Driven by the Internet of Things, global per capita manufacturing value added (MVA) has risen from US$100 to US$532 in the past three decades. At the same time, with the industrial sector consuming more than half of the world's energy, there is an urgent need to double the efficiency of the world's factories.

To do this, factories need to be able to react quickly to changing demands, customization and short product life cycles. They require interchangeable processes and equipment that can be easily reconfigured, modified and replaced using maintenance-free connectors, reducing costs and downtime.

Achieving this level of efficiency requires the ability to communicate faster, more reliably, and more securely on the factory floor. This means timely access to data.

5G, with its high capacity and low latency, can achieve this level of efficiency within factories. While consumers haven't yet readily adopted it, some of the world's largest manufacturers are already using 5G to change the way they manufacture. They do this through private networks, which enable businesses to control their own data and ensure complete privacy from competitors.

Perhaps the biggest benefit of 5G in terms of productivity is that it enables manufacturers to add cutting-edge technologies such as automated robots and IoT devices to their operations.

For digital factories to be successful, machines need to be able to safely sense, measure and interpret the real world. This requires converting analog data into digital data for more signal processing.

The highest quality data can be found at what we call the intelligent edge, and 5G enables us to leverage these insights and make better decisions at the edge, improving overall efficiency.

Take the Gigafactory as an example. In battery manufacturing, robots must apply uniform coatings with high precision. This accuracy can be guaranteed by data from the intelligent edge.

5G also makes collaboration between humans and machines safer. When humans and robots work together, manufacturing processes are faster, more efficient and more cost-effective. The reliability and speed of 5G means machine-to-machine communications and human-to-machine interactions will be greatly improved, reducing the risk of accidents.

Eliminating the need for wired connectivity through 5G also provides manufacturing environments with greater flexibility, enhancing process automation, remote monitoring, maintenance and equipment lifecycle management.

In the case of factories, physical connectors have disappeared and command instructions are sent wirelessly between robotic subsystems, increasing production speed while reducing costs. All of this is possible with 5G wireless networks, as it maximizes communications, reduces the likelihood of errors (or accidents) and, importantly, protects the technology from hackers or malicious entities.

The benefits of 5G on the factory floor are clear, but as with any technology that promises to disrupt the status quo, it will take time, resources and a concerted effort to ensure that all factories can benefit.

The transition from wired to wireless networks is a complex upgrade. Every industrial customer has a unique set of circumstances, from cultural dynamics to financial conditions to interest in innovation, that can impact an organization's ability to make major wireless upgrades.

That said, the number of digital factories will increase rapidly in the coming years as traditional manufacturing facilities near the end of their life cycle. COVID-19 has taught businesses many hard lessons about the risks of too much offshoring. As a result, many businesses are now looking to bring their facilities closer to their customers. This opens the door to newer, more powerful facilities based on 5G technology. Once 5G is fully realized, we will live in a world with the potential to significantly improve life for everyone.