Ericsson Technology Review: Industrial remote operation: 5G rises to the challenge

RELIABLE CONNECTIVITY FOR TELEOPERATION ✱
NOVEMBER 4, 2015 ✱ ERICSSON TECHNOLOGY REVIEW 1
C H A R T I N G T H E F U T U R E O F I N N O V A T I O N V O L U M E 9 2 | # 9 ◆ 2 0 1 5
INDUSTRIALREMOTE
OPERATION:5GRISES
TOTHECHALLENGE
ERICSSON
TECHNOLOGY
Cloud
Cellular network
ration, control, management, security Registration, control, management, security
Cellular network
Controlled
machinery
or 1
Operator 2
Control data, video/audio/haptic
E2E QoS (transport, core, access)
low latency, reliable service
Service <–> network
interaction optimizations
Service <-> network interaction
optimizations
Network processing to
optimize performance
Optimized
network slice
New 5G radio access
with low latency and
high reliability

✱ RELIABLE CONNECTIVITY FOR TELEOPERATION
2 ERICSSON TECHNOLOGY REVIEW ✱ NOVEMBER 4, 2015
ERICSSON
JOHAN TORSNER
KRISTOFER DOVSTAM
GYÖRGY MIKLÓS
BJÖRN SKUBIC
GUNNAR MILDH
TOMAS MECKLIN
JOHN SANDBERG
ABB
JAN NYQVIST
JONAS NEANDER
CARLOS MARTINEZ
BIAO ZHANG
JIANJUN WANG
Ericsson and ABB are collaborating to determine how to make the most of 5G
and cellular technologies in an industrial setting. We are looking at a number
of use cases, each with its own challenging set of connectivity requirements.
This article presents some of the use cases being assessed, highlights the
challenges posed by remote operations, and describes how 5G technology
can be applied to overcome them.
Usecases,benefits,anddrivers
Powerplants,mines,constructionsites,and
oilplatformscanbehazardousenvironments.
Industrialsiteslikethesecanbenoisyanddirty,
andmayexposepersonneltoanabundance
ofrisksassociatedwithfallingobjects,harsh
weatherconditions,andthepresenceofheavy
machineryandchemicals.
Business incentives like reducing the risks
associated with working on remote sites
have led industrial players to consider ways
of minimizing the numbers of operational
personnel needed. Deploying a remote-
or teleoperation for heavy machinery and
other equipment is one way to cut the size
of the on-site workforce. Remote operation
solutions allow people to operate machinery
from the safety of a control center at another
site – sometimes even several hundred
kilometers away.
Withtherightsystemdesign,remoteoperation
enablesanincreasedlevelofsafety,andinsome
casesleadstomoreefficientuseofresources.For
example,operatorscanrunanumberofmachines
INDUSTRIAL REMOTE OPERATION
5G rises to the
challenge

atseveraldifferentsitesfromthecomfortofa
centralizedcontrolcenter.Controlcenterscanin
turnbeestablishedinstrategiclocations;ittendsto
beeasiertoattractexpertstoanurbanareathana
remotelocation.Runningaremoteoperationcan
alsohelptoreducethehighcostofbuildingthekind
ofinfrastructureoftenassociatedwithsitesthatare
isolated.However,attimes,remoteoperatorsmay
notbeasproductiveason-sitemanualoperators
owingtotheirreducedsenseofamachine’s
surroundings.Operatingawheelloaderinamine
onaremotebasis,forexample,islessefficientthan
handlingitmanuallyon-site,asitishardertofillthe
loadingshovelwithasmuchmaterial.
Productivitycan,ontheotherhand,beimproved
byincludingacertaindegreeofautomationin
thesolution–tohelptheoperatorwiththemost
challengingtasks.Repetitivetaskscanbealmost
fullyautomated,withoperatorinterventionreserved
forhandlingunexpectedevents,suchaswhenan
objectisdroppedorsomethinggetsbroken.For
otherjobsthatmaybecarriedoutmoreeffectively
byamachinethanahumanbeing–suchasprecise
linearmovementsandconstantcontactforcecontrol
–anautomaticcontrollermaybeusedtoassistthe
operator.Inthecaseofaremotelyoperatedrobotic
arm,therobotandtheoperatorcanhavejoint
control,dependingonthedegreeoffreedomand
motionrequired.
Thepossibleusecasesforremoteoperationsin
industryarenumerous,andeachscenariobringsits
uniquesetofchallenges.
Mining
Themodernmineiscrowdedwithvehiclesand
machinesperformingavarietyoftasks,bothon
thesurfaceandunderground:trucks,drills,trains,
wheelloaders,androbotsdesignedforspecific
tasksarealltypicalexamples.Minesarehigh-risk
environments,andtheabilitytomovepeopleand
equipmentfromoneplacetoanotheriskey,given
thatcertainareascantakeaconsiderableamountof
timetoreach.
Theabilitytomovedriverlessequipmentinto
placequickly,sayfollowingablast,isapotential
time-saverwhenpeoplearenotpermittedintothe
areauntilfumeshavecleared.Benefitslikethis,
combinedwiththefactthatminesaretypically
foundinremotelocations,haveledthemining
industrytobecomeanearlyadopteranddeveloper
ofremotemachineoperation.
Constructionsites
Theincentivesfortheconstructionindustryto
implementremoteoperationsaresimilartothose
thatapplyinmining.Inbothindustries,heavy
machineryisrequired,suchasexcavators,wheel
loaders,compactors,andhaulers–allofwhichcan
beworkedremotelytoadvantage.Unlikemining,
machineryusedintheconstructionindustrymoves
fromonesitetothenext,whichrequiresamore
flexibleoperatingsolutionthatcanfunctionwithout
theneedforfixedon-siteinfrastructure.
Ericsson’sresearchaddressingremoteoperations
fortheconstructionapplicationwasdemonstrated

