Fibocom Collaborates with Four-Faith Building a Digital Workshop and a Smart Factory with 5G
Traditional factories are mostly dominated by mechanized equipment, with each device essentially acting as an isolated island, leading to several challenges. Namely, mechanized equipment generally relies on manual operation, resulting in lower production efficiency. The lack of comprehensive data collection and management systems in such factories also means production data is difficult to access and analyze, making optimization more difficult to achieve. Additionally, traditional processes and production lines are typically inflexible, making it challenging to quickly adjust and respond to rapidly changing market demands and increasing customization requirements. These weaknesses serve as the driving force behind the digital transformation of the manufacturing industry, and the first step for such transformation is to achieve interconnectivity within factories.
Traditional Industry Challenges
· Most traditional factories are dominated by mechanized equipment, which often relies on manual operation and has low production efficiency.
· The lack of comprehensive data collection and management systems in such factories also means production data is difficult to access and analyze, making optimization more difficult to achieve.
·Traditional processes and production lines are typically inflexible, making it challenging to quickly adjust and respond to rapidly changing market demands and increasing customization requirements.
Solution: 5G Intelligent Edge Video Computing Box
Product: 5G AIoT camera F-SC241, intelligent edge video computing box FGV100
Module: Fibocom FM150 and FM160 5G communication modules
Qualcomm Technology: Snapdragon X55 and X62 5G Modem-RF system
Scenario: 5G fully connected factories-building a digital workshop and a smart factory
Digital Transformation Value
· A project based on Four-Faith 5G AIoT intelligent cameras has been implemented in a factory in Fujian Province.
· It has achieved intelligent detection of human intrusion in restricted areas of the production line.
·Since the deployment of this system, the factory has maintained continuous production with enhanced safety, while also recording a noticeable increase in daily productivity.
· 20% improvement in AGV daily transportation efficiency.
The Numerous Advantages of a Digital Solution for 5G-connected Factories
Although various wireless technologies can achieve interconnectivity in factories, typical wireless networking solutions face certain challenges. For instance, Wi-Fi networks have poor resistance to interference and mobility, and Wi-Fi-based environments lack edge capabilities, making them unable to handle potential tasks such as fault analysis and fast data transmission at edge nodes. Another example is the LoRa module, which offers large network capacity, low power consumption, low costs, high sensitivity, and long transmission distance. However, in certain sensing and monitoring scenarios, LoRa can only transmit limited data which makes it unsuitable for high-definition videos and images. Additionally, LoRa networks may experience latency and thus fail to support high-precision real-time control.
5G effectively addresses these issues. In addition to common features such as high speed, low latency, extensive connectivity, wide coverage, and high reliability, 5G LAN technology allows direct access to the local area network of the factory without additional tunnel devices like AR routers, enabling integration with industrial networks. Moreover, 5G is compatible with network slicing, which makes customized network services for different application scenarios possible, thus catering to the diverse needs of the manufacturing industry.
Currently, Four-Faith is building 5G-compatible digital workshops and smart factories, accelerating the construction of 5G fully connected factories.
5G AIoT Cameras and Intelligent Edge Video Computing Boxes - Facilitating the Intelligent Transformation of Factoriesv
Video devices play an indispensable role in connected factories. However, conventionally, most factories were established many years ago without consideration for the wire layout of cameras and NVRs. Unfortunately, it is rather cumbersome to plan and install wired devices specifically, with many factories reluctant to shut down production lines for any such installations. As a result, it is difficult to install wired intelligent image recognition devices in existing industrial production environments.
To solve these problems, Four-Faith has developed the 5G AIoT camera F-SC241 and the intelligent edge video computing box FGV100 based on the Snapdragon X55 and X62 5G Modem-RF system. These two products greatly simplify the deployment process, allowing seamless integration of 5G wireless transmission within existing production environment. They also enable low-latency transmission of high-definition images and real-time video analysis at the edge, facilitating the intelligent transformation of factories. The 5G AIoT camera F-SC241, designed specifically for industrial IoT applications, provides wireless long range, low-latency, and high-definition video capabilities. It is equipped with a high-performance industrial-level CPU that collects data from various sensors and performs basic protocol conversions, enabling real-time AI video analysis at the front end.
