TU Kaiserslautern and MUGLER AG launch 5G research project at the Smart Factory
24. August 2021
TU Kaiserslautern is deploying several private campus networks to provide indoor and outdoor coverage using the new 5G network technology as part of the Kaiserslautern 5G research project. The project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) as part of its 5G research initiative.
Together with the Chair of Wireless Communications and Navigation at TU Kaiserslautern, the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) and other partners from industry and research, 5G applications are being designed and tested to support technology-focused research. MUGLER AG was awarded a contract for a subproject of the Kaiserslautern 5G research project through a public procurement procedure. MUGLER designed and deployed the private 5G network for the Smart Factory and additional demonstration facilities for future production processes at DFKI.
In close collaboration with DFKI and SmartFactory KL e.V., TU Kaiserslautern is evaluating and testing 5G connectivity concepts for production and intralogistics. The private campus network provided by MUGLER also enables the testing and further development of Open RAN networks.
Prof. Hans Schotten, Head of the Kaiserslautern 5G Research Initiative, explains:
“Open RAN-based networks are currently attracting considerable interest in industry because this 5G network technology makes it particularly easy to integrate application-specific functions, especially AI capabilities for the automated optimisation of networks and application performance. We want to explore these possibilities here.” Another objective is to establish a vendor-independent demonstration and evaluation platform that can also be used to verify interoperability between solutions from different manufacturers.
Stefan Richter, Head of Private Networks at MUGLER AG, adds: “Together with TU Kaiserslautern, we have already implemented a multi-vendor approach for 5G standalone networks. To achieve this, we selected two different vendors to provide the core network and the radio access network.”
MUGLER deployed the private 5G network in collaboration with the two network equipment suppliers Druid Software and Airspan Networks. Both vendors have already delivered numerous local and private networks internationally. Druid Software is an independent European software company specialising in core networks for local mobile networks. The benefits of its Raemis platform, including its open architecture, ease of integration and high scalability, were key factors in its selection as the partner for the 5G core network.
The solution is well suited both to use in research projects and to the deployment of local networks for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Tadhg Kenny, Senior Vice President at Druid, emphasises: “The deployment of 5G infrastructure at TU Kaiserslautern will play a key role in developing and implementing practical use cases and demonstrate the importance of 5G technology for Industry 4.0.”
As the radio access network supplier, US-based Airspan Networks is contributing its OpenRANGE solution to the project. Airspan’s solution includes the AirVelocity 2700, a split 7.2 indoor radio, as well as virtualised central unit (CU) and distributed unit (DU) software, all based on O-RAN and 3GPP standards. One of the reasons TU Kaiserslautern and MUGLER chose to work with Airspan is that OpenRANGE is based on a virtualised network environment in which baseband processing is implemented entirely in software and can run on commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) server hardware.
In addition to the 3GPP-defined split 2 interface (DU–CU), Open RAN split 7.2A (DU–RU) is also implemented. This provides an important foundation within the network infrastructure for interoperability, flexibility and a wider choice of components.
Giuseppe Bernini, Vice President of Sales Europe at Airspan Networks adds: “We firmly believe that 5G Open RAN will pave the way for further innovation in production and intralogistics in smart factories. We are delighted to bring our OpenRANGE solution to this transformative private network at TU Kaiserslautern.”