Termsandabbreviations
3gpp–3rd Generation Partnership Project | decor–dedicated core network | e2e–end-to-end | fec–forward
error correction | ip–Internet Protocol | ir–infrared | lte–Long-Term Evolution | mwc–Mobile World Congress |
nfv–Network Functions Virtualization | nx–Ericsson’s 5G air interface initiative | ran–radio-access network |
rtp–Real-time Transport Protocol | sctp–Stream Control Transmission Protocol | sdn–software-defined
networking | sla–Service Level Agreement | srtp–Secure rtp | tti–Transmission Time Interval | udp–User
Datagram Protocol | ue–User Equipment

Construction site Factory Mine
Figure 1:
Remote operation of machines
Figure 2:
Remote mining control center (Garpenberg, Sweden)
Photographer: Hans Nordlander

atmwc in2015[1].Thetrialsleadinguptothedemo
aimedtodeterminethenetworkrequirementslike
latencyandthroughput,aswellastheperformance
needsfortheaudioandvideoequipment–witha
viewtoensuringthat5Gwillmeetthespecifications.
Harbors
Largecargoshipscancarryover16,000containers.
Loadingandunloadingisatime-consuming
processoftenrequiringanumberofcranes
workingsimultaneouslyformanyhoursatatime.
Traditionally,eachoperatorsitson-siteinthe
controlcabinofthecrane,highaboveground.
Cranesneedtobeoperatedwithspeed,precision,
andconsistency.Withsmartcranesandremote
operation,safetyandproductivitylevelscanbe
increased,whileoperatorstresslevelscanbe
reduced.Thecomfortofthecontrolroomoffers
manybenefitsintermsofwellbeing,asit:
〉〉 savesthetimespentaccessingacrane’scontrolcabin
〉〉 providesafavorablejobenvironmentwithimproved
ergonomics
〉〉 reducesexposuretoadverseweatherconditions
〉〉 improvesthesecurityandsafetyofpersonnel
ABBhasdevelopedasolutiontoremotelyoperate
cranesfromacontrolroomintheharbor,wherethe
operator’sworkisfacilitatedbyavideofeedfromthe
crane[2].Centralizationisthenaturalnextstepin
thedevelopmentofthissolution,enablingmultiple
cranessituatedatdifferentsitestobeoperatedfrom
thesamestation.
Surveyingandinspection
Drones,robots,andvehiclesthatareremotely
operatedaresuitableforapplicationslikelandand
seainspection,wherethesafetyissuesarisingfrom
thedistancescovered,adverseweatherconditions,
andhazardousterraincanbecostlytoaddress.
Remoteoperationsworkwellforthesetypesof
monitoringapplications,andareidealforobserving
industrialandconstructionsitesinout-of-the-
wayplaces,orlargeindoorvenuesandwarehouse
environments.
Videostreamsandothersensordataarefedback
totheoperator,enablingappropriateactiontobe
Figure 3:
Remote operation station
Photographer: HansNordlander
Figure 4:
Harborside cranes for loading and unloading cargo
Photographer: HansNordlander