Currently, the camera can be used in various scenarios, including intelligent recognition in control areas (identifying human figures, vehicle types, on-duty and off-duty statuses), intelligent recognition on production lines (real-time monitoring of product quality, as well as defects, exceptions, and error detection), equipment status monitoring (analyzing the operation status of critical equipment), mobile deployment (monitoring of material transport vehicles, robots, and other mobile devices), conventional security(surveillance of the factory and its surroundings to prevent theft and intrusion incidents), as well as logistics and warehouse management (observing cargo handling, warehouse storage, and inventory management during the logistics process).
The intelligent edge video computing box FGV100, on the other hand, breaks free from the limitations of traditional wired networks and enables real-time video transmission and remote monitoring and management in any scenario. It can be integrated with the Four-Faith Intelligent IoT Monitoring Platform and Four-Faith IoT Network Cameras to create a comprehensive intelligent IoT monitoring solution, which allows users to build their own private monitoring cloud platform to further enhancing security. Additionally, the FGV100 can integrate multiple IoT data collection protocols, enabling comprehensive monitoring of data and images.
The Snapdragon X62 5G Modem-RF System - Providing Native Support for 5G Applications in Industrial Scenarios
Even before the 5G AIoT camera became widely known, Four-Faith had already planned its intelligent IoT monitoring product line in early 2019, aiming to create a new generation of integrated intelligent IoT solutions for Industry 4.0 scenarios, combining data, images, 4G/5G, and AI in a multi-dimensional and multi-modal approach. It attaches multi dimensionality to traditional IoT, which goes beyond data monitoring and perception. By combining on-spot images with edge computing and AI image recognition, and incorporating 5G wireless communication technology, it is producing a new generation of 5G AIoT integrated edge intelligent solutions. During the product planning process, the solutions provided by Qualcomm and Fibocom have provided solid support for the5G performance of our products.
Yuanye Zeng
Overseas Product Director of Four-Faith
Specifically, the two product categories, 5G AIoT cameras, and intelligent edge video computing boxes, are designed based on the Snapdragon X55 and X62 5G modem-RF systems with Fibocom FM150 and FM160 5G communication modules. Among them, the Snapdragon X62 stands out with several innovations, including the fourth-generation Qualcomm® 545 mmWave Antenna Module (QTM545), the Qualcomm® AI-Enhanced Signal Boost, the next-gen power tracking solution, and the most comprehensive spectrum aggregation capabilities. It is also the first 10 Gigabit 5G and first 3GPP Release 16 modem-to-antenna solution in the world. It is acknowledged that the 5G R16 standard provides unified global support for Ultra Reliable and Low Latency Communications (URLLC), compressing end-to-end latency to below 5 milliseconds. Additionally, with the introduction of 5G LAN, it has inaugurated the “Industrial 5G Era”. Therefore, it can be said that the Snapdragon X62 provides native support for 5G applications in industrial scenarios.
Currently, a project based on Four-Faith 5G AIoT intelligent cameras has been implemented in a factory in Fujian Province. It has achieved intelligent detection of human intrusion in restricted areas of the production line. Moreover, the installation of intelligent cameras on large AGVs in the factory has significantly improved their traffic efficiency. The transition from traditional infrared radar detection to intelligent image recognition has enabled the intelligent filtering of objects that do not require avoidance. Since the deployment of this system, the factory has maintained continuous production with enhanced safety, while also recording a noticeable increase in daily productivity, as well as a 20% improvement in AGV daily transportation efficiency.
If we think of the 5G network serving as the soil of a fully connected factory, then 5G devices are the foundations. Fibocom’s module products facilitate the establishment of 5G fully connected factories. Specifically, the FM160-NA is compatible with the Fibocom 5G module FM150, enabling customers to flexibly develop devices. Additionally, the FM160-NA incorporates various network protocols and integrates multiple industrial standard interfaces (including USIM, USB3.1/3.0/2.0, PCIe4.0), significantly expanding its applications in Industrial IoT and other fields.
Gang Yang
Director of the Fibocom MBB Product Management Department
