Topcon joins CampusOS 5G Research Project
Topcon Positioning Germany is one of 22 partners involved in CampusOS; a research project with the goal of developing a modular ecosystem for open 5G campus networks based on open radio technologies and interoperable network components.
As part of the German technology program titled “Campus networks based on 5G communication technologies,” innovative solutions for open 5G networks are being developed and tested in conjunction with the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection. The program was launched at the beginning of 2022 and will run through 2025.
The use of artificial intelligence in the operation of autonomous plants and construction machinery requires the highest level of digital sovereignty. If Construction 4.0, including far-reaching automation, is to become a reality in Germany and the rest of the world, the processes of such data-driven solutions must run reliably, quickly and autonomously.
Sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Economics
The German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection is providing around 18.1 million euros in funding for the technology program over the next three years, which will cost around 33 million euros in total. The Fraunhofer Institutes FOKUS and HHI are coordinating the project. 22 partners from industry and research are involved. They include Deutsche Telekom, Siemens, Robert Bosch and more.
“To enable companies to operate their own campus networks, certain requirements must be met; from standardized technology building blocks to network structures. As the sole representative of the construction industry, Topcon will test the technologies on reference test sites and therefore, will help shape the solutions for the future,” explains Ulrich Hermanski, Chief Marketing Officer of the Topcon Positioning Group. “We look forward to working with our research partners to take the digital construction site to the next level.”
The future of the construction industry is digital
With this research project, construction companies will one day be able to operate plants and machinery autonomously in open campus networks. This will allow the fluid and uninterrupted monitoring of construction sites in real time, as well as the networking of all sensors and construction machines in use on construction sites.
Completely autonomous from public networks, 5G technology guarantees seamless machine-to-machine communication and transmits data ten times faster than 4G. The campus networks required for this, based on 5G frequencies, are practically digital ecosystems. They operate with open radio technologies and dialog-enabled components. The campus networks are geographically limited and can operate on a factory floor or on a construction site.
Hermanski explains: “We will put a lot of time and energy into this project, because 5G campus networks are an important key technology for the construction site of the future.”
Lead project CampusOS: The consortium and its partners
In addition to Topcon Deutschland Positioning GmbH, the collaborative partners of the CampusOS lead project include:
- atesio GmbH
- brown-iposs GmbH, BISDN GmbH
- Robert Bosch GmbH
- Deutsche Telekom AG
- EANTC AG
- Fraunhofer Institutes FOKUS and HHI (project coordinators)
- GPS Gesellschaft für Produktionssysteme GmbH
- highstreet technologies GmbH
- Kubermatic GmbH, MUGLER SE
- Node-H GmbH
- Rohde & Schwarz GmbH
- rt-solutions. de GmbH
- Siemens AG
- Smart Mobile Labs AG
- STILL GmbH
- SysEleven GmbH
- Technical University of Berlin
- Technical University of Kaiserslautern.