taken.Bycombiningremoteinspectionwithremote
manipulation,thelevelofautomationcanberaised.
Forexample,aremotelyoperatedrobotinadata
centercanrapidlyswapoutamalfunctioningserver,
orrespondtoothertypesofhardwarefailures[3].
Oilandgas
Theoilandgasindustryoperatesinenvironments
thatareharsh–bothforpeopleandequipment.
Inspection,servicing,andoperationofequipment
aswellasmonitoringofleaksarejustsomeof
theroutineapplications.Remoteoperationis
highlyapplicabletothisindustry,buttofullyreap
thepotentialbenefits,equipmentmustremain
functionalwithouttheneedforregularon-site
maintenance.Oneofthemainbenefitsofremote
operationisareductionintheneedforpeople
toworkinhostileenvironments,andfrequent
maintenancevisitswouldnegatethisbenefit[4].
Remotesurgery
Theuseofteleoperationtechnologyisemergingin
thefieldofmedicine.Itenablessurgeonstoperform
criticalspecializedmedicalproceduresremotely–
allowingtheirvitalexpertisetobeappliedglobally.
Whilethisapplicationareaisstillinitsinfancy,itis
likelytobecomemorewidespreadasthetechnology
becomesmoreadvanced.
Challenges
Forremoteoperationsolutionstofunction
effectively,sensoryinformationlikesoundsand
imagesneedstobetransferredtotheteleoperator
fromtheequipmentbeingcontrolledandits
surroundings.Ensuringthataudioandvisual
feedsaresentwithminimaldistortionenables
theteleoperatortogainagoodunderstandingof
theremoteenvironment,whichleadstoimproved
productivityandsafety.
Remoteoperationswouldbecomeevenmore
efficientandintuitiveifsensorydataadditionalto
thebasicaudioandvisualinformationwereincluded
inthesolution.Justasmanualoperationsrelyheavily
onthehumanabilitytobalanceandtouchthings,
remoteoperationapplications–whetherindustrial,
medical,orrecreational–canbenefitgreatlyfrom
theincorporationofthistypeofsensoryinformation.
Theadditionoftouchandbalancetotheoperator
feedcanbeachievedbytheuseofhapticinteraction
andforcefeedback.Theabilityfortheoperatorto
actuallyfeelthevibrationswhenanobjectlikean
excavatorbuckethitstheground,ortosensewhen
arobotarmtouchesitstargetishighlyvaluablein
termsofproductivity,cost,andsafety.
Additionalsensorsandtechnologies,likegyros,
accelerometers,radars,lasers,lidars,andthermal
andir sensorscanbeusedtogainmoreinformation
fromtheremotesiteandprovideenhancedcontrol
attheoperatorend.
Thenegativeeffectsofbadmediaquality,oran
imperfectrepresentationoftheremoteequipment
anditssurroundingenvironment,canbealleviated
tosomedegreethroughtraining.Beforefull
productivitycanbeachieved,operatorsrequire
trainingandexperienceofoperatingequipment
remotely–eveniftheyhavepreviouslyoperatedthe
sameorsimilarequipmenton-site.
Remoteoperationisn’taone-size-fits-allsolution.
Owingtotherangeofequipmentandthemany
potentialscenariosinwhichremoteapplications
apply,thearrayofusecasesthatcouldbenefit
fromremoteoperationisextensive.Anextra
levelofvariationarisesfromtheneedtoweave
environmentalparameters–suchasrain,snow,
dust,dirt,vibrations,andvisibility–intosystem
design.Forexample,remotelyoperatingadumper
thatmovescargoloadsinandoutofamineis
fundamentallydifferentfromperformingsurgery
usingaremote-controlledprecisionrobot.Buteven
lessobviouslycontrastingexamples,likeoperatinga
dumperindifferingvisibilityconditions,canpresent
significantchallengesforthetechnicalsolution.
Communicationrequirements
Securingahigh-qualitycommunicationlink
betweenthecontrolstationandthemachinesbeing
operatediskeytoaccurateandeffectiveremote
operation.Existingsolutionstendtousecableor
wi-fi toimplementthelasthopofthislink.Cable
provideslowlatencyandhighreliability,butitis
costlytoinstallandmodify–whichissignificant
whenmachinesareconstantlybeingmovedfrom

