How 5G will impact IoT innovations

The blazing speed of 5G is driving change in the Internet of Things (IoT). The latest communication technology will definitely impact effectivity and efficiency for existing or new applications that will utilize the IoT use cases. 5G will enable the interactions of devices into the highly-reliable high-bandwidth communication network coupled with the increasing numbers of powerful smart devices.

Telecommunications companies are now in a race to update their network infrastructures to support the increasing industry demand for 5G IoT applications, m2m connectivity, and services. The 5G is expected to accelerate the enablement of new use cases in remote monitoring, visual inspection, and large-scale automation in different environments such as in agriculture, mines, autonomous vehicles, and more.

Notable IoT Use Cases

The combination of 5G and these smart devices can enable new applications and innovations in various industries i.e. remote-controlled robotics, near-real-time video analysis, and other high-efficiency factory-floor automation.

Remote Inspection

Equipment maintainance for remote or difficult to access i.e. transformers, service lines etc. in the energy grid that needs regular maintainance can be inspected with the use of drones or utility cameras through 5G connectivity. These edge devices can inspect and send images or video feed to AI in the cloud for automated problem detection.
Inspections of structures, utility wires or gas pipeline can be also done remotely by a drone that will send data via cloud. These high-risk inspections can be carried out without sending out a crew in the ground but will avoid any catastrophic pipeline leaks or service interuptions.

Visual Inspection

In the manufacturing industry, visual inspection is necessary in the production to identify any defects. The low latency 5G connectivity can efficienly identify defects analyzed by AI based from the camera feed in the production line.
Camera traps to monitor various populations of endangered species in remote mountains or forest can be reached through 5G connectivity. It can feed realtime activities, AI can identify each animals based from their visual features so they can be accounted and this visual inspection can even mitigate issues with poachers.

Agriculture

Drones can autonomously monitor crops and AI can assess growth rates or focus areas where immediate interventions are needed.

Shipping and logistics, supply chain

Shipments and shipping containers can be continuously tracked and monitored, providing more precise control and predictability over supply chain logistics.

AI and Augmented Reality (AR)

In medical field, AI and augmented reality is used to quickly identify certain deseases and help professional practisioners for their diagnosis and immediate recommendations or prescriptions.

Buildings and Facility Management

The low latency 5G will enable easier connectivity of sensors in buildings to drive new solutions for monitoring energy efficiency, maintainance which is relevant for malls, airports, stadiums etc.

Connected Vehicles

5G can enable bi-directional communication between modern vehicles which can further improve visibility if each car on the road is sharing aggregate data. This can be done if with 5G’s consistent and low latency connectivity.

In the end

The 5G network connectivity is designed to service IoT kinds of use cases that require low latency, consistent and high-bandwidth connection. This will enable new applications and innovations to further improve these use cases from various industries. From this, 5G will open new business opportunities and other industry collaborations that were never possible in 3G and 4G.