Time-Sensitive Networking Enabling Industry 4.0

TSN over 5G systems bring numerous benefits to industrial communication networks. Both technologies have been designed to provide converged communication for a wide range of services on a common network infrastructure and significant benefits can be achieved for Industry 4.0 use cases by enabling TSN and 5G to work together.

Industry 4.0 is currently under way, with massive machine-to-machine communication at its core, focused on manufacturing smart products in fully connected and optimized factory floors. Harnessing the power of IoT, cloud, big data, machine learning, artificial intelligence and automation, the integrated and intelligent use of processes and resources are creating immense efficiencies and opportunities, while transforming the economic and social landscape. Across the globe, manufacturing sector is witnessing unprecedented levels of agility and workflows. As per industry data, by 2028 the global Industry 4.0 market is set to touch US$337 billion.

Connected Machines and TSN

High availability plays a key role in smart manufacturing and for mission-critical Industry 4.0 applications there is no scope for even the smallest downtime. With advanced sensors, embedded software and robotics becoming part of intelligent manufacturing, organizations are rapidly changing the ways they produce and deliver their products.  New technologies like; artificial intelligence, advanced automation and augmented/virtual reality are helping accelerate smart manufacturing, making factories more agile and efficient. With more time-sensitive applications used in smart manufacturing, traditional Ethernet is no longer sufficient to support these demands and TSN will play a critical role in enabling smart manufacturing, allowing the industry to overcome key challenges. In fact, Ethernet with TSN standards has become a critical component in advanced factories today.

Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) is a set of IEEE standards that provides deterministic, highly reliable and low-latency communication over wired Ethernet. It is the technology of the future for convergent industrial communications and Industry 4.0. Interworking of the 5G system and the TSN system is a key objective in making the 5G system a better fit for future Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) applications.

The Integrated Network

Ensuring time precision is not the only advantage that Ethernet with TSN standards has over its conventional counterpart. Ethernet with TSN standards supports different types of data traffic, which means different data streams can be merged, reducing the number of networks thereby simplifying backend processes. Also, an integrated network ensures greater visibility over the data generated across the entire manufacturing process. This data can be extracted and analysed, which in turn can help organizations optimise performance, productivity and efficiency. Moreover, an integrated network allows operators to easily identify and troubleshoot any potential issues. This not only reduces downtime arising due to maintenance or repair activities, but also keeps the production line running uninterrupted.

Testing TSN standards in a simulated environment

TSN over 5G bring numerous benefits to industrial communication networks, however comprehensive testing must be performed to ensure all requirements are being met, both in the lab and in live networks. Testing TSN standards in a simulated environment has many benefits. Engineers can specify the exact parameters to test-run the entire manufacturing process. They could even push the system to its operational limits and observe its performance under stress. Operational errors can also be reproduced, to ascertain if a failure was random or caused by specific test conditions.

Every aspect of the network’s behaviour, including the timing of data packet’s transmission and reception, can be precisely measured at every stage of the production line. This allows technicians to perform finer, more precise calibrations, before the manufacturing process goes live. TSN simulation testing is important to assess the network’s ability to handle peak traffic loads, as well as other operating scenarios.

Time to realize the full potential of TSN over 5G

TSN is evolving fast and it is important to test, measure and validate interoperability, performance, stability and reliability of TSN devices and networks with actionable analytics and intuitive reporting. TSN over 5G systems bring numerous benefits to industrial communication networks. Both technologies have been designed to provide converged communication for a wide range of services on a common network infrastructure and significant benefits can be achieved for Industry 4.0 use cases by enabling TSN and 5G to work together.

Authored By-C P Manoharan, Director of Business Development, APAC SOUTH, Spirent Communications