onesitetoanother,suchasintheconstruction
industry.wi-fi isalow-costalternativethat
providesacertaindegreeofmobility–within
thecoverageareaofthewi-fi network.Both
solutionsrequirededicatedon-siteinstallationand
aconnectiontothecontrolcenteroverthepublic
internetorthroughaleasedfixed-lineconnection.
Toprovideremoteoperationsolutionswith
connectivity,standardizedcellularsystemsoffera
numberofbenefitsoverwiredconnectionsorwi-fi.
First,usinganoperator-managedcellularnetwork
eliminatestheneedtoinstallon-siteinfrastructure.
Second,cellularofferswidespreadcoverageand
mobilitysolutionsthatcanprovideconnectivityto
mobilemachineryanddevices.Furthermore,as
theyuselicensedfrequencybands,cellularlinksare
highlyreliable,andtherequiredlevelofsecuritycan
beguaranteed.However,therequirementssetby
someusecases,whichareofinteresttosocietyand
certainindustries,cannoteasilybemetbyexisting
communicationtechnologies.
Asimple,quickandflexibleon-siteinstallation
processisabasicrequirementformanyremote
operationapplications.Machinesmightbe
portableordriverlessandmayberequiredat
differentlocationsduringthesameworkingday.
Jobsitescanbetemporaryandmaygrow,andtheir
communicationneedsmaychangeovertime–which
tendstobethecaseinconstructionandmining.For
suchenvironments,wirelesssolutionsarepreferable
astheyofferthedesiredlevelofflexibilityandeaseof
installation,theycansupportequipmentthatison
themove,anddonotrequireanycables.
Forthemostpart,industrialcompaniesexpect
globalcommunicationstobedeliveredwithe2e
ServiceLevelAgreements(slas),whichtheycan
handlethemselvestosomedegree.Providinge2e
slas,however,presentsachallengegiventhatthe
systemmayspanmultiplepublicoperatornetworks
andeveninfrastructureownedbytheenterpriseitself.
High-definitionvideoisafundamentalelement
ofremoteoperationsolutions.Todeliverheavy
videostreamsrequiresconnectionlinkswithhigh
minimumbitrates,especiallywhenapplications
requirehigh-resolutionimages,fastframerates,
stereoscopicvideo,immersivevideo,ormultiple
viewpoints(several
camerafeeds).Low
mediaqualityseverely
degradestheuser
experience,which
inevitablyleadstoa
dropinproductivity.
Theexactbandwidthrequirementsare,however,
highlydependentontheusecase.
Likemostreal-timeapplications,remote
operationrequiresconnectionlinkswithlowlatency
andlowjittercharacteristics.Tooperateequipment
(likeanexcavatororarobot)efficientlyonaremote
basis,thetimelapsebetweentheinstantanoperator
sendsacontrolinstructiontothemomentthe
equipment’sreactionissensedbytheoperatormust
beasshortaspossible.
Thetoughestlatencyrequirementsoccurin
applicationsthatincludehapticinteraction.Atypical
hapticcontrolloopinaremoteoperationapplication
requireslatencytobebelow10ms[5],andinsome
cases,theroundtriptimeshouldnotexceedacouple
ofmilliseconds.Toputthisfigureintoperspective,
currentlte networkshaveanaveragelatencyof
30ms,whichinsomecasescanriseto100msormore
ifpacketsaredelayed.
Somedegreeoftolerationtopacketlossinremote
operationapplicationsisexpected.However,packet
lossmayresultinlostordelayedcontrolcommands,
whichcancausemachinerytostop,canbecostly,
andcancausedamagetoequipmentoreveninjury
topersonnel.So,toguaranteethecontinuousand
safeoperationofmachinery,thecommunicationlink
andtheentiresolutionneedtobehighlyreliable.
Systemoutagesorhijackedequipmentresulting
fromacyber-attackorothersecurityintrusion
canhavesevereconsequences.Personnelsafetyis
jeopardized,businesscontinuitycanbeaffected,
andexpensiveequipmentmaybedamaged.So,
securityisakeyconsiderationwhendesigningany
remoteoperationsystem.
Properaudioandvideofeedsynchronization
iscriticaltoprovidetheoperatorwithaclear
understandingofwhatishappeningattheremote
location.Thesynchronizationrequirementsfor
remoteoperationsolutionsthatincorporatehaptic
REMOTE
OPERATION ISN’T A
ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL
SOLUTION

interactionandforcefeedbackaremuchstronger
thanforavideoconference,forexample.Without
propersynchronization,theoperatormightreceive
confusingandcontradictorymessages,whichhas
negativeimpactonuserexperience.
Mechanismsneedtobeinplacetoensure
thatequipmentcanbestoppedautomaticallyin
abnormalsituations–likeamachinemalfunction,a
collision,orthepresenceofunauthorizedpersonnel.
Teleoperatedequipmentmayrequireadditional
sensorsandfunctionalitytodetectpotentialrisks
andenablesaferemotefaulthandlingandrecovery.
Thecommunicationrequirementsforremote
operationcanbesummarizedasfollows:
〉〉 easeofdeployment
〉〉 minimumbitrate
〉〉 lowlatency
〉〉 reliability
〉〉 security
〉〉 emergencyhandlingandrecovery
Solutionsandenablersin5G
5Ginnovationsrelatedtomediadelivery,andcore,
radio-accessandtransportnetworks[6]willprovide
thetechnologyneededforremoteoperationand
otherindustrialmission-criticalcases.
ran solutions
Todeliveranacceptablelevelofservice
experienceforindustrialremoteoperation,a
numberofperformancerequirementsneedtobe
set:minimumbitrate,maximumlatency,anda
permittedlevelofpacketloss.Bydeployingservice-
specificoptimizationsrelatingtoscheduling,the
requirementsofseveralremoteusecasesmaybemet
bymodernlte-basedcellularsystems.Andaslte
willcontinuetobeenhancedwithimprovements
suchaslatencyreductions,itwillbecomeevermore
applicableforindustrialapplications.
However,somedemandingusecases–suchasthe
operationoffast-movingmachinepartsorscenarios
thatrequireaccuratereal-timecontrol–placesuch
stringentrequirementsonconnectivitythatthey
cannotbemetbyexistingcellularsolutions.But
5Gtechnologiesarebeingdevelopedwiththese
requirementsinmind.Withmarketintroduction
duearound2020,theywillbeabletoprovidethe
performancecapabilitiesnecessaryfordemanding
industrialusecases.In5G,innovativeairinterfaces
likenx willbedevelopedthatincludesophisticated
signalingmethods.Theevolutionoflte willbe
asignificantpartof5G,anditstechnologieswill
coexistwithnx.
Ifanindustrialsiteislocatedwithinthecoverage
areaofamobileoperator’s5Gnetwork,remote
servicescanbeprovidedtothesiteusingthe
network’sinbuiltmechanismsattherequired
performancelevel.Inmanycases,however,
industrialsitestendtobelocatedinareaswithout
adequate5Gcoverage.Insuchcases,adedicated5G
infrastructurecanbeinstalledneartheindustrial
site,whichcouldbeeitherpermanentortemporary.
Tosupporttherequirementsofthewhole
coverageareaforhigh-loadsituations,specialdesign
characteristicsneedtobetakenintoconsideration.
Thechallengeariseswhenconnectionsare
congestedorsufferfrompoorlinkrate,causingthe
transferrateovertheradiolinktodroptemporarily
belowthecoderateofthevideostream.Whenthis
occurs,queuingdelaysfollow,whichinturndegrade
userexperience.
Lowlatencyandhighreliabilityaretwokey
designcriteriaforthenx-radiointerfacein5G.To
attainthelevelsofperformancerequiredforlatency
andreliability,anumberofairinterfacedesign
characteristics,likeshortradioframesandnew
codingschemes,willcomeintoplay.
Toachievelowlatencyinthesystem,thetime
ittakestotransmitacontrolcommandoverthe
radiointerfaceneedstobeminimized.Innx,the
timetotransmitasinglepacketovertheair–the
TransmissionTimeInterval(tti)–isexpectedto
beafractionofthetti inlte.Thetti inlte is
definedas1ms,whereasnx willbedesignedto
deliverttisintheorderofoneorafewhundred
microseconds[4].Suchlow-orderttiswillenable
shorttransmissiontimesforshortpackagesand
facilitateretransmissionwithoutexceedingthe
latencybound.
Theradioreceiverneedstobeabletodecode
receivedmessagesquickly.High-performance
forwarderrorcorrectingcodes,suchasturbocodes

