Research on the reliability and efficiency of edge computing in a smart factory using 5G technologies

Due to the increasing dynamics of market needs and individualized orders, Factories of the Future (FoF) must be based on high flexibility, agility and efficiency of production processes and systems. The efficiency of processes in FoF or in Smart Factory (SF) depends to a large extent on the implementation and use of Industry 4.0 enabling technologies and on the transmission and processing of large amounts of data that are continuously generated in real time in SF. The concept of data transmission and cloud computing, which has many shortcomings, plays an important role here. On the other hand, a much more efficient concept or technology of Edge Computing (EC) has recently emerged for data processing and use in a smart factory, supported by the technological standard of 5G wireless networks, which, compared to its predecessors (3G, 4G), enables more efficient process digitalization, easier system connectivity, fast and reliable data acquisition and processing, and last but not least, real-time production process optimization using digital twins (DT). Due to the lack of knowledge of production processes and systems (PPS), developers and providers of 5G networks face difficulties in implementing 5G technologies (hereafter 5G) in PPS with a distributed control structure that takes into account the paradigm of edge computing. Moreover, manufacturing companies do not yet know the right way to implement 5G and its impact and effects on PPS. Therefore, in the proposed project to optimize and achieve greater flexibility and agility of PPS, we aim to develop a methodology to implement 5G in the concept of edge computing and optimization tools to capture and process the process parameters at the edge. In the first part we intend to use analytical approaches such as graph theory to establish a new concept of distributed systems, which will be based on the knowledge and experience of the project team in the field of reference architectural models of the Smart Factory (LASFA - LASIM Smart Factory Architecture). In this part, we will also design new concepts of edge device networks. In the second part of the project we will perform modelling to develop and analyse different approaches of system connectivity and detection of processing power of individual edge devices and 5G network load. Third part of the project considers experimental approaches to analyse and verify new concepts and optimization tools, and the impact of 5G on the degree of flexibility or responsiveness of processes and systems. The project will be carried out by renowned experts in the field as well as PhD students and young researchers. The research results will be useful for 5G developers as well as for users in the manufacturing industry. In the final phase of the project, we will test the developed methodology of 5G implementation in the concept of edge computing and the optimization tools for the acquisition and processing of process parameters at the edge in the real laboratory environment of the Smart Factory in the Demo Center at UL FS, which is built according to the concept EC and has already a partially installed local 5G network. To the laboratory tests we will attract important Slovenian companies both from the side of 5G service providers, and from the side of manufacturing companies (users of digital technologies), thus demonstrating the possibility of dissemination of project results and their applicability in the real production sector, especially in small and medium enterprises (SMEs).