterprises. This report has highlighted 3 cases of original equipment manufacturers who have done this by introducing 5G-capability into their products.
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