traditionallyusedformobilebroadband,arenot
optimalfortransmissionofshortmessageswithhigh
reliabilityrequirements.Therefore,specialforward
errorcorrectingcodessuchasconvolutionalcodes
areenvisionedforlatency-criticalapplications[4].
Ahighlyreliableradiolinkisneededto
avoidtransmissionerrorsandtime-consuming
retransmissions.Thelevelofreliabilityneeded
canbeachievedwithhighdiversityorderofthe
communicationthroughantennaorfrequency
diversity,whichimprovestheprobabilityofsignal
detectionandcorrectreceptionofthetransmitted
radiosignals.
Messagesneedtobetransmittedoverthe
communicationlinkwithoutschedulingdelays.
Tominimizedelays,service-awarescheduling
algorithmscanbeappliedtoprioritizecriticalremote
applicationsoverotherlesscriticalcommunication.
Corenetworkaspects
Traditionally,mobilecorenetworksareoptimized
todeliveraspecificsetofoperatorservices.This
approachwassuccessfullyappliedintherapid
upscalingofmobile-broadbandservicesforglobal
reach.Byaddingflexibilitytothecorenetwork
architecture,5Gsolutionswilltakeoptimization
onestepfurther,facilitatingamuchwiderrangeof
servicesandusecasesbeyondmobilebroadband.
Onewaytoprovideflexibilityisthroughnetwork
slicing:thelogicalpartitionofnetworksintoslices
supportingadefinedsetofdevicesandservices.
Throughslicing,asinglephysicalnetworkactsas
multiplelogicalnetworksoptimizedforspecificuse
casesorbusinessneeds.Resourcesmayeitherbe
sharedamongseveralslicesallocatedondemand,or
dedicatedinadvancetoagivenslice.Thenetwork
operatordecides.Thefunctionalityprovidedbya
networkslicecanbetailoredtoaspecificgivenuse
case,sothenetworkfeaturesmeetthebusinessneed
andallowforcostoptimization.
Whilephysicalnetworkresourcescanbeusedto
createnetworkslices,theconceptisparticularlywell
suitedtovirtualizedresources.Cloudtechnologies
togetherwithNetworkFunctionsVirtualization
(NFV)providecost-effectivetoolstoadaptnetwork
functionality.Incombinationwithsoftware-defined
networking(sdn),thesetechniquesenablenetwork
operatorstoadjusttheirnetworkstomeetthe
specificneedsofindustrialusecases.
Thetechnologiesneededtoenablenetworkslicing
areemerging.Inthe3gpp decor (dedicatedcore
network)work,mechanismshavebeendefined
toredirectaue toagivennetworkslice,based
onusersubscriptionorsomeotherconfiguration
informationstoredinthenetwork.Thisworkmaybe
extendedtoincludeoptimizationofanetworkslice
foragivenusecase.
Specifically,anumberoflinkcharacteristics–like
reliability,delay,andsecurity–needtobeconsidered
tooptimizenetworkslicesforindustrialapplications
likeremoteoperation.
Agreaterlevelofreliabilitycanbeachievedby
addingsystemredundancyforcomputing,data,
andnetworkresources,andtheassociatedcontrol
mechanismsforhighavailability.
Movingcorenetworkfunctionsclosertothe
networkedgereducestransmissiondelaysinmobile-
broadbandnetworksthathavecentralizedcore
networkfunctionality.Tocatertoextremecases,core
networkfunctionalitycanbecolocatedwithran
entitiestoavoidadditionallatency.
Deployinguserservicesonlocalcloudplatforms
reduceslatency.Extremelylowlatencycapabilities
canbeprovidedbyreusingthesameexecution
environmentformobile-networkradioandcore
processing,andforservicefunctions.
Thesolutionsthattoday’sindustrydevices
usefortimingsynchronizationareindependent
ofthemobilesystem.However,theairinterface
in5Gsystemswillprovideaccuratetiming
synchronization.Byreusingthemobilesystemfor
timingsynchronization,overallsystemcomplexity
canbereduced.
Anetworkslicemaybeoptimizedtoservea
limitedgeographicalarea.Ifasinglebasestation
cancoverthearea,supportforhandovermaynot
beneeded.Forareascoveredbyjustafewbase
stations,themobilitysolutionmaybeoptimizedfor
thespecificusecase–andsosimplificationinsystem
operationsanddeploymentcanbeachieved.
Themobilenetworkcanbeadjustedtousethe
identityschemesandsecuritymechanismstailored

