The fifth generation of mobile communications 5G has been introduced to a variety of application domains enabling significant progress towards networked and adaptive systems. As the development of 5G was specifically tailored towards the requirements of industry, a broad knowledge of the technology has been built up in industrial production while also contributing to increasing the spread of data-driven technologies like machine learning. Other application domains are still lacking the widespread use and adoption of digital and data-driven technologies. The objective of the research project 5G.NAMICO is to utilize the gained expertise and knowledge from industrial production and contribute to the adoption of 5G in the application domains of construction and underground mining. We set up trail sites on a construction site and in an underground mine to determine how a 5G network must be designed to meet the domain-specific requirements. Use cases have been designed and implemented to verify the functionality as well as the benefits of the employed 5G networks. First network tests were conducted showing the potential of 5G to enable an end-to-end coverage, which provides the basis for the use of digital and data-driven technologies in the application domains of construction and underground mining.

Wireless closed-loop control systems, so-called networked control systems (NCS) promise technical and economic benefits for production applications. To realize prospective benefits, the right communication technology is key. The fifth generation of mobile communication is predicted to have a significant impact on the deployment of NCS in the industrial connectivity landscape. However, there are different options for 5G deployment influencing both technical performance and economic aspects of the network. This in turn is expected to have a techno-economic influence on the production itself. Thus, a trade-off between the necessary technical performance of the 5G network and the benefits for the production must be executed. This paper, therefore, aims to analyze the techno-economic benefits of 5G deployment for closed-loop control systems in production. To reach this aim, first, the fundamentals of techno-economic analysis are introduced. Second, the results of an experimental performance analysis of a 5G-NSA-NPN at Fraunhofer IPT in Aachen are shown. Third, based on the results from the experimental study, a model-based techno-economic ex-ante evaluation of 5G-NSA-NPN for closed-loop applications is performed, and an exemplar is shown for a BLISK milling use case. Finally, the results are summarized and an outlook for further research is given. The analysis shows a difference in net present value for 5G deployment of EUR 2.6 M after 10 years and a difference of OPEX per product of around EUR −1000 per BLISK. Furthermore, analysis shows an increase in productivity (0.73%), quality (30.75%), and sustainability (2.87%). This indicates a noticeable improvement of a 5G-controlled NCS.

This paper addresses the industrial adoption gap of 5G/6G by presenting a verti-cal-agnostic Methodological Assessment Framework (MAF) that bridges network KPI with user-centric User-KPI and User-KVI to quantify techno-economic and societal value propositions from an end-user perspective. First, a detailed description of the MAF and its underlying principles is given, explaining how a use case’s value proposi-tion can be captured. Second, the MAF is applied to three different use cases from the verticals manufacturing, construction, and automotive utilizing the individual User-KPI and User-KVI for the quantification of the individual value propositions. The results show that the use of 5G can lead to enhanced process capability and reproducibility as well as increased insights into different processes. In addition, it is shown that the MAF objectively quantifies user value across diverse verticals, strengthens inter-disciplinary alignment, and can be employed to support investment decisions, based on the calcu-lated value propositions.

This paper addresses the industrial adoption gap of 5G/6G by presenting a novel, vertical-agnostic Methodological Assessment Framework (MAF). The MAF bridges the Network Key Performance Indicators (KPI) of 5G networks with user-centric User-KPIs and User-KVIs (Key Value Indicators) to quantify the techno-economic and societal value propositions of industrial 5G use cases from an end-user perspective. First, a detailed description of the MAF and its underlying principles is given, explaining how a use case’s value proposition can be captured. Second, the MAF is applied to three different industrial use cases from the verticals manufacturing, construction, and automotive utilizing the individual User-KPI and User-KVI for the quantification of the individual value propositions. The results show that the use of 5G can lead to enhanced process capability and reproducibility as well as increased insights into different processes. In addition, it is shown that the MAF objectively quantifies user value across diverse verticals and is able to strengthen interdisciplinary alignment over different verticals.