Beijing, China, March 3, 2023 – At the 2023 World Mobile Communication Conference (MWC2023) held in Barcelona, Spain, Schneider Electric, Capgemini and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. jointly announced that they would jointly launch the industry’s first 5G solution for lifting control system automation. At present, three companies have started design and installation work in Schneider Electric Lifting Control Laboratory. The 5G private network solution will uniformly use the existing wireless connection of Schneider Electric Industrial Automation System to replace the original cable connection and simplify large-scale deployment at various industrial sites such as steel plants and ports.

From avionics and automobiles to steel manufacturing and transportation, lifting control applications play an indispensable role in the supply chain and manufacturing process. In these scenarios, the transportation distance of heavy materials and goods can often reach hundreds of meters. These lifting control applications need to be specially designed to be suitable for challenging industrial environments such as extreme temperatures and long-distance lifting.

Marc Lafont, vice president of global innovation and upstream market of Schneider Electric, said: “Digital transformation is bringing our customers a step increase in productivity, efficiency and sustainable development, but no company can complete all the transformation work independently. Schneider Electric has always been committed to promoting collaborative innovation, and this breakthrough end-to-end 5G private network solution is the result of multi-party cooperation. We will start pilot work this year. And in the short term, we will carry out more 5G industrial use case tests, involving the separation of Application scenarios such as bulk manufacturing, hybrid automation and process automation. At the same time, we will try to promote the deep integration of 5G technology in automation equipment. ”

Wireless automatic lifting control

The automatic lifting control system can improve productivity, safety and operational performance, but it also has high requirements for response speed, accuracy, reliability, all-weather availability and manual and autonomous operation capabilities. In addition, multiple systems need to coexist in the same network, such as cameras for monitoring and remote operation, and PLCs supporting automation, remote control and security functions. The low delay characteristic of 5G network enables the automatic lifting control system to use wireless connection mode to replace optical fiber cable in remote control operation, thus simplifying network complexity, reducing wiring and providing long-term stable connection.

Fotis Karonis, head of Capgemini 5G and edge computing, said: “This cooperation with Schneider Electric highlights the unique ability of Capgemini, and works with customers to promote innovation through technology and create new use cases for the industry. The end-to-end 5G solution customized for Schneider Electric’s lifting control system fully demonstrates the application value of 5G technology in the field of industrial communications and its potential in promoting the transformation of industrial segments. Advanced connectivity, 5G and edge computing technologies are to achieve digital transformation and build As a powerful driving force and accelerator of innovation use cases, industrial customers can redesign systems and processes to make them more efficient, agile and intelligent. ”

Enrico Salvatori, senior vice president of Qualcomm Europe and president of Qualcomm Europe/Middle East and Africa, said: “5G has unlimited opportunities in promoting the development of enterprise network connectivity. Therefore, we are investing in this emerging field by providing practical and innovative ways for 5G private networks. We are working with partners such as Schneider Electric and Capgemini to accelerate the exploration of the value of 5G private networks, and optimize the deployment, management and customizability of private networks through pre-integrated private network solutions that support multi-vendor options and Open RAN automation and management solutions To help reduce network complexity and accelerate the global market of solutions. ”

Capgemini cooperated with Schneider Electric to design and optimize the end-to-end 5G solution, and achieved outstanding results in Schneider Electric’s industrial use cases. In addition, the solution can also provide system integration support based on Qualcomm’s innovative achievements, and assist Schneider Electric to integrate 5G networks with use cases, thus optimizing the system. Combining Schneider Electric’s expertise in industrial automation and Qualcomm Technologies’ innovation in wireless technology, computing and artificial intelligence, as well as Capgemini’s rich experience in network deployment and system integration, the three parties can work together to improve system performance, eliminate network complexity, accelerate the time to market of the solution, and improve the key performance indicators of automatic lifting control customers.