toindustrialapplications.Forexample,ifanidentity
managementschemehasbeenimplementedona
localindustrialnetwork,thesameidentitiescouldbe
reusedinamobilesystem–removingtheneedforan
additionalmobilesystemidentityscheme.
Certainfunctionalitieslikeadvancedcharging
schemes,policyfunctions,andcircuitswitched
interworking–whicharefundamentaltoapublic
mobile-broadbandservice–areunnecessaryin
networkssupportingindustrialdataapplications.
Theresultingindustrialsystemismoreoperationally
efficient,whichbringscostbenefits.
Applicationscanexplicitlyindicatetheir
communicationrequirements,whicharetranslated
intoparametersfortheunderlyingradioaccessand
corenetworks.Theseparametersareconsidered
intheorchestrationandconfigurationofnetwork
functionsaswellasthetransportnetwork.
I n d u s t r i a l a p p l i c at i o n s can
besupportedoverlogicallypartitionednetwork
slicesrunningontopofagenericnetwork,orover
dedicatedindustrialmobilenetworks–independent
ofthepublicnetwork.Adedicatedcustom
deploymentcouldbeofferedbyatraditionalmobile
operatororbyathird-partyplayer.Ahybridsolution
offersadditionalflexibility,asstandalonefunctions
canbedeployedonadedicatednetwork,while
otherscanbesupportedbytraditionaloperator
services.Thebestapproachcanbeworkedout
dependingonthespecifictechnicalrequirements
andbusinesssetupofeachdeployment.Tooffera
trulyflexibleandglobalsolution,theabilitytosetup
networkslicesdynamicallyacrossnetworkoperator
bordersaccordingtospecificneedsisrequired.

Lowlatencytransport
Tosupportapplicationslikeindustrialremote
operationoverlongdistances(uptothousandsof
kilometers),transportnetworksneedtobeableto
provideadequatelylowlatencyfortheserviceat
hand.Certainapplications,liketheexcavatorone,
whereoperationstakeplaceinremotelocations
mayrequireconnectivityservicesatagivenplace
andforadefinedamountoftime.Theconnectivity
servicesneededtosupportapplicationslikethis
requireflexibleanddynamicprovisioning–possibly
inseveraltransportnetworksandpotentiallyacross
multipleadministrativeandtechnologydomains.
Today,theprovisioningprocesscanbecumbersome
andcostly.Butsdn andnetworkorchestration
promisetoprovidemoreflexibleprovisioningof
transportservices.Byusingthesetechnologies,
individualsdn domaincontrollersexposean
abstractionofresourcestoahigher-layercontroller/
orchestrator,whichinturncreatesaglobalview
ofresources–facilitatingprovisioningofE2E
connectivityserviceswithgivencharacteristics.
Intheory,themaximumpoint-to-pointdistance
providingaone-way-latencybudgetof10ms(needed
forhapticcontrol)isgivenbythepropagationdelay
oflightalongthesurfaceoftheearth–whichfor
fibercorrespondstoapproximately2,000km.In
practice,recordedlatencyintransportnetworks
issignificantlygreaterthanthetheoreticalvalue
becauseofthelowerphysicallayersandtransport
protocols.First,theactualsignalpaththroughthe
transportnetworkislongerthanthedirectpath
betweentwopoints.Measurementsshowthatthe
actualpathisapproximately1.5timesgreaterthan
thedirectpath[7].Second,themedianfiberpath
betweenroutersincreasesthelengthofthesignal
pathbyanadditionalfactoroftwo.Otherfactors
thataffectthepracticalminimumlatencyachievable
besidespropagationdelayaretransmissiondelay
(whichisoftheorderofmilliseconds),processing
delay(whichisnegligible),andqueuingdelay(which
dependsontrafficmanagement).
Toguaranteelowlatency,transportnetworks
needtoprovidemechanismsthatcanapply
prioritiesandenableoptimalroutingoflatency-
criticaltraffic.Inpractice,suchmechanismsmight
selectdirectpathstominimizepropagationdelay
orbypasscertainnodestoavoidthedelayincurred
atintermediatehops–allowingoveralllatencyto
approachthetheoreticallimit.
Mediadelivery
Compressionisasignificantfeatureofanymedia-
basedsolutionthatusesamobilenetworkto
provideconnectivity.Thepurposeofcompression
istodecreasebandwidthutilization,butitadds

