Technical Paper Abstract
5G wireless is being considered for use in industrial networks in factories. While the communication performance requirements for various use cases in factories have been identified, there is limited information available regarding the specific evaluation of communication performance achieved through 5G wireless transmission in factory settings. In this study, we evaluate the communication performance of EtherNet/IP controller-to-controller communication using Sub6 of 5G SA in the 4.8GHz band. We measure packet loss and latency during 5G transmission of EtherNet/IP communication. The communication evaluation is conducted using Implicit communication between Controller 1 node and N nodes (N: 1 to 7). Implicit communication employs both multicast and unicast communication methods, with RPI intervals ranging from 1 to 200 milliseconds. Furthermore, we conduct measurements of safety reaction time and stability evaluation over a period of 24 hours by transmitting CIP-Safety over 5G for robot cells, serving as a specific use case. Through these evaluations, we clarify the expected communication performance in 5G factory use cases.
Paper and presentation from the 2023 ODVA Industry Conference & 22nd Annual Meeting
Shinji Kobayashi, OMRON Corporation
Hiroaki Yamada, OMRON Corporation