ETRI, based on 3GPP 5G standard (Rel-15)
Demonstrating remote control of a smart factory using an IIoT testbed.
Plans for a future intercontinental remote control demonstration in Finland


The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) announced on the 29th that it had successfully demonstrated control using its own IIoT mobile communication technology based on the 3GPP 5G standard (Rel-15) at the 'Smart Factory Model Factory' of the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH) in Hayang-eup, Gyeongsan-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do.

Unlike conventional factories geared toward supplier-centric mass production, smart factories aim to provide real-time, customer-tailored products. Rather than producing specific products on specific production lines, they require flexibility, such as moving multiple production lines mid-process or reconfiguring production lines as needed.

Therefore, technologies such as mobile robots that assist with diverse processes on each production line or that use panels and controllers to change production lines are needed.

Previously, wired communication was mainly used to introduce these smart factory element technologies. This is because pre-5G wireless mobile communication generations could not guarantee full performance in areas such as low latency and hyper-connectivity.

ETRI, in collaboration with KT, Saenggiwon, Open Object, Qcell Networks, CleverLogic, and Soongsil University, developed an industrial network testbed (terminals, base stations, core equipment, mobile edge computing servers, etc.) according to Rel-15 using commercial hardware platforms and presented representative IIoT services that are essential for smart factories.

The services demonstrated by the research team include ▲real-time control of mobile robots ▲status monitoring and operation of production equipment using a portable touch panel ▲process status monitoring using portable VR equipment such as HMD ▲wireless communication between PLCs (Programmable Logic Controllers) required to flexibly change production lines.

ETRI plans to improve its system to comply with the next 3GPP 5G standard (Rel-16) by the end of next year and demonstrate a service that remotely manages and controls facilities in real time by connecting the ETRI research lab in Daejeon and the smart factory in Gyeongsan via a network.

In the year after next, we are pursuing a demonstration to connect the University of Oulu, Finland, and the Gyeongsan Smart Factory with a high-performance network that transcends the continent, enabling remote management and control services even from overseas.

Kim Il-gyu, head of ETRI's Future Mobile Communications Research Center, said, "We expect that ETRI's self-developed 5G IIoT system will be utilized as a tool to activate 5G smart factories across the manufacturing industry."