latency,andsocompressionalgorithmsneedto
behighlyefficient.ip,udp, andrtp arethemost
commonlyadoptedprotocolsfortransmissionof
real-timeapplicationmedia.udp isthebestfor
minimizingdelay,butasitisinherentlyunreliable,
techniquessuchasforwarderrorcorrection(fec)
orretransmissionneedtobeusedtomanagepacket
losses.However,fec andretransmissionaddtothe
overalldelay,andsotominimizethedependence
onsuchschemes,connectivityforremoteoperation
shouldbeprovidedoverhighlyreliablenetworks.
Mostremoteoperationapplicationswillrequire
ahightoveryhighlevelofsecurity.TheSecure
rtp (srtp)protocolcanbeusedinsteadofthertp
protocoltomeetsecurityrequirementsrelatedto
mediadelivery.
Transmissionofapplicationcontrolsignals
Applicationcontrolsignalsinremoteoperation
solutionsincludethesignalstravelingfromthe
operatortothecontrolledequipment,whichdirectly
orindirectlycontrolthemovementsandactionsof
themachinery.Controlsignalstypicallyoriginate
fromcontrolequipmentlikeajoystickorhaptic
device.Forhapticinteractionandforcefeedback,
controlsignalsalsotravelbackfromthecontrolled
equipmenttotheoperator.
Reliabilityiscrucialwhentransmittingcontrol
signals,butasitoftencomesatthepriceofhigher
latency,someremoteoperationapplicationsmay
benefitbyusingunreliabletransfermechanisms(with
sufficienterrorhandling)totransmitcontrolsignals.
TheStreamControlTransmissionProtocol
(sctp)issuitableforthetransmissionofremote
operationsignals,asitprovidesreal-time
characteristicsandallowsthelevelofreliability
tobeset.Regardlessofthetransportprotocol
used,remote-operationapplicationsneedto
managenetworkcongestionandfailuresaswellas
transmissionerrorsswiftlyandsafely.
A common network platform with
dynamic and secure network slices
Figure 5:
Resources for different
industries – logically
separated through
network slicing

Conclusions
Examplesofremoteoperationandcontrol
applicationsexisteverywhere,butthebenefitsthat
canbegainedinminingandconstructionareeasier
torealizethaninsomeotherindustries.Increased
productivity,accesstospecializedexpertise,
improvedsafetyandwellbeing,andreduced
exposuretohazardouschemicalsarejustsomeof
thegainsthatremoteoperationcanbring.
Ifconfiguredappropriately,today’slte networks
cansupportsomeindustryapplications,butthe
needsofother,moredemanding,usecasescanonly
partlybemetbyexistingcommunicationsolutions.
5Gsystemsare,however,beingdevelopedtomeet
challengingrequirementslikelowlatency,high
reliability,globalcoverage,andahighdegreeof
deploymentflexibility–thekeydriverssupporting
innovativebusinessmodels.
Together,EricssonandABBareworkingon
remoteoperationandhowindustrialusecasescan
bedevelopedintonewvaluepropositionsforthe
NetworkedSociety.
Cloud
Cellular network
Registration, control, management, security Registration, control, management, security
Cellular network
Controlled
machinery
Operator 1
Operator 2
Control data, video/audio/haptic
E2E QoS (transport, core, access)
low latency, reliable service
Service <–> network
interaction optimizations
Service <-> network interaction
optimizations
Network processing to
optimize performance
Optimized
network slice
New 5G radio access
with low latency and
high reliability
Figure 6:
Overview of 5G enablers
for industrial remote operation

