5G can deliver ultra-low latency, high reliability, and massive connectivity, enabling the wireless implementation of closed-loop control applications. Based on verified 5G performance from Huawei, end-to-end latency can reach 0.4ms, the single-cell downlink rate can hit 20Gbps, and a single cell can support over 10 million connections. This demonstrates that, among mobile communication networks, only 5G can fulfill the network requirements for closed-loop control.

Industrial automation control represents the most fundamental application in manufacturing facilities, with the closed-loop control system as its core. Within the system’s control cycle, each sensor conducts continuous measurements, with the resulting data transmitted to the controller to drive the actuators.

A typical closed-loop control process operates at a cycle time as low as the millisecond level. Consequently, system communication latency must reach the millisecond level or below to ensure precise control, while stringent reliability requirements must also be satisfied. Excessive latency during production, or errors in control information during data transmission, may trigger production downtime and incur substantial financial losses.

5G networks can achieve end-to-end communication latency as low as 1ms and support 99.999% connection reliability. Such robust network capabilities adequately address the stringent latency and reliability demands posed by cloud robots.

In intelligent manufacturing scenarios, robots are required to possess self-organization and collaborative capabilities to enable flexible production, thereby driving demand for cloud-based robots. The 5G network serves as the ideal communication infrastructure for cloud-based robots and constitutes a key enabler for their implementation. Furthermore, 5G network slicing can provide end-to-end customized network support for cloud-based robot applications.

Unlike traditional robots, cloud-based robots connect to a cloud control center via the network, leverage ultra-high computing power platforms, and execute real-time computational control over manufacturing processes through big data and artificial intelligence technologies.

By migrating a substantial portion of computing functions and data storage to the cloud, cloud robots significantly reduce the hardware costs and power consumption of the robot body. To meet the requirements of flexible manufacturing, robots must also be capable of unrestricted movement. Therefore, in the cloud migration of robots, 5G wireless communication networks must inherently feature ultra-low latency and high reliability.