At the Hannover Messe from April 17 to 21, 2023, the 5G wave will be in full swing, especially in Hall 14. In the “Industrial Wireless Arena + 5G Networks & Applications”, the two associations VDMA, ZVEI together with Deutsche Messe will present an exhibition area and an extensive program of lectures and forums. FUENF-G has picked out some highlights.

Visitors interested in the topic of 5G in business applications will find a 1,700-square-meter exhibition and conference area in Hall 14 at this year’s Hannover Messe. 40 exhibitors and countless experts will meet on and off stage to talk about 5G news and applications. The best news for foreign visitors: Most presentations will be held in English. And if not, there is a translations service available.

The forum starts right on Monday with an exciting combination of topics: the Machinery Directive, robotics and 5G. In his presentation and with a live demo at the booth, Dr. Jens Jakobsen from HMS Networks will show how the new safety regulations can be met. The background is that there is an agreement within the EU on new regulations to ensure the safety of machines and robots. For the first time, the safety of automated guided vehicles (AGVs) is now fully part of the Machinery Directive.

Compliance requires wireless safety communication between the AGV and the rest of the plant. Common use cases include emergency stops, traffic intersections, fire protection, and access to restricted areas. The presentation will show: security over WiFi is possible, but sufficient reliability is difficult to achieve in an operational environment. 5G is more reliable, and both PROFISafe and CIP Safety were demonstrated at the 5G ACIA booth at Hannover Messe USA. The presentation will take place at the show Monday from 10:50 to 11:15 a.m.

Robots and AGV talk 5G

In keeping with the theme, a little later, at 11:45 a.m., Ericsson’s David Hart and Jan Diekmann will also show an application example in which mobile, intelligent robots could be integrated into a manufacturing operation via a private 5G network. The presentation will show how robots can move throughout the factory with high positional accuracy and maneuver freely in a plant with a high density of connected devices.

A critical variable in such applications is always the time aspect. A Time Sensitive Network (TSN) is a prerequisite for many industrial applications. Marty Gubow and Alon Regev of Keysight Technologies will discuss testing the conformance, performance, reliability and interoperability of a TSN over 5G at 1:50 pm. Their topics primarily include latency and timing accuracy. Key words are TSN translator elements NWTT and DSTT.

Exciting panel discussions

One of the highlights on Tuesday will be a panel discussion in which end users will provide insights into the added value of Industrial 5G in their production and discuss the challenges involved. The panel, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., will highlight how the entire ecosystem can accelerate the adoption of Industrial 5G but also what barriers stand in the way of large-scale adoption in the manufacturing industry. The panel will begin with a brief presentation of the initial experience with Industrial 5G in the automotive and aerospace industries, and then discuss the potential of this technology and the remaining challenges to its application in volume production.

The conversation will be moderated by Dr. Afif Osseiran, Ericsson. Participants will be: Jirka Klaue, Technology Specialist Airbus; Prasad Kodaypak, Director of Technical Solutions at Radisys Corporation; Dr. Klaus-Dieter Tuchs, Planning Network at Volkswagen AG; Dr. Andreas Mueller, General Chair 5G-ACIA, Robert Bosch GmbH; Sander Rotmensen, Director of Industrial Wireless Communication at Siemens AG; and Dr. David Chen, Director of Moxa Inc.

VDMA has also organized a panel discussion for Tuesday. From 2:20 to 3:00 p.m., Dr. Miriam Solera of VDMA will welcome the following guests: Ansgar Bergmann, Project Manager Technology & Innovation Robotics at KION Group; Frank Burkhardt, Group Manager Industrial Communications at Fraunhofer IIS; Dr. Michael Lipka, Senior Manager Technology Strategy at Huawei; and Harald Lukosz of Bosch Rexroth. They will discuss the current status and prospects for the use of wireless technologies in industry. A special focus will be on SMEs and alternatives to 5G.

Step by step on Wednesday

Jürgen Brömmer from Verizon has taken individual steps for his presentation: “Step-by-Step – The Implementation of Private 5G Networks” explains how private 5G networks are implemented and what needs to be considered. He also gives an overview of the procedures for applying for spectrum and its general availability in Europe in his presentation from 15:25 – 15:50. He also discusses key issues such as the demand for Private-5G-enabled terminals and the coexistence of WiFi and Private-5G.

Rather the opposite is highlighted by Filipe Rodrigues, Technical Solution Architect, Cisco. He wants the audience of his presentation to learn from the mistakes of others. To this end, he points out seven ways in which a private 5G network rollout can fail. His examples range from a lack of planning to inadequate integration into the existing network infrastructure to a failure to secure the network. But he will also use real-world examples and case studies to show how best to avoid these common pitfalls. In addition, he will show best practices for deploying a private 5G network in this session. The presentation will begin at 3:05 p.m. on the Thursday of the show.

Outlook for 6G

The last day of the show also has a few highlights in store: such as the 12:15 p.m. talk that gives an outlook on 6G and the research being done on it in Europe. Dr. Collin Willcock, Chairman of the Board of the 6G-IA, 6G Smart Networks and Services Industry Association, will talk about “SNS-JU6G research in Europe; SNS-JU status and plans”. He introduces the major new European 6G research program Smart Networks and Services. The presentation also highlights future plans and opportunities to get involved in this initiative.

For more topics on SMEs, Industry 4.0, various industries–from agricultural machinery to chemicals and automotive, see the program of Industrial Wireless & 5G Conference Stage on Hannover Messe website.

You will find the “Industrial Wireless Arena + 5G Networks & Applications” in Hall 14/H06.

More articles on 5G at Hannover Messe 2023

HMF Smart Solutions Shows 5G Solutions in Hannover

brown-iposs to showcase 5G network rollout technologies at Hannover Messe 2023