Industrial 5G terminals, which connect 5G technology with industrial operations, play a crucial role in modernizing industrial infrastructure and enabling new 5G applications in various sectors.

On April 16, at the 5G + Industrial Internet Integration and Innovation Conference in Nanjing, the Industrial 5G Terminal Equipment Development Report (hereafter, the "Report") was officially released. The report, guided by the Nanjing Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology and co-authored by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) and companies like AILINK, provides a comprehensive overview of the technical frameworks, application scenarios, and development trends of industrial 5G terminals. It also serves as a key reference for scaling the industry.

As a leading contributor to the report, AILINK provided valuable insights into the industry's future, offering technical analysis and recommendations based on its experience and leadership in the industrial 5G field. This highlights AILINK's role as a key player in the "5G + Industrial Internet" field as well as its efforts to drive digital transformation in the industrial sector.

Industrial 5G Terminals: Engines for Industry Growth

The Report notes that while industrial 5G devices like gateways, CPEs, AGVs, and robots have been tested in smart logistics and remote maintenance, the sector is still in its early stages. Challenges include the wide variety of product categories and difficulties in adapting them to specific applications. Other issues include discrepancies between laboratory performance and real-world deployment, making it crucial to standardize, optimize costs, and improve adaptation to different industrial environments.

As an innovator in the industrial 5G space, AILINK provides reliable, plug-and-play 5G solutions for manufacturing industries. Its 5G industrial terminals, including products like 5G Industrial Router、5G Industrial Gateway、5G Industrial Edge Gateway, are widely used in areas such as industrial device networking, data collection, and real-time control. These products are adaptable to a range of environments, from data acquisition to industrial control, outdoor settings, and in-vehicle applications.

This year, AILINK has upgraded its 5G industrial terminals, incorporating RedCap technology,  integrating AI with virtual PLCs and achieve new breakthroughs in NearLink for short-range connectivity. The company's new industrial AI terminals, which feature a 1.5 billion-parameter distillation model, offer industrial devices a complete "perception-analysis-action" feedback loop for smarter operations.

Additionally, AILINK is continuing to build its ecosystem of partners by launching a series of "5G Inside" products, such as 5G + PLC, 5G + HMI, and 5G + valve terminal solutions. In its contribution to the Report, AILINK offers practical suggestions for the technological needs and future directions of industrial terminals, based on its experience in automotive manufacturing and electronics assembly.

Breaking the Bottleneck for Industrial 5G: Collaborative Efforts to Unlock New Opportunities

The Report provides a deep dive into the current state of industrial 5G terminal devices, highlighting the main challenges the industry faces and offering strategies for development. It aims to guide decisions around equipment upgrades, the next phase of "5G + Industrial Internet" integration, and the large-scale production of industrial 5G terminals.

The development of industrial 5G terminal devices currently faces several challenges: industrial environments are diverse and often harsh, and demand is fragmented; while the price of 5G chip modules is relatively high, there is a downward trend for 5G RedCap modules, though base station upgrades and large-scale commercialization will still take time; key technologies, such as the integration of 5G with industrial protocols and industrial control equipment, still need to be overcome.

To address these issues, the Report suggests the following actions: 

Strengthen the supply-demand connection: Focus on customized R&D for specific industry sectors, create platforms to share demand information, and encourage collaboration across the value chain to address key challenges and improve equipment adaptability.

Speed up the commercialization of 5G RedCap technology: Introduce policies to support base station upgrades and guide companies in exploring integrated applications, using scale to bring down costs.

Increase collaboration on key technologies: Set up specialized funds and innovation teams to break through technological barriers and deepen the integration of 5G with industrial devices.

Only through collaborative innovation across the entire industry chain can the true potential of 5G be unleashed. With the dual forces of policy support and market momentum, AILINK is transitioning from a "contributing partner" to a "standard setter," actively promoting China’s industrial 5G solutions to the global forefront.

AILINK will continue to leverage its strengths, actively participate in shaping and refining industry standards, and drive the development and application of key technologies. At the same time, the company will strengthen its collaboration with businesses throughout the value chain, working together to overcome technical challenges, improve the environmental adaptability and reliability of industrial 5G terminals, and help propel China’s industrial sector to new heights.