A smart campus network in Swabia

Powerful campus networks are the basis for Industry 4.0

08.07.2019 by Daniel Kunz

Self-driving transport robots, remote maintenance and automatic status reports: The factory of the future functions autonomously and is networked. Why OSRAM is already working in such a forward-thinking way in Schwabmünchen.

In the factory of the future, digitalization is a part of everyday life: service technicians use Augmented Reality to quickly identify defective parts on every machine. Production machines regularly send status reports and automatic alerts when the next maintenance is due. Centrally controlled transport vehicles move materials autonomously across the factory site. The machines and robots receive their instructions in real time wirelessly via the Internet of Things (IoT). The basis: a powerful mobile network throughout the entire company premises. This scenario of a campus network for the factory of the future is already being implemented today – on the premises of the lighting manufacturer OSRAM in Schwabmünchen near Augsburg. Deutsche Telekom is responsible for planning and setting up the network.

HOW DOES A CAMPUS NETWORK WORK?

A high-performance campus network forms the basis for Industry 4.0 – the digitalization of industrial production. This type of dual-slice network consists of a public and a private mobile network at the same time. Both networks meet the individual requirements of a defined area. This can be a factory site, but also a university or a company campus. The private mobile network is not accessible from the outside and is exclusively available to the company and its employees. External service providers on the site can use the public network for mobile communications, but also for remote maintenance.

No additional cables need to be laid on the site. In contrast to a WLAN solution, the high-performance mobile network guarantees low latency and a wide range. Since the campus network is self-contained and data transmission always takes place via a secure connection, data security is particularly high – another important aspect in the digitalization of production facilities.

5G-Campus-Netz powered by T-Systems

The speed and flexibility of our equipment and machines are extremely important for efficient production processes. The integrated campus solution project provides us with the opportunity to test how we can use new technologies to further expand and optimize this in the future.
Hans-Joachim Schwabe, CEO OSRAM Automotive

“The speed and flexibility of our equipment and machines are extremely important for efficient production processes. The integrated campus solution project provides us with the opportunity to test how we can use new technologies to further expand and optimize this in the future.”

Hans-Joachim Schwabe, CEO OSRAM Automotive

CAMPUS NETWORKS AS A BASIS FOR INDUSTRY 4.0

OSRAM is already benefiting from the advantages. A local server on site processes the data in real time – an advantage in terms of speed over processing in the cloud. To guarantee high performance, Telekom has installed an LTE antenna at the Schwabmünchen site. OSRAM's campus network currently operates via 4G. In the future, the campus network is to function on the basis of 5G, which will enable smooth communication between robots, machines and transport vehicles in real time.

"Our goal is the smart factory, where all machines and planning processes are digitally networked with each other in real time," says Stefan Fritz, Vice President Digital Factory at OSRAM. "With the campus solution, we have created an infrastructure at our Schwabmünchen plant that allows us to implement this goal efficiently and flexibly for existing and future production tasks. This will enable us to further expand and improve the plant with new technologies." The Osram site in Schwabmünchen is the first pilot project of its kind. In the future, Telekom will support factories around the world in their transformation into smart factories.

For example, the world's largest automotive supplier, ZF Friedrichshafen, plans to test combined mobile networks together with Telekom. Deutsche Telekom subsidiary Magyar Telekom is installing an individual campus network for US automotive supplier BorgWarner at its plant in Hungary. "With our campus networks, we are already delivering a new solution for our industrial customers. Based on LTE, we can already implement many applications," says Claudia Nemat, Telekom Board Member for Technology and Innovation. "In the future, with 5G, these networks will be even more powerful and flexible."

OSRAM is a lighting manufacturer headquartered in Munich and one of the world’s leading high-tech companies with more than 113 years of corporate history. In 2018, the company achieved sales of more than 3.8 billion euros. OSRAM produces products for virtual reality, autonomous driving and smartphones to networked lighting solutions. In 2019, OSRAM was responsible for the lighting of the stages at the Eurovision Song Contest for the fifth time.

OSRAM and Telekom's goal for this pilot project was to build a safe and smart factory. Thanks to automated processes, production was to become more efficient.

Telekom has installed a dual slice campus network consisting of a public and a private mobile network at the OSRAM factory site in Schwabmünchen. Driverless transport vehicles now move around the factory site. Currently, the network is based on 4G mobile technology. 5G will be added in the future.

With the campus network production at the OSRAM plant in Schwabmünchen is faster and more flexible. OSRAM is also recording higher productivity. The new network forms the basis for building further smart factories.

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Daniel Kunz Daniel Kunz
Expert Digital Marketing

Digitization and the Internet of Things are among the favourite topics of Daniel Kunz. He has been with Deutsche Telekom since 2017 and regularly writes about technology trends and many exciting topics, especially for the retail trade and the logistics industry.

Daniel Kunz