EuroWire March 2024

Technology News

Collaboration between Ericsson, Mugler and SMS group

SMS group is using a private 5G network for research and development

SMS is building its own “private 5G campus network” for research and development at its Hilchenbach location in Germany. Together with Mugler and Ericsson, a private 5G infrastructure was set up that enables not only the testing of the highest mobile communications standard currently available, but also the advancement of new developments for the metallurgical industry. The industry is facing challenges in the development of new materials and the reduction of energy consumption and emissions. To achieve these goals, a high degree of automation and digitalisation in a real-time network environment is required. A “private 5G network” means creating your own network infrastructure based on a frequency and coverage area licensed for the customer that enables the worldwide provision and processing of data in real time. The use of such a network allows new approaches to solutions, which SMS is now testing for the first time on an industrial scale and developing for customers in the metallurgical industry around the world. The private 5G stand-alone campus network used at SMS provides the basis for an initial test environment for the implementation of various 5G use cases. The network is based on Ericsson Private 5G Technology (EP5G) and was implemented by Mugler. Tests are carried out on applications from the fields of mobility and automated guided vehicles (AGV), the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), and lone worker applications. These are integrated and tested at SMS’s Hilchenbach site, with the aim of optimising their practical implementation. The location also serves as a platform for putting into practice the findings gained within the framework of the 5G-Furios research projects being run and funded by the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the European Union’s Horizon 2020 project Zero-Swarm, and the Cloud56 research project of the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV). The test environment offers an opportunity to test use cases internally and to present them to potential customers in a clear and illustrative way. SMS group GmbH www.sms-group.com

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March 2024