Robotic World & Automation Through 5G Technology By Choice or By Force

As per United Nations, Population Aging is one of the big success stories out of four global demographic megatrends of human race. It shows our accomplishment of medical advancement, socio-economic development against diseases, catastrophe or pandemic. Every country has experienced an increase of life expectancy and are experiencing growth in the size and proportion of aged persons in their population throughout world. There were 703 million persons aged 65 years or over in the world in 2019. The number of aged persons is projected to double to 1.5 billion in 2050.                        

Another megatrend of human race is Urbanization where small city become mega city, small town become city. Urbanization is good for the economy since overall economy is being benefited through urbanization. Employment opportunity is getting increased which lead to upsurge in earnings and standard of living. There were 43% people living in urban area in 1990 which will be around 68% in 2050 as per present projection.                        

 Technology enhancements enrich our existing lifestyle, and it is always morphing and expanding. Every new technology has the potential to improve lives. Nevertheless, it also has the potential to negatively influence our society in some cases. The birth rate, death rate and fertility rates are less in urban areas which has a direct impact on economic growth by reducing the human resource force, which is a major factor in production. It will also continuously increase share of aged persons in the population.                        

The increasing share of aged people will sink human resource market relative to the total population. Increasing urbanization and declining fertility, reduces the human resource in rural area. Although, major consumer of agriculture and farming products are from urban areas, whereas agricultural activities, farming are being performed in rural area. Declining human resources at rural area may hit our food security programme. To measure the magnitude of this issue we can consider the ratio of population aged 65 or over to per 100 population of aged 25 to 64 years. As per United Nation data, there were around 15 persons aged 65 years or over in 1990 which will be around 32 in 2050 per 100 persons aged between 25 – 64 years.                        

Policy Measures to Address Birth Rates

Policymakers are taking many steps to increase the birth rate. China replaced its one-child policy with a two-child limit in 2016, which also failed to increase the birth rate. China has now announced that it will allow up to three children per couple. Japan and many other countries have undertaken steps to support young couples in raising children, for instance, making preschool education free to encourage higher birth rates. However, it is debatable whether the steps taken by policymakers will solve the human resource issue.

Socio-Economic Challenges and Technological Solutions

We may face multi-dimensional socio-economic challenges in the near future if we don’t address these issues today and take preventive action to make the world a better place for everyone. There is no choice but to increasingly rely on technology and machines in our day-to-day lives.

The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were introduced in 2015, encompassing 17 goals as part of Agenda 2030. The mobile communication sector plays an important role in achieving these SDGs by offering infrastructure and access to digital services (ITU; GSMA 2018).

5G Technology: A Pathway to Achieving SDGs

With 5G technology, we can start achieving these SDGs, further enhanced by upcoming technologies. Due to its inherent properties, 5G radio systems and their associated network architecture can deliver diverse use cases with extreme requirements, transforming our lives, economy, and society while serving as a springboard for a robotic world. Previous mobile technologies enabled human-to-human communication, but 5G will also enable machine-to-machine and machine-to-human communication.

Key 5G Use Case Categories

Automation Use Cases

1. Autonomous Smart Factory
   AI-controlled robots and machines will support human resources to streamline and transform processes, working safely alongside humans.
   Mapping to 5G Capabilities: 5G’s ultra-low latency and robust reliability support these use cases.
2. Autonomous Assisted/Self-Driving Cars
   Autonomous self-driving cars will reduce driver error, responsible for over 90% of car accidents. Improved efficiency and lower emissions support sustainable growth.
3. Mission-Critical Applications
   Applications like remote surgery and autonomous smart electrical grids will enhance daily life.
4. Autonomous Smart Metering
   Facilitates accurate billing, increases energy efficiency, and saves money and energy consumption.
5. Autonomous Smart Farming
   Enables farmers to track operations, make informed decisions, improve productivity, and reduce waste.
6. Autonomous Freight-Tracking Systems
   Reduces fuel costs, improves efficiency, and provides customers with accurate shipping updates, fostering trust.
7. Autonomous Smart Wearables
   Monitors fitness levels, tracks locations, and facilitates quicker access to messages and notifications.

Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB)

1. Hotspots and Mobile Broadband
   People will access data with better efficiency than ever before.
   Mapping to 5G Capabilities: 5G’s throughput capacity far exceeds that of other mobile technologies.
2. Smart Offices
   eMBB facilitates smarter workplaces with improved productivity and efficiency.
3. Large-Scale Events
   Enables high data rates at concerts and sporting events attended by thousands of people.
4. Multimedia Services Powered by AR/VR
   Provides seamless, high-definition video streaming and real-time content over broad coverage areas.

Conclusion

The above automated use cases, powered by 5G technology, demonstrate that automation can increase productivity, improve efficiency, reduce human dependency and errors, enhance quality, reduce waste, and enable more efficient use of resources. All sectors will undergo a paradigm shift to embrace automation, supporting the sustainable growth of the human race.

Let’s make 5G technology and robotics our partners in the never-ending journey of humankind.

References

1. United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2019). World Population Prospects 2019.
2. United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2018). World Urbanization Prospects: The 2018 Revision.
3. Insights gained from various training sessions on 5G technology.