The 5G-Industry Campus Europe is the first site in Europe to have a comprehensive 5G network to research and test new applications for 5G in production environments under real conditions. With an outdoor network of about one square kilometer and a production area of 7000 square meters, the 5G network covers the area of the RWTH Aachen Campus Melaten and the entire machine hall of the Fraunhofer IPT.

The goal of the participating partners WZL, FIR and IT Center of RWTH Aachen University is to open up new fields of application for mobile communications technology in production. The partner for the development of the 5G infrastructure is the mobile network supplier Ericsson and the IT Center of RWTH Aachen University. Together with companies and research partners, the 5G-Industry Campus Europe will create an infrastructure in which various 5G applications can be tested - from 5G sensor technology for monitoring and controlling highly complex manufacturing processes to mobile robotics and logistics to cross-site production chains.

Another goal of the Aachen scientists is to test the use of modern edge cloud systems for fast data processing in order to exploit further potentials of 5G for fully networked and adaptive production. Through the intelligent interaction of the 5G network and local edge cloud systems, end-to-end real-time applications can be implemented in a scalable manner - from the sensor to the cloud. This creates a unique ecosystem in Aachen in which forward-looking concepts and architectures, such as real-time process analysis and closed-loop applications, can be holistically implemented and validated.

The 5G-Industry Campus Europe is being set up as part of a research project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) and is directly aimed at introducing the new mobile communications standard in the manufacturing industry. Interested companies and research partners who would like to find out more or participate can contact the consortium via the project website: www.5G-Industry-Campus.com

Project consortium

• Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT, Aachen (project management)
• Research Institute for Rationalization (FIR) e. V. at RWTH Aachen University
• Machine Tool Laboratory WZL of RWTH Aachen University
• IT Center of RWTH Aachen University