Abstract

Manufacturing across many industries is currently undergoing a revolution. Smart factories promise tantalizing benefits like faster production with better reliability, while at the same time increasing efficiency and reducing cost. The unique benefits of the new 5G communications standard – reliability, real-time responsiveness, high data rate communication and connectivity for huge numbers of connected device – can make the promise a reality. Applications for private network licenses are increasing rapidly, and with them the need for designing and deploying those networks. Modern high-tech factories are large, complex and dynamic environments, undergoing continuous reconfiguration and filled with moving equipment, autonomous vehicles and perhaps even people. Fulfilling the demanding communication network requirements in such an environment will be extremely challenging, and will require careful planning and maintenance. Virtual design will play a central role in planning and operating the network so that critical links are resilient in the face of potential disruptions caused by moving vehicles and machines. Understanding the specific transmission channels in the factory, and the potential for their interruption, allows redundancy to be built into the network and overall reliability to be increased. Keeping operational downtime to a minimum during the planning process is crucial, which means that measurement based network design workflows need to be refined to reduce disruptions due to network measurement campaigns. Electromagnetic simulation in particular will be an essential tool to understand and ensure radio performance. Combining modelling tools and advanced geometric-optics based ray tracing yields a simulation-based approach that holds promise for the design of a robust wireless communication infrastructure. This paper will discuss the simulation techniques and workflows required for ensuring coverage and quality of service performance of the communication network infrastructure. With a thorough knowledge of the factory geometry and materials used, the techniques described could be used to virtually plan how many wireless access points are required and where they should be located, as well as deciding how best to place antennas on equipment or vehicles to minimize communication blind spots.