5G-ACIA
Working Groups
The Working Groups are composed of individuals from the member organizations and every Working Group has a Chair and a Vice-Chair. Within the Working Group, the technical topics are dealt based on the planning and decisions of the plenary.
Working group 01
Use case and Requirements
Discusses potential use cases and requirements and defines a common body of terminology.
Key focus
Discussing potential use cases and requirements and definition of a common terminology:
- Use case and requirements analysis
- Streamline terminology
- Consolidation of input to 3GPP SA1
- Support for other 3GPP and 5G-ACIA working groups
- Identification of other relevant SDOs
Leadership
Chair: Michael Bahr (Siemens)
Vice-Chair: Dr. Xueli An (Huawei)
Key achievements (selection)
- Provided use case collection for 3GPP and ITU
- Wikipedia use case for 5G-ACIA members
- Discussion, consolidation, and contribution of key industrial requirements
for R16 to 3GPP SA1 - Two white papers on use cases and requirements
- White paper on 5G capabilities
- Liaisons with several 3GPP groups on relevant topics
Ongoing work items/activities (selected)
- Clarification of TR 22.804 concepts and discussion of standardization requirements
- Advance (predicted) QoS notification for 5G (ADAPT)
- Cooperation with GSMA (GSM Association) Network Slicing Taskforce on Generic Slice Template (GST)
- Discussion, consolidation, and contribution of key industrial requirements for R17 to 3GPP SA1
- Analysis of the gap between prioritized requirements and 3GPP documents
- From 5G-ACIA requirements to 3GPP RAN/SA mapping
- 3GPP SA(1) support related to 5G-ACIA use cases, requirements, and KPIs
- Guaranteed Service Level Specification (SLS) for industries enabled and connected by 5G technology
- Clarification of communication parameters and concepts
- Industrial 5G compute edge use cases, requirements
- Use cases and requirements for 5G-enabled devices for industrial applications
5G was born with the promise of supporting vertical applications, and above all industrial ones, with ultra-low latency and high reliability. To maximize the benefits of 5G technology for industrial automation and the manufacturing and process industries in general, it’s essential to communicate relevant industrial use cases and needs to the relevant bodies, and especially to the 3GPP community of standards organizations. The requirements aren’t just KPIs like low one-millisecond latency; they also cover indirectly functional aspects such as nonpublic 5G networks. 5G-ACIA, with a membership embracing a broad range of 5G stakeholders, is the ideal forum for this. It is working to forge a shared understanding, focus attention on specific aspects and use cases, and meet the prerequisites for making industrial 5G a resounding success.
5G-ACIA as a global organization plays a unique mediating role between the ICT and OT industries. On the one hand, it brings real use cases and requirements from the factory and process automation field to 5G standardization activities, while on the other it helps advocate and promote 5G as an advanced technology within the industry ecosystem. With its clear vision, 5G-ACIA will not only help accelerate the adoption of 5G in the context of Industry 4.0 but also stimulate further innovations in new industrial use cases by taking advantage of mobile communication technology. This vision and mission are at the heart of WG1 (use cases and requirements).
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Working group 02
Ecosystem and Regulatory Framework
Identifies and articulate specific spectrum needs of industrial 5G networks and explores new operator models, for example for operating private or neutral host 5G networks within a plant or factory.
Key focuses
- Identifying and articulate specific spectrum needs of industrial 5G networks and explore new operating models, for example for operating private or neutral host 5G networks within a plant or factory
- Contributing to meeting spectrum needs of industrial 5G networks to ITU-R
- Contributing to meeting spectrum needs of industrial 5G networks to RSPG
- Evaluating global spectrum frameworks for industrial 5G networks
Leadership
Chair: Jagadeesh Dantuluri (Keysight)
Vice-Chair: Russ Gyurek (Cisco)
Key achievements (selected)
- Contributed to ITU-R WP5A on license-exempt spectrum for wireless industrial applications
- Contributed to ITU-R WP5D to include new use cases for “industrial automation” as 5G vertical
- Contributed to ITU-R WP5A on license-exempt spectrum for wireless industrial applications
- Responded to consultation on 3rd RSPG opinion on 5G
- Internal report on network operation and spectrum models
Ongoing work items/activities (selected)
- 5G-ACIA global 5G spectrum overview
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Working group 03
System Architecture and Integration aspects
Considers the overall architecture of future 5G-enabled industrial connectivity infrastructures. This includes integration concepts and migration paths, the evaluation of key technologies emerging
from 5G standardization bodies.
