Messages like, “This item is unavailable due to quality recalls and supply chain disruptions,” are becoming a common occurrence for customers of many businesses in the United States. To help solve this problem, 5G technology is poised to offer manufacturers the ability to make rapid, real-time decisions — bridging existing gaps in the nation’s industrial base.
5G is a new global, wireless network that is designed to virtually connect all people and all devices. For manufacturers, the increased bandwidth allows high-capacity information flow, resulting in faster conversations between machines and fewer communication delays.
“Incorporating 5G will provide much more timely, actionable information. Decisions in the manufacturing enterprises can be made in real-time with little delays,” said Dr. Satish Bukkapatnam, professor in the Wm Michael Barnes ’64 Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the Texas A&M University and director of the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station Institute for Manufacturing Systems. “The timely information greatly reduces the lag between inception of data and decisions.”
Additionally, 5G will aid in what Bukkapatnam calls the “uber-zation” of manufacturing. Much like a customer would order an Uber to take them to their destination, 5G tech will enable companies or industry segments to treat manufacturing like a custom service to receive needed products.
