5G as Key Technology for Networked Factories: Application of Vertical-specific Network Services for Enabling Flexible Smart Manufacturing

In recent years, the interest in interconnecting production machines has grown and new technologies such as augmented reality enter the shop floor. This evolution is driven by hyped topics such as Industry 4.0 and Internet of Things. These topics promise benefits through increasing transparency in factories, such as improvement in efficiency and reduced costs, e.g., due to data analysis. As a result, the demand on new concepts and technologies for factory networks is rising to fulfill the upcoming new requirements. Therefore, the development of 5G comes just in time. This paper is focused on one of the 5G core technologies network function virtualization (NFV). We propose two use cases that demonstrate how NFV enables flexible smart manufacturing. In NFV technology, virtual network functions (VNF) are composed to network services. We introduce the application of our vertical-specific network services that enable augmented reality on-demand and the flexible interconnection of production machines with services in company’s cloud backend.