An empirical study on using D2D relaying in 5G for factory automation

Factory Automation (FA) applications typically require Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communication (URLLC). As existing wireless technologies operating in the unlicensed spectrum are unable to fulfil the stringent QoS requirements of FA applications, certainly this has become one of the key opportunities for 5G. In this paper, we introduce the concept of cooperation in Device-to-Device (D2D) communication for Long Term Evolution (LTE) and New Radio (NR). We have conducted comprehensive over-the-air evaluation of the proposed D2D cooperative scheme in a representative factory hall using a Software Defined Radio (SDR) testbed. Our empirical results indicate that the scheme is able to provide a high degree of reliability while satisfying the strict timeliness constraints as demanded by FA applications.