DEVELOPMENT OF 5G-BASED SMART FACTORY TECH

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In 2018, South Korea became the world's first country to commercialize 5G technology. Local scientists have developed a 5G-based smart factory technology that enables manufacturers to use the high-speed mobile network to run and control their factories. Here's more

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This factory produces precision motors used in dental instruments. A mobile robot is used to move components around or deliver them to other production lines. Used at a smart factory test bed, this robot is operated and controlled with 5G wireless technology. The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute and the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology held a joint demonstration of a 5G-standard industrial Internet of Things technology. At existing production lines, robots move along fixed rails. But this new 5G-based technology allows robots to move around via remote control and without spatial constraints.

[Soundbite] SHIN JAE-SEUNG(ELECTRONICS AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS RESEARCH INSTITUTE) : "Taking advantage of high-speed 5G communication technology makes it possible to monitor and control the equipment in real time as if they are wire-connected."

The new development is expected to promote the introduction of smart factories in various industries, including the manufacturing sector.

[Soundbite] CHO YONG-JOO(KOREA INSTITUTE OF INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY) : "The quality of products and productivity will be enhanced through 5G technology."

Next year, researchers will demonstrate a smart factory controlling system linking Daejeon and Gyeongsan in Gyeongsangbuk-do Province. It also plans to establish a remote controlling system with overseas institutes, including Finland's University of Oulu, by 2022.