Schneider Electric and Orange recently announced the first deployment of indoor 5G in the industrial sector in France on experimental frequencies as part of a trial.
Operating since March, this first co-innovation project in the Le Vaudreuil factory aims to use 5G in a modern industrial environment to build reliable, scalable and sustainable connectivity solutions for future industrial needs.
The indoor 5G-enabled trials will support two use cases: augmented reality applied to maintenance technician activities and the implementation of a telepresence robot for remote visits. Nokia radio AirScale and core equipment has been selected and the experimental frequencies have been allocated by the French regulatory authority. Five indoor 5G antennas were installed inside a part of the factory, covering close to 2,000 m2 of production space with download speeds beyond 1 Gbps, on an experimental network architecture allowing local data processing with edge computing technologies. Building on its co-innovation ecosystem, Orange has proposed to use the recently launched Dell technologies 5G-ready Latitude 9510 business PC to deliver these use cases. This allows Schneider Electric to benefit from the laptop’s embedded computing power, wherever the user is located.
In the first use case tested, the teams connected tablets to 5G using the Schneider Electric augmented reality application called EcoStruxure Augmented Operator Advisor (AOA). This custom application improves operational efficiency with augmented reality, enabling operators to superimpose real-time data and virtual objects onto a cabinet, machine or entire plant. The objective with 5G is to test future functionality with minimum latency and maximum throughput.
The second use case tested by Schneider Electric and Orange concerns driving an AXYN mobile telepresence robot using 5G to eventually arrange remote visits to the Le Vaudreuil site. The performance of 5G makes it possible for very high-quality video to be used with minimal lag time in the virtual interactions between the visitor and the Schneider Electric guide that accompanies the robot throughout the Le Vaudreuil site. A remote visit with high-quality video and audio will help minimize travel time and costs and, most importantly, reduce the carbon footprint while providing the end user with a unique experience.
Stéphane Richard, Chairman and CEO, Orange
5G is a breakthrough technology for businesses that will bring numerous industrial applications, such as predictive maintenance, real-time video processing, augmented reality and telepresence.
Jean-Pascal Tricoire, Chairman and CEO of Schneider Electric
The pilot conducted with Orange at Le Vaudreuil in a Schneider Electric industrial showcase validates many 5G use cases: augmented reality, remote everywhere, real-time access to data... 5G’s reliability, scalability and durability make it a connectivity solution well adapted to industry 4.0, for greater resilience, competitiveness and sustainability.
