Motivated by the need for faster, safer and more efficient operations – and concerned about persistent skilled labor shortages – business leaders and technology executives in a wide range of industries are making robotics and automation key components of their long-term digital transformation efforts.
At Verizon, we serve 99% of Fortune 500 companies, and these relationships give us unparalleled insight into how leaders in almost every industry – manufacturing, energy, retail, distribution and logistics, and even health care – are working to drive innovation and efficiency through robotics and automation.
Every day, in consultation with our customers, we see that advances in robotics – from AGVs and AMRs (automated guided vehicles and autonomous mobile robots) to “cobots” (collaborative human/robot applications) – are revolutionizing entire industries. And every day, Verizon’s customers are seeing first-hand how advances in private wireless network connectivity and edge computing are transforming robotics and automation.
Connectivity is at center of IT/OT convergence
After years of media hype, we are at last witnessing the true convergence of so many breakthrough technologies – robotics, AI, IoT, AR and VR, to name a few. While these capabilities are wildly diverse in their form factors and uses, they all have one thing in common: they need reliable, high-speed, low-latency network connectivity to support near-real time data capture and analysis. Technology systems are only as performant as their slowest common denominator.
That’s why more and more companies are deploying private 5G networks at their facilities, and that’s why our research keeps finding that edge computing and private networks have become strategic priorities.
For example, in October 2023, Verizon sponsored an Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) survey of 472 business leaders from multiple industries, asking about intentions and priorities for IT spending. The resulting report, “Going Beyond Digital Transformation,” showed that 54% of respondents said “becoming more operationally efficient” is their number one IT-related goal.
Further, 64% of ESG survey respondents said that learning to leverage edge computing is a “top 5” priority. And 71% reported that 5G would play a “critical” or “significant” impact on their ability to achieve their goals.
“As organizations deploy massive numbers of IoT devices, IP cameras, autonomous vehicles and artificial-intelligence-driven applications, they will likely find it challenging to collect, analyze, and act on the huge amount of data these devices yield,” the ESG report reads. “What’s becoming evident as organizations strive to be even more ‘data-driven’ is the need for a network design that provides the high speed, low latency, and edge computing power needed for real and near-real time decision-making and action.”
In April, 2024, Verizon sponsored an IDC survey of more than 1,100 IT and business leaders. Again showcasing the importance of robotics and automation, the resulting paper, “Private 4G/5G Networks Driving Operational and Strategic Gains for Enterprises,” finds that 34% of survey respondents say “increasing operational efficiency” is their second most important desired business outcome from IT investment. (“Improving customer satisfaction” was the number one goal, with 35%). Private 5G connectivity, the IDC paper finds, “creates a framework for gaining mission-critical insight into customer preferences, enabling real time, autonomous operations and realizing material improvements to the bottom line.”
The value of a private 5G network
A private 5G network is an exclusive, dedicated wireless 5G network within a customer location (like a corporate campus or a factory floor). It’s a costeffective, highly reliable, ultrafast, and secure solution, allowing companies to achieve a whole new level of operational efficiency, innovation, agility, and competitiveness.
Better still, private wireless can be integrated into existing network infrastructures, eliminating the need to “rip and replace.” Many of Verizon’s customers find that private 5G is just right for certain conditions, applications and use cases, and can augment existing Wi-Fi networks to continue to support low-latency and non critical applications.
But because private 5G can provide coverage to tens of thousands of devices across hundreds of square miles – versus Wi-Fi’s limited reach measured in yards – private 5G requires fewer access points to manage, maintain and secure. This helps drive down operating costs and enhances overall network agility and resilience.
Meanwhile, edge computing puts processing power and storage where it’s most needed: at the edge of the network, close to where data is generated. Edge computing helps further reduce latency and, when coupled with 5G, makes access to remote servers vastly more efficient. An ultra-fast, low latency network and edge computing, for example, can enable robots to become fully integrated pieces of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).
New ways of working
One of the more exciting robotic capabilities that many of our customers are evaluating and deploying involves the intersection of machine visioning, digital twins and predictive maintenance. Robots equipped with cameras and sensors can inspect products for defects, leveraging AI to ensure only high-quality products proceed. Robots can even perform ultrasonic or X-ray inspections on manufactured components, identifying internal flaws without damaging the product.
With private 5G and edge computing, robots are also growing smaller and lighter, and moving them from points A to B becomes easier. With 5G and edge, less computing power is needed aboard a robot because complex functions can be performed on nearby servers, with negligible impact on machine responsiveness. This means clunky processors and giant batteries can be stripped from robots, reducing their form factors and drastically increasing their mobility.
In some cases, a piece of machinery that was previously tethered to an electrical outlet may be freed to move nimbly around the floor, often autonomously.
Beyond “the art of the possible”
In board rooms, on factory floors, and in any one of Verizon’s many 5G innovation labs, our conversations with customers are no longer just about the “art of the possible.” Instead, together we are sharing insights and best practices about how – right now – our company and theirs are using private 5G, edge computing, robotics and automation to control costs, improve throughput, and increase revenue.
Many companies tell us that private wireless isn’t just solving today’s challenges; it’s inspiring plans for future innovation and business transformation.
It’s an exciting time to be on either end of these conversations.
Read the full Integr8 Playbook, "Rise of The Machines: Robotics and Automation Reshaping Industries," here.
