New research for reliable automated processes in logistics: 5G offers powerful, stable wireless networks and thus the prerequisite for increased efficiency. Private networks, also known as campus networks, are the key technology for current and future tasks. What is still missing for the widespread establishment of marketable solutions for private 5G networks? Among other things, the practical research project CampusOS has investigated this question. What insights have been gained for the industry?
When it comes to digitalization in general, logistics companies are playing a pioneering role. Smart warehouses, i.e., highly automated systems for operating warehouses and managing goods, have been a topic of discussion in the industry for at least 30 years and have become increasingly important over time. True to the motto “higher, faster, further,” speed and the optimization of recurring processes are what count here. Logistics management faces a variety of challenges when it comes to storing, managing, and shipping goods. For example, throughput times in the warehouse must be reduced in order to lower costs. The increasing centralization of warehouses also ensures greater efficiency, but it also requires ever larger individual batches. While the B2C sector usually has to manage smaller packages that are marked with standard identifiers, the B2B sector often deals with entire deliveries in which individual packages are not tagged. These are identified using AI, which requires reliable real-time data. Keeping track of inventory is becoming increasingly complex and is practically unthinkable based on manual processes. The smart warehouse is becoming more and more of a focus.
Private 5G networks: perfect for smart logistics
Leading companies have joined forces in the CampusOS research project to drive forward the further development and establishment of 5G campus networks, often referred to as private networks. For the logistics industry, 5G is the mobile communications standard on which current and future innovations are based, which is why one of the project’s use cases is in the logistics environment. The main requirement here is not so much mass data transmission, because the typical status information that an autonomous forklift truck exchanges with a package, for example, results in relatively small amounts of data. Instead, what counts is the speed of transmission and that the information arrives reliably and in its entirety. Just as physical packages must not be lost during transport, nothing must be lost during data exchange. Otherwise, information will be missing, without which, for example, autonomous drones cannot perform their tasks in the warehouse.
Compared to Wi-Fi wireless networks, 5G technology offers significantly higher reliability because it is designed for many users, whereas Wi-Fi is limited in this respect. 5G enables millions of connections per square meter, while Wi-Fi can only support a maximum of around 300 devices. When it comes to covering large areas in depth with mobile communications, 5G also has an advantage due to its higher transmission power. The use of a dedicated, private mobile network offers logistics companies maximum connectivity, enabling real-time data transmission. This allows use cases such as predictive maintenance in high-bay warehouses or real-time monitoring of inventory to optimize inventory management. In addition, there is greater control over data and its secure transfer. However, for these advantages to take effect, complete network coverage is required as a continuous infrastructure throughout the entire warehouse.
Complete network coverage – but how?
How can this challenge be overcome? The classic smart warehouse consists of the shop floor, customer-specific applications, system monitoring, and network components. The shop floor refers to the physical environment, which consists of traffic areas, interaction areas, and shelves. The shelves are used for storage, the traffic area is used for organization, and the interaction area serves as an interface to third parties, such as suppliers and delivery personnel (see diagram). The wireless network that is to exist in this space is therefore interrupted by many different, sometimes moving obstacles.
Similar to light waves, radio network waves are also deflected, blocked, and reflected by obstacles in their path. However, installing a large number of antennas to avoid areas with low network coverage would not only be uneconomical and a waste of energy. The radio waves would primarily overlap and interfere with each other. Instead, the partners from the CampusOS project set up a 5G network with as few components as possible for their tests. The goal was to achieve continuous real-time monitoring of the network that identifies optimization needs, suggests countermeasures, and enables the automated implementation of these measures.
Heat map as a digital twin of the radio network
Even a well-planned network can reach its limits due to changing load situations in aisles, newly placed conveyor technology, or seasonal peaks. For this reason, the project partners developed a dynamic heat map that functioned as a digital twin of the radio network in the smart warehouse and displayed all areas from high to low network coverage. The core requirement here is to obtain data of sufficient quality. In theory, this would be possible using highly specialized measuring instruments, but in practice, the relationship between costs and measurement results is a stumbling block: the bottom line is that the approach is not cost-efficient.
Instead, the connection data required to create the heat map is collected directly from the wireless access network. To do this, the CampusOS project uses CARAT (Classification and Root-Cause Analyzing Tool) software, which detects and describes errors immediately when a connection is established in order to derive optimization measures in the next step that can be implemented automatically. Recording the connection data at the moment it is generated offers a decisive advantage for qualitative analysis: the heat map updates itself, changes based on the current real situation of the network, and thus provides a database on which optimization measures can then be taken. As a side effect, so to speak, warehouse management gains a visual impression of the current network status.
However, the commands for these optimizations must also be communicated and have previously burdened even the basic functions of the network. The mechanism for balancing the data flows for optimization and those that serve the actual purpose of the network is one of the most important achievements of this use case within the research project.
Privacy as a challenge
An additional challenge relates to privacy requirements: the connection data can be used to determine the actual location of goods, devices, and vehicles. This makes it clear where data is generated and, as a result, what condition the network is in at that location. However, this also makes it possible to track the movements of employees. Tracking employees is illegal and must therefore be prevented. The project partners have made significant progress in this area: an important result of the CampusOS project is the development of a process that independently determines the position from the recorded data, thus leaving the privacy of employees untouched.
Outlook: Lack of interoperability and high costs still pose obstacles
Private 5G networks are a crucial component for reliable digital processes and automation in logistics. In addition to offering better performance than other mobile networks, they provide further added value, such as data sovereignty protection. The ability to set up such networks independently strengthens Europe’s digital sovereignty. The technological prerequisites for the development and establishment of commercial solutions for 5G campus networks are in place, but cost-effective and interoperable end devices for widespread use are still lacking. However, with demand expected to rise, these obstacles will disappear in the future. Until then, it is important to continue advancing research in order to be able to operate at the cutting edge of technology at all times.