Key focus
Addressing the overall architecture of future 5G-enabled industrial connectivity infrastructures. This includes integration concepts and migration paths and evaluating key technologies emerging from 5G standardization bodies:
- Evaluating and developing ICT and OT communication architectures:
- Integrating networks and interworking of key functions
- Evaluating and assessing new technologies
- Supporting relevant SDOs with domain-specific know-how
Leadership
Chair: Atte Lansisalmi (Nokia)
Vice-Chair: Kurt Essigmann (Ericsson)
Key achievements (selected)
- 3GPP RAN contribution on evaluation and analysis of radio propagation
- 3GPP RAN contribution on industrial indoor channel model
- White paper on nonpublic network deployment scenarios
- White paper on integrating industrial communication with 5G networks
- White paper on 5G-ACIA traffic model for industrial communication
- White paper on security aspects of 5G for connected industries and automation
- White paper on architecture alignment of Industry 4.0 / RAMI 4.0 and 3GPP
- White paper on 5G performance evaluation for connected industries and automation
- White paper on integrating 5G with time-sensitive networking for industrial automation
- Internal report on comparative analysis of 5G Rel.16 and IEEE 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) in industrial use cases
Ongoing work items/activities (selected)
- Integration of OPC UA with 5G network
- 5G industrial device architecture principles, capabilities and requirements
- 5G QoS for industrial automation
- Analysis of 5G capabilities for industrial IoT
5G-ACIA is uniquely positioned to bring together ICT and OT industries to discuss 5G. Building a common understanding is important and there are major opportunities for doing so. I’m honored to vice-chair the architecture and technology working group (WG3), which plays a key role here while considering all stakeholder groups' requirements equally and applying 5G technology in the most advanced and efficient way possible to enable our success.
5G radio communications technology is a key element in driving digitalization further, not only in the industrial automation domain but also in many other industries such as transportation and logistics, power generation and distribution, oil & gas, and a host of others. 5G must therefore smoothly integrate with existing and future field bus systems, edge cloud solutions, wired deterministic networks, etc. while at the same time evolving to meet the demands of various users.
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Working group 04
Liaisons and Marketing
Takes care of the interaction with other initiatives and organizations by establishing liaison activities and initiating suitable promotional measures.
Key focus
Interacting with other initiatives and organizations by establishing liaison activities and initiating suitable promotional measures:
- Liaison and partnership management incl. MoU
- Marketing and promotional activities
- Social media, press releases, and position statements
- Preparing workshops, webinars, and conferences
- Supporting other working groups on “external affairs”
Leadership
Chair: Andrea Daquino (Infineon)
Vice-Chair: Tina Liao (ITRI)
Key achievements (selected)
- White paper on 5G for connected industries and automation (second edition)
- Prepared workshop in Frankfurt, Germany, in June 2018
- Prepared workshop in Seoul, Korea in March 2019
- Prepared workshop in Naperville (Chicago), USA in June 2019
- Prepared workshop in Shanghai, China in September 2019
- Prepared workshop in Paris, France in November 2019
- Prepared workshop in Coventry (Birmingham), United Kingdom in January 2020
- Basic marketing kit
- Established MoUs with global partners on Industrial 5G (–> link to MoU network
- 5G-ACIA webinar series 1
- Basic marketing kit
Ongoing work items/ activities (selected)
- Preparation of 5G-ACIA Plenary and Workshop in Japan
- Planning of the 2021 virtual roadshow – digital Hannover Fair, April 2021
- Planning of the 2021 virtual roadshow – digital Achema Pulse, June 2021
- 5G-ACIA webinar series 2
- Planning of the 2022 roadshow – Achema 2022, April 2022
- Planning of the 2022 roadshow – Hannover Fair, April 2022
- Planning of the 2022 roadshow – stops in USA and Asia, second half of 2022
When 5G was being standardized, everyone realized that the evolution from its predecessor was driven by use-cases for the first time in history. This very aspect was well understood by 5G-ACIA, which promptly started promoting comprehensive information on development and deployment of 5G-powered solutions for optimal efficiency and adaptability in complex industrial environments. I admire how 5G-ACIA has enabled the most diverse verticals by fostering the collaboration between the ICT and OT sectors globally, and I cannot be less than thrilled to actively contribute to the further development of one of 5G-ACIA working groups.
I’m pleased to see our 5G-ACIA alliance achieve global reach across many countries outside Europe including South Korea, Japan, China and the U.S., actively establishing and growing the network by means of workshops, events, and webinars involving ICT and OT industry players to promote 5G technology.
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Working Group 05
Industrial 5G in practice
Deals with the final validation of 5G for industrial applications.
This includes the initiation of interoperability tests, larger trials, and potentially dedicated certification procedures.
Key focus
Addressing final validation of 5G for industrial applications, which includes initiating interoperability tests, conducting larger trials and possibly also dedicated certification procedures, and supporting the validation of evolving 5G solutions in industrial applications:
- Developing a methodology for achieving comparable performance test results
- Guiding 5G-ACIA-endorsed testbeds in the areas of factory automation, process automation, and intralogistics
- Evaluating certification requirements
Leadership
Chair: Dr. Lisa Underberg (ifak)
Vice-Chair: Niels König (Fraunhofer IPT)
Key achievements (selected)
- White paper on testing and validation aspects of industrial communication with 5G technologies
- White paper on performance testing of industrial 5G solutions – objectives, requirements, and methodology
- General rules for 5G-ACIA testbeds
- Requirements for establishing and operating 5G-ACIA testbeds
- Initiated first 5G-ACIA testbeds
Ongoing work items/ activities (selected)
- Initiation of additional new 5G-ACIA testbeds
- Certification in 5G-ACIANiel
Thorough validation and testing from an industrial application perspective is key for building confidence in any wireless network and its performance. That's why I’m convinced that 5G-ACIA WG5 will contribute significantly to the success of industrial 5G.
The most convincing argument that WG5 can present for stimulating the market pull for industrial 5G products is that a use case is also a business case.
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