The majority of 5G use cases rely on the network’s improved consistency and speed as well as the reduced latency it provides, and they promise to upend both traditional and digital industries. As a result, there will be a tonne of uses for 5G technology in the upcoming months and years including smart cities, smart cars, smart warehouses, etc.

According to a 2021 global Deloitte study, 76% of the more than 400 executives surveyed think 5G will become the most critical network technology within the next three years.

In light of this, Keysight Technologies, a leading technology company that provides advanced design and validation solutions, is one of the many companies that is leading the 5G market by exploiting it for a variety of use cases. They recently announced that AI-LINK had chosen Keysight’s 5G test tools for end-to-end performance validation of cloud-native 5G radio access network (RAN) hardware in a virtual twin laboratory environment, accelerating the deployment of 5G private networks for extensive smart warehouse applications.

Speeding up the validation of 5G private network in smart warehouses​

AI-LINK, a Chinese company, provides industrial internet of things (IIoT) solutions based on platforms for cloud edge computing and 5G technologies. To simulate a significant number of industrial mobile devices intended for deployment in 5G private networks, AI-LINK used Keysight’s user equipment (UE) emulation solution (UeSIM) and LoadCore, a cloud-native 5G core (5GC) network test solution. Prior to deployment in smart warehouses, AI-LINK was able to test the performance and functionality of 5G RAN equipment thanks to Keysight’s solutions.

Giampaolo Tardioli, vice president and general manager of Keysight’s Network and Operators group stated that the completion of the 5G new radio 3GPP Release 16 specification has laid the foundation for enterprises in different industries to deploy IIoT connectivity solutions based on 5G in combination with digital twin, cloud and mobile edge computing technologies.

“Keysight is pleased to support AI-LINK with test solutions that speed the validation of 5G private network equipment used in large-scale 5G intelligent warehouses,” Tardioli added.

AI-LINK deployed Keysight’s 5G test tools to simulate and stress test the performance of autonomous guided vehicles (AGVs) used in smart warehouses. AI-LINK can validate the compatibility of the protocol domain and the radio frequency domain using Keysight’s UeSIM and LoadCore.

Not only that, but AI-LINK can rapidly, effectively, and securely fix complex connectivity issues that may arise in extensive industrial situations thanks to end-to-end testing of the 5G private network in a lab setting. Therefore, AI-LINK can quicken the rollout of 5G private networks.

“AI-LINK Networks is committed to promoting the implementation of 5G edge intelligence in smart warehouses and other scenarios,” said Dr. Letian Rong, chief marketing officer at AI-LINK Networks. “AI-LINK’s close cooperation with Keysight enables us to optimize our one-stop deployment process.”

This isn’t the first time Keysight Technologies has accelerated the rollout of its 5G private networks. Celona, a 5G enterprise company, chose Keysight’s Open RAN Architect (KORA) solution portfolio in the early part of this year so they could offer solutions and services to the private mobile network industry with software and hardware components that hasten the deployment of private wireless networks and increase the capacity of the available network.