Johan Torsner
◆ is a research manager at
Ericsson Research, currently
leading the organization’s
activities in Finland. He
joined Ericsson in 1998, and
since then has held several
positions within research,
standardization, and R&D.
He has been deeply involved
in the development and
standardization of 3G and
4G systems. His current
areas of interest include 4G
evolution, 5G, and machine-
type communication.
He holds an M.Sc. in
telecommunications
from the Royal Institute
of Technology (KTH),
Stockholm, Sweden.
http://ow.ly/UbpiM
Kristofer Dovstam
◆ is a master researcher
currently working on new
applications and services
in the context of 5G and
industry transformation. He
joined Ericsson Research in
2000 to work with video IP
transport, and has extensive
experience in the research
and development of real-
time media applications,
services, and frameworks
across multiple platforms.
He holds an M.Sc. in
electrical engineering
Stockholm, Sweden.
http://ow.ly/Ubpr5
György Miklós
◆ works at Ericsson
Research in Hungary.
His current focus is on
the evolution of mobile
system architecture for
5G requirements. He has
been at Ericsson Research
since 2000, and has worked
in a number of areas,
including local wireless
networks, congestion
management, and the 3GPP
standardization of Evolved
Packet Core.
http://ow.ly/UbpF4
Björn Skubic
◆ is a senior researcher
in IP and transport, and
is currently managing
activities in 5G transport. He
joined Ericsson in 2008, and
has worked in several areas
including optical transport,
energy efficiency, and fixed
access. He holds a Ph.D.
in physics from Uppsala
University, Sweden.
http://ow.ly/UbpMJ
Gunnar Mildh
◆ received his M.Sc. in
electrical engineering
Stockholm, Sweden, in
2000. In the same year, he
joined Ericsson Research,
and has since been working
on standardization and
concept development for
GSM/EDGE, HSPA, and
LTE. His focus areas are
radio network architecture
and protocols. He is
currently employed as an
expert in radio network
architecture in the
Wireless Access Networks
department.
Tomas Mecklin
at Ericsson Research
in Finland. He has been
working at Ericsson
since 1993 with various
communication
technologies. He is currently
working with cloud
orchestration and network
slice architecture. Before
joining research, he was
an architect for a number
of the SIP-based network
nodes used within IMS, and
has worked with verification
of telecom systems. In
1994, he graduated from
the computer science
department of the Tekniska
Läroverket in Helsinki,
Finland.
http://ow.ly/UbpSm
John Sandberg
at Ericsson Research
with over 16 years of
experience of working in
the ICT industry in various
technical and business
development positions.
He is currently leading
research on exploring new
areas outside of traditional
telecom driven by the
ongoing digital and mobile
transformation. Much of his
ericssonauthors

work centers on acquiring
knowledge in new domains,
including industries like
mining and the transport
sector. He holds a masters
in business administration
and engineering from Luleå
University of Technology,
Sweden.
http://ow.ly/UbpZf
References
1. Ericsson, 2015, Mobile World Congress (MWC)
demo, Why do we need 5G?, available at:
http://ow.ly/UbmR0
2. ABB, 2013, Press release, Bigger ships, taller
cranes, better crane control, available at:
http://ow.ly/UbmwH
3. ABB, Issue 2/2011, ABB Review, Remote
inspection and intervention, available at:
http://ow.ly/Ubmda
4. Ericsson, May 2015, Ericsson Research Blog,
5G Radio Access for Ultra-Reliable and Low-
Latency Communications, available at:
http://ow.ly/Ubnl2
5. ITU-T, August 2014, Technology Watch Report,
The Tactile Internet, available at:
http://ow.ly/Ubmow
6. Ericsson, February 2015, Ericsson White Paper,
5G radio access – technology and capabilities,
available at:
http://ow.ly/UbmV4
7. ACM SIGCOMM, 2014, The Internet at the
Speed of Light, available at:
http://ow.ly/UbmtG

ABBauthors
Jan Nyqvist
◆ is senior scientist at the
ABB Corporate Research
Center in Sweden, working
in the automation networks
and wireless technologies
focus area. He joined ABB
in 1990, developing and
leading the company’s
initiatives in automation for
several industrial market
segments, including mining
2.0 – mine automation. He is
currently working with the
“unman the site” initiative,
developing technologies
for autonomous and remote
operations. He holds a B.Sc.
in industrial services from
Karlstad University, Sweden.
Jianjun Wang
◆ is a senior principal
scientist in the
mechatronics and sensors
focus area at the ABB
Corporate Research Center
in Sweden. He holds a Ph.D.
in mechanical engineering
from Pennsylvania State
University, US. He joined
ABB in 2002, and has
worked with robotic force
control, vision-guided
robotics, and teleoperation.
Biao Zhang
◆ is a research scientist
in the mechatronics and
sensors focus area at the
Center in Sweden. He
holds a Ph.D. in mechanical
engineering from the
University of Notre Dame,
US. He joined ABB in 2009,
and has worked with
teleoperation, vision-guided
robotics, and robotic-
force-control-related
technologies. He is currently
chapter chair of the IEEE
Robotics and Automation
Society in Connecticut, US.
Carlos Martinez
◆ is a group leader in
the mechatronics and
sensors focus area at the
Center in Sweden. He
gained a B.Sc. in software
engineering from ITESM
in Mexico in 1998, and an
MBA from the University
of Connecticut, US. He
joined ABB in 1998, and
has worked in various roles
within services, product
development, project
management, and R&D.
Jonas Neander
◆ is a senior scientist in
the automation networks
and wireless technologies
focus area at the ABB
Corporate Research Center
in Sweden. He holds a
Ph.Lic. in computer science
from Mälardalen University,
Sweden. He joined ABB
in 2007, and has worked
with project management,
wired and wireless industrial
communication, and
localization technologies
within R&D.

Ericsson Technology Review: Industrial remote operation: 5G rises to the challenge

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Ericsson Technology Review: Industrial remote operation: 5G rises to the challenge