China’s Manufacturing Sector Embraces 5.5G Technology for Digital Transformation

The multi-jointed robotic arm hums as it rotates and operates, twisting its arm. It switches tools such as clamps, welding torches, and glue guns placed on the lathe, carrying and welding car body parts. But there are no wired cables on the production line. Instead, a small white box (mini base station) hung on the ceiling acts as the virtual ‘brain,’ wirelessly controlling all robots simultaneously. Data can be controlled at a near-real-time speed of 4 milliseconds (ms, 1ms=0.004 seconds), with a data transmission reliability of 99.999%, virtually 100%. It can also collect and analyze performance data to predict the future situation of the production line and proactively maintain and repair it. All of this is possible thanks to the utilization of 5G-A technology.

“10 times faster and more accurate than 5G” Car factory armed with 5.5G

This is the production line of Changchun Automobile’s finished car factory in Baoding, Hebei, China, visited by domestic and foreign reporters invited by Chinese telecommunications equipment company Huawei on the 3rd. This factory is the first to introduce 5G-A technology in cooperation with Jingcheng Gongke Automation, a parts company under Changchun Automobile, Huawei, and Chinese mobile operator China Unicom.

5G-A is an abbreviation for 5G Advanced, also known as 5.5G. Simply put, it’s an upgraded version of 5G, an intermediate stage between 5G and 6G.

Changchun Automobile is China’s number one company in the Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) field. It is famous for its SUV brand, Haval. Changchun Automobile first introduced 5G-A in the production process of the upper part of the car body of the ‘Haval Menglong’ model, which was newly launched last month.

Pan Jian, a senior scientist in big data at China Unicom, described it as “the world’s first production line that achieved ultra-high reliability of 99.999% and ultra-low latency (URLLC) of 4 milliseconds by laying a 5G-A network in the field of advanced industrial control.”

To this end, a 5G-A flexibility production test was also completed in the Jinggong Automation factory laboratory this year. Jinggong Automation specializes in the design of Changchun Automobile’s innovative equipment and automated production lines.

In the 5G-A production line, which occupies an area of approximately 3,767 square feet in the factory, four robots are responsible for most of the welding process for the entire finished car production. Currently, this factory is producing 300 to 400 Haval Menglong models every day in two shifts.

Changchun Automobile plans to expand the application of 5G-A technology to the entire finished car production process, such as welding and assembly, and fully remodel this factory into a ‘5.5G smart factory’. It also plans to gradually apply 5G-A technology in other factories in regions such as Xishui and Chongqing.

Production line changes in just 15 minutes···Annual savings of $800 million expected

This is the current state of digital transformation (DX) in China’s manufacturing sector. Notably, China, waging a high-tech war with the United States, is pouring all its efforts into building an industrial and supply chain centered on its own country. To this end, it has become more important than anything else to upgrade outdated industries and supply chains by deploying the latest technologies to lay digital infrastructure.

One of the critical technologies for this is 5.5G. 5.5G boasts an improved performance that is 10 times better than 5G in terms of data transmission speed and reliability, and it can connect up to 1 million terminals per square kilometer with a single base station.

Moreover, under the wireless environment, each production line can be freely moved through ‘modular’ operation, making flexible production possible, according to Yuan Zhanzhang, the Deputy General Manager of Jinggong Automation Industry Smart Business Division.

When wired cables connected the production equipment, it took seven days to change the production line equipment whenever a new product was launched. However, now, under the 5.5G wireless environment, the production line can be changed in just 15 minutes with software manipulation, and the cost can be reduced by 70 to 80% compared to before. It’s now possible to quickly meet customized customer demands with small-lot production of various items rather than pouring out identical products like fish cakes according to a uniform production process.

The problem of equipment failure due to cable wear and tear has also disappeared as the wireless network replaces wired cables. Deputy General Manager Yuan said, “The downtime of factory machines due to existing wired cable restrictions totaled 60 hours a year,” and explained, “With 5G-A technology, the time and cost spent on machine breakdowns and wired cable maintenance and repairs have decreased, and production speed has significantly increased, saving more than $800 million annually.”

He continued, “If companies do not undergo digital transformation, they will inevitably lose their competitive advantage in the future market,” and added that Changchun Automobile has already established an industry digitization center internally and is devising a digital transformation strategy at the group level.

China’s manufacturing ‘DX’ trend···High-quality economic growth new growth engine

The Chinese government, which sees digital transformation as a new driving force for high-quality economic growth, has actively supported it. In particular, China, the world’s largest manufacturing powerhouse, is most actively seeking digital transformation in the manufacturing sector. According to China’s Ministry of Industrial Information Technology, the added value of China’s manufacturing industry accounted for nearly 30% of the world’s manufacturing added value in 2022, maintaining the world’s top spot for 13 consecutive years.

IDC, a global market research company, predicts that China’s digital transformation spending will increase by 19.2% from $323.9 billion in 2022 to $386.1 billion this year, exceeding the global average of 16.8% during the same period.

Since China launched 5G in 2019, the Ministry of Industrial Information Technology has announced the ‘512 Project’ plan for the development of ‘5G+Industrial Internet’, which integrates 5G into the industrial field and decides to build 20 5G application scenarios in 10 major industries by 2022. In July of this year, it announced an upgraded version of the 512 Project, deciding to create at least 300 5G factories in at least 3,000 companies.

In line with the Chinese government’s policy, major manufacturers are also realizing digital transformation. Take the Chinese clothing brand Yage’er as an example. With the support of China Unicom, Yage’er converted the entire clothing factory into a 5G ‘smart factory,’ not only reducing the reaction time of finished products from the existing 15 days to 5 days but also reducing the mass production cycle by 35% compared to before and increasing production efficiency by 25%.

China Unicom has also supported the construction of 5G smart factories at China International Marine Containers (CIMC), Geely Automobile, Shanxi Pangpang Coal Mine, etc. According to the Ministry of Industrial Information Technology, as of the end of 2022, 5G technology is being used in a total of 67 industrial sectors in China, including automobiles, clothing, 3C (computers, communications, home appliances), home appliances, textiles, semiconductors, etc., and there are as many as 7,000 industrial projects based on 5G technology.

In particular, Huawei is the most proactive in building ICT infrastructure for the digital transformation of Chinese industries. Meng Wanzhou, CFO of Huawei, said in April, “By 2026, global digital transformation spending will reach $3.41 trillion,” and predicted, “Whether it’s a company that has realized digital transformation or a company that supports digital transformation, the market potential is enormous.”

Huawei, which has been struggling in the smartphone and telecommunications equipment business sectors due to U.S. technology sanctions, has focused on the industrial internet strategically and has been working to smarten up outdated industrial sites such as steel mills, coal mines, ports, and factories in China. This is why the ICT infrastructure business has maintained a steady flow and has become Huawei’s cash cow. Huawei, the first in the world to bring up the concept of 5.5G and declared its intention to lead the future of communication technology, plans to introduce 5.5G equipment and solutions to the market, setting 2024 as the first year of 5G-A commercialization.

By. Bae In Sun