Electric vehicle giant Tesla showed off its ultra-fast private 5G network at Gigafactory Berlin in a new video released on Tuesday, marking another significant innovation in the auto manufacturing process.
Tesla is among the first to use 5G network in auto manufacturing
Tesla’s move to launch a private 5G network at Giga Berlin made it among the only few companies to employ the technology in automotive manufacturing, as noted by one of its IT Infrastructure team members.
Tesla could also apparently expand the technology’s application to its other existing factories globally.
“With our innovation power here at Giga Berlin, we were one of the first ones in the manufacturing automotive industry to launch private 5G into manufacturing at big scale. And here at Giga Berlin, we’re actually the first ones to do this and then scale it globally.”
Mr. Pat, a member of the IT Infrastructure team at Giga Berlin
Mr. Pat also noted that the private 5G network substantially improves machines’ reliability.
“Private 5G lays a foundation for innovation and next-level operations in our manufacturing and warehouse facilities. With private 5G we enable mobile machines to communicate ultra reliably and just keep running all the time.”
Mr. Pat, a member of the IT Infrastructure team at Giga Berlin
Primary benefits of the network in Tesla’s manufacturing
Another Giga Berlin employee outlined how the ultra-fast private 5G network expands internet connectivity even across long distances, particularly in key areas outside the facility.
“The private 5G network has really changed the way we deliver network in many places in the factory, especially outdoors.
Traditionally, you had to make a lot of investments. It would take a lot of time as you had to roll out fiber, get energy here. Now it’s really that small antenna over there on top of cell building connected to this whole outbound area, helping us update hundreds of cars, run logistics, operations.”
Mr. Ernesto, a member of the Network Team at Giga Berlin
In addition, IoT Now asserted that the private 5G network also helped Tesla overcome up to 90% of the “overcycle issues for a particular process in the factory’s GA (General Assembly) shop.”
The network aids the factory workers in addressing “high-impact use cases in production, intralogistics and quality operations across its global manufacturing facilities,” as per the report.
About the private 5G network
5G, or fifth-generation wireless, is the latest iteration of cellular technology.
It can reportedly support more demanding performance requirements regarding throughput, latency, reliability, availability, and connection density than LTE technology.
5Gs have a strong potential to become an alternative to wired connections for industrial communications between machines, robots, and control systems owing to their innovative capabilities, such as follows:
- Low-Latency Communications (URLLC )
- Massive Machine-Type Communications (mMTC )
- A future-proof transition path to 6G networks in the 2030s
All that said, the implementation of the private 5G network at Giga Berlin demonstrates Tesla’s strong commitment to streamlining electric vehicle production and potentially reducing costs.
