5G mobile communications are going to contribute significantly to the digitalization of industrial production (Industry 4.0). Mobile robots will be jointly manufacturing workpieces according to individual requests. The essential feature will be the use of sensorics at the installation site, joint signal processing, and remote control of the robots. Due to the mobility of the robots, communication between all components will be wireless. Since the inevitable time delay (latency) in data transmission makes precise and fluid motion difficult, future wireless transmission techniques will require a very low latency (approx. 1 ms).

At the BI, we have set up a demonstrator that directly shows the effect of too high latency for time-critical applications. To this end, we implemented a robotic Airhockey table where the robot control is performed over a wireless connection. Users can adjust the latency on the wireless link and immediately see the robot accuracy degrade. In the 3G mode, which means there are 150ms reaction time of the robot, the robot cannot hit the puck accurately and it is easy to beat. However, in the 5G mode with 1ms reaction time, the robot moves accurately and is quite hard to beat. You are invited to visit us and try out the robot on your own!

Read the article here