Series 7 Episode 7 – 5G and the Industrial Internet of Things

One major point that Tim makes in this podcast is that 5G, both in industrial and consumer contexts, should not be viewed as a singular entity. "The first thing to understand," he explains, "is that 5G isn't one thing. It's an amalgamation of some existing and some new technologies. I don't think the details of things like the actual frequency are necessarily that important. ... Many of the real benefits actually come from mods in the network core and in the radio access networks."

On top of this, Tim also points out that there is more to the Internet of Things than its application within smart factories. "If you look at the volume predictions from the analysts, it's pretty clear that the big change will be in bringing much more low-level remote or mobile data into systems."

Nevertheless, the indusrial implications of these various systems will be crucial to the factories of the future. Tim goes on to say that the use of these systems "will, in turn, have an impact in the factory, as it will enable ever-increasing integration and optimisation, not only of individual processes or locations, but of the entire supply chain from raw material through to the end customer and beyond into service provision".

This podcast also covers further industrial concepts such as the use of 5G in the navigation and control of AGVs (automatic guided vehicles), along with other major elements of communication like edge computing and Wi-Fi.

To learn more about the Industrial Internet of Things, 5G, as well as the many other systems and applications that come with such technologies, readers can listen to this podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.