5G For Control Applications In Vertical Domains

3GPP Working Group SA1 has recently concluded its work on 5G service requirements for cyber-physical control applications in vertical domains (cyberCAV) with the approval of Technical Specification (TS) 22.104 – preparing the way for more detailed work in 3GPP Release 16.

cyberCAV efforts in SA1 are focusing on cyber-physical control applications in various vertical domains, especially in industrial automation and energy automation. 5G ultra-reliable ultra-low-latency communication (URLLC) is needed for sharing real-time information, for example, between machines at various steps in a production cycle.

TS 22.104 also contains the service requirements, such as on clock synchronization for time-sensitive networking, for cyberCAV using LAN-type services.

Broader cyberCAV requirements are included in TS 22.261 – “Service requirements for the 5G system”. This specification contains the 5G requirements for security, non-public 5G networks, network capability exposure, QoS monitoring, and Ethernet transport. Section 6.28 of TS 22.261 provides a useful description of the cyberCAV area:

• A vertical domain is a particular industry or group of enterprises in which similar products or services are developed, produced, and provided.
• Automation refers to the control of processes, devices, or systems in vertical domains by automatic means with sensors, transmitters, controllers, and actuators.
• Cyber-physical control applications are to be understood as applications that control physical processes. In automation, they follow certain activity patterns (open-loop control, closed-loop control, sequence control, and batch control).
• Communication services supporting cyber-physical control applications need to be ultra-reliable, dependable with a high communication service availability, and often require low or (in some cases) very low end-to-end latency.

The 5G specifications on cyberCAV are set to be an important enabler for 5G communication in industrial and energy automation and other vertical domains.―CT Bureau