5G Coverage and Channel Simulation in a Complex Industrial Environment

Industry 4.0 and digitalization of the factory promise enormous benefits in terms of efficiency, productivity, and sustainability. 5G private networks will be able to provide the required networking performance, and initial industrial deployments are showing promise.

But modern factories or assembly halls are complex environments. Planning robust wireless connections in the smart factory relies on an understanding of coverage and individual channel responses. Ray tracing-based simulation has an important role to play in predicting this behaviour, complementing costly and time-consuming measurement campaign exercises in existing realistic real-world environments, and predicting performance in planned facilities. This digital or virtual twin model of the factory environment can help to minimize the number of access points whilst optimizing coverage before the factory is upgraded or built. 

This presentation will describe a flexible ray tracing-based workflow for analyzing coverage and communication channels in such a complex and dynamic environment, using SIMULIA CST Studio Suite and the 3D EXPERIENCE platform.