Far EasTone Telecommunications (FET), Delta Electronics and Microsoft Taiwan have teamed up to set up Taiwan's first 5G-enabled pilot smart manufacturing plant at Delta's production complex in Taoyuan, northern Taiwan seeking to integrate IT, OT and CT technologies to fully demonstrate cross-domain Industry 4.0 synergies in the 5G era, according to statements from the parties.
FET's big data analysis, IoT and AI technologies as well as its 80MHz bandwidth under 5G 3.5GHz frequency will be coupled with Delta's smart monitoring systems and Microsoft's cloud services to materialize the cooperation project.
The project will focus on three key demonstrations, including enabling AGV (automated guided vehicles) to exchange data with the plant's management platform via 5G signals and building intelligent logistics handling systems, as well as conducting automatic optical inspection (AOI) - highlighting real-time transmission of massive high-resolution inspection data through 5G eMBB (enhanced mobile broadband ), the statements noted.
Meanwhile, Microsoft will incorporate the "digital twin" concept into the pilot plant, combining its HoloLens MR (mixed reality) headsets with 3D visual simulation technology to visualize all the equipment data facilitating remote plant management, maintenance and monitoring operations.
Through the combination of 5G and cloud service platforms, intelligent logistics systems and AGV management can help significantly reduce labor force and materials conveying costs. And the low-latency trait of 5G networks can enable manufacturers to more accurately operate AOI jobs and handle remote management of plant operations, the statements said.
As a specialist in power and thermal management solutions, Delta has made deep deployments in developing technologies, products and solutions associated with smart buildings and intelligent manufacturing plants, ranging from networking, energy management, power management, and infrastructure engineering.
Victor Cheng, Delta's senior vice president and general manager of its ICT infrastructure business group, said that AI-based data analysis and 5G connectivity can allow smart manufacturing equipment to boost per capita output by 3-5 folds.