Smart manufacturing plants will materialize faster with commercialization of 5G mobile communication technologies, and edge computing will play a leading role in the materialization process, according to Jim Liu, chairman of Adlink Technology, a Taiwan-based IPC maker and IoT solutions specialist.
After the emergence of the Industry 4.0 concept, every new technology, whether IoT, AI or 5G, will pose a certain influence on the manufacturing sector, Liu said, adding that the high reliability and low latency of 5G transmission technology will thoroughly alter the communication architectures for smart manufacturing plants.
Liu continued each independent equipment unit at a smart plant will be connected to reduce demand for physical electric wires, and auto guided vehicles (AGV) and collaborative robotic arms will be extensively installed. Accordingly, he stressed, the integration of 5G, AI and real-time data sharing capabilities will become crucial in the entire operation architectures, and edge computing will be widely needed in the actual application scenarios.
Core technologies for smart manufacturing include real-time distributed IoT platforms, smart edge computing, and the combination of 5G, AI and edge computing. Among them, edge computing can be leveraged to conduct real-time processing of big data collected at the manufacturing spot to facilitate instant decision making for production adjustment, according to Liu.
In order for accurate data to be sent to correct places at the right time, edge computing can conduct basic processing of spot manufacturing data before the data is delivered to the cloud for further processing and application. Accordingly, demand for edge computing will pick up along with the proliferation of smart applications and network connectivity, Liu indicated.
Adlink Technology chairman Jim Liu
Photo: Nienlu Tu, Digitimes, May 2019
Article translated by Willis Ke
