Summary

従来、ロボット産業でのセルラー接続の採用は少なかった。産業ロボットは据置型で、多くが工場環境に限定されており、有線やWiFiによる接続が効率的だった。しかしミッションクリティカルやビジネスクリティカルが重要となる商業ロボットの場合は事情が異なる。小売業、ラストマイル配信、農業、建設業、鉱業などで採用されるロボットは、モバイル化が進んでいないのに非常に整備されていない環境で運用され、高レベルの認知、ナビゲーション、操縦などの機能が求められる。米国調査会社ABIリサーチの調査レポート「【分析レポート：アプリケーション】屋外ロボットのクリティカル通信のための5G」は、屋外設置の様々な接続オプションについて査定し、通信範囲、スループット、レイテンシ、コストとクラウドアクセス、今後のモバイルロボットの最善策としての5Gの評価について記載している。

Cellular connectivity adoption has been low in the robotics industry. As industrial robots were stationary and largely confined in a factory environment, wired and WiFi connectivity were more than sufficient to cover the communication requirements. However, this is no longer the case for commercial robots that focus on mission- and business-critical applications.

Deployed in retail, last mile delivery, agriculture, construction, and mining, these robots not only are getting increasingly mobile, but also operate in highly unstructured environments and require a high level of perception, navigation, and manipulation capabilities. This report evaluates various connectivity options for outdoor settings based on their coverage, throughput, latency, cost and cloud access, and determines that 5G is the optimal solution for mobile robots in the future.

5G has several advantages. Its flexible and service based architecture will enable robotics vendors to create SLAs for their connectivity needs. As a global standard, 5G global deployment will also bring down the total cost of ownership of 5G networks and the price of 5G modem chipsets, allowing robotics developers to integrate 5G connectivity as an option. Also, the benefits of 5G go beyond connectivity, as the technology will serve as the enabler for other emerging technologies, such as Augmented Reality (AR), swarm intelligence, and massive Internet of Things (IoT) communications. These advancements will have a tremendous impact on the evolution of robotics systems moving forward.

ページTOPに戻る

Table of Contents