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5G Lab Germany gives the starting signal for the formation of an international network of users, industry, politics and technology experts on the topic of 5G & Digital Farming ( Pictures: TU Dresden/Vincent Lassen)

5G and digitization in agriculture and rural areas go hand in hand at the Dresden conference “5G & Digital Farming”. Protagonists from politics, industry, research as well as users will jointly discuss the networking and synergy opportunities that can be achieved with test fields such as “Landnetz” in Saxonia and what role they can play as an initiator and pioneer for innovations in the Saxon, national and international context. The 5G Lab Germany bundles the (inter)national initiatives and use cases in order to deepen the path of digitization along future applications both technologically and cooperatively.

Dresden, October 15th – In the context of the 4th IEEE 5G Summit Dresden, the conference “5G & Digital Farming” took place on October 2nd, 2019, which – with regard to agriculture – focused on the promotion of cooperation between telecommunications and user industries as well as on coordinated and targeted research. Politics, industry and 5G drivers as well as users discussed the technology transfer – including the benefit in agriculture and rural areas to manifest the upcoming telecommunication standard 5G in this industry.

While last year at the same time there was no 5G test field with a focus on the development of agriculture and the rural area, now the 5G experimental field “Landnetz” was presented at the Lehr- und Versuchsgut Köllitsch, which will be expanded by 5G Lab within the next 2 years to become the largest 5G test field of its kind in Europe so far. The aim is to equip regional agriculture and selected rural areas with modern infrastructures and methods and to test future applications of Smart Farming and Smart Rural Areas using 5G.

Smart Farming on the rise!

With 5G technology, agriculture presents itself as a strong partner for the future of rural areas. Farmers and forestry operations are becoming drivers of innovation in Saxonia because the agricultural processes are partly networked intelligently across manufacturers and organizations. Services such as the optimization of machine settings, real-time monitoring and control of machine use, optimal fertilization and harvesting strategies, the use of augmented reality-capable equipment and extensive automation of the process chain can be realized with 5G.

In this way, agriculture is acquiring a completely new image, using an innovative understanding of technology to exploit the potential of 5G. At the same time, it creates more added value for rural areas and also helps agriculture to conserve resources. In order for these digital technologies to be optimally applied in green professions, various fields of experimentation and their results are required. The “Landnetz” experimental field focuses on application-driven research, testing and development of the most suitable networking solutions.

Dr. Norman Franchi, Managing Director of 5G Lab GmbH:“5G is the foundation and driver of innovation and digitization in agriculture and the countryside. As an essential basic component for “Landnetz” and the simul+InnovationHub and its incubator vision, this technology acts as a link to drive the various test fields forward in terms of content and to bring its initiators and companies as well as users closer together”.

A “Landnetz” with future

The initiative simul+ with the simul+ InnovationHub (SIH) and the 5G experimental field “Landnetz” demonstrates the benefits of fast data connections for digital agriculture and rural areas. Various applications demonstrate the positive influence on animal welfare (cow body scan) as well as environmental and nature conservation (precision farming), which improves the quality of life in rural areas. The test field presented at the conference will extend from Köllitsch via Lommatzsch to Nossen over an area of up to 2,000 square kilometers.

It is important to use research projects to examine the opportunities, risks and benefits of digital agriculture, compare them with existing systems and thus support new developments. The partners of the 5G Lab Germany of the TU Dresden are agricultural businesses, institutes and companies which, together with the municipality of Lommatzsch, the State Office for Environment, Agriculture and Geology (LfULG) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Transportation and Infrastructure Systems (IVI), are responsible for the development and expansion of the “Landnetz”. The TU Dresden plays the coordinating role and is involved with two institutes (Institute for Natural Product Technology, Professorship for Agricultural Systems Technology and the Vodafone Endowed Professorship for Mobile Communication Systems) and the 5G Lab Germany in the 5G test field.

The central questions of the test field include how the data streams, which will become even more extensive in the future, can be organized, where they will be processed and by what means, and how data security will be guaranteed. In this context, the requirements for future agricultural applications and the needs of rural areas for a 5G infrastructure are also crucial and how these can be designed to meet the needs of applications and users.

Prof. Matthias Klingner, Institute Director of Fraunhofer IVI:“High-tech developments for agricultural and forestry technology, closed-loop processes that minimize the consumption of resources, sensor systems for monitoring the biosphere, diagnostic systems for species-appropriate animal husbandry, digital supply and mobility services for rural areas – the list of research topics that have been developed with great dynamism in the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft in recent years is long and varied. To bring this spectrum of topics into the simul+ Future Initiative is an excellent opportunity”.

Goal of the conference

The clearly formulated goal of the 5G Lab Germany was to achieve a stronger networking of the partners as well as the integration and closing of ranks with other relevant actors and networks on a national and international level with the conference “5G & Digital Farming” and to promote “Landnetz” with all its potential. Based on the international orientation of the event, with contributions from the EU Commission, the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom, as well as participants from other test fields (including Spain) and standardization bodies (including ETSI), the event will focus more on EU trends in the digitization of agriculture, but will also join forces with other important international initiatives and bodies (including those from Africa and the United States; IEEE, 3GPP and AEF). Of course, this also includes the exchange of results and experiences from test fields and standardization activities there, as well as joint promotion of the digital transformation process in the European agricultural and food industry.

From a national point of view, close coordination of German test fields is required, with “Landnetz” as a beacon to offer interested parties the opportunity to participate. In Germany there are 14 test fields in agriculture so far, for which an orderly exchange of experience still needs to be found. Other sectors, such as Smart Factory and Autonomous Driving, are also organizing themselves in a self-determined way in their individual test fields. Therefore, there is an enormous need for action beyond the conference with regard to the coordination of test fields, but also the partnership-based networking of German stakeholders among themselves still leaves many fields of action open. Nevertheless, 5G Lab Germany is certain that it is on the right track with “Landnetz”, that it will increasingly follow the path of digitization in Saxonia and that it will lay tracks for other initiatives and interest groups on a national and international level through strong alliances.