Product lifecycle management (PLM) is crucial for industrial manufacturers to maintain high efficiency as well as maximum profits. It is known to all that machinery, equipment and other physical assets are heavily resilience on the "Rugged" features to cope with the extreme working environment such as temperature, dust, powder, humidity and vibration, etc. Thus, industrial enterprises are seeking a robust solution to extend the device lifecycle while keeping up with the competitive advantages and innovations in the marketplace.
Evolved with advanced technologies like 5G, AI, edge computing and big data analysis, equipment and devices in the manufacturing plants are adapting to new technologies to streamline the industrial process and operations. For example, 5G's Gigabit speed, high data throughput and low latency enable massive data synchronization between devices, moreover, by leveraging 5G private network and utilizing the 5G slicing and 5G LAN capabilities, manufacturers can secure and monitor the working status of the mobile robots, robotic arms in the production line in real-time, and the data being collected will allow them to make smart decisions to optimize the process and minimize downtime effectively.
That being said, the demand for a reliable 5G solution with extended PLM is essential for industrial manufacturers in today's highly competitive marketplace.
However, as one of the most important components in driving these innovations, the product lifecycle in these miconductor industry can vary significantly depending on the different market sectors. Business sectors like consumer electronics usually apply for 2-3years' product life cycle as technologies renovate rapidly, and it will be affected by external factors like industry competition and regulatory change. On the contrary, the operation and maintenance cycle of the industrial equipment is expected to last for decades, and the performance of standard chipsets is not robust enough to deal with the harsh environment in the manufacturing sites. Apparently, the demand for industrial-grade chipsets is on the rise.
By collaborating with the world's leading wireless technology and innovation company Qualcomm Technology, Fibocom 5G smart module SC151-GL empowers the extended product lifecycle management for industrial devices with its "Rugged Capability". Integrated with the Qualcomm® QCM4490 Processor, Fibocom SC151-GL is the industry-first 5G smart module that supports 5G SA/NSA worldwide, which is crucial for manufacturers to deploy smart devices across the globe. Compliant with 3GPP Release 16, the module is capable of offering Gigabit 5G experience, in addition to the support of Wi-Fi 6/6E, allowing the connections of multiple end devices simultaneously as well as the high-capacity of data throughput, these features can significantly improve the uplink performance, especially for the latency-sensitive scenarios like warehouse management and manufacturing detection.
In terms of the product life cycle management of SC151-GL, the industrial-grade smart module features an Octa-core (2*A78@2.0GHz+6*A55@2.0GHz ) processor with a visual Digital Signal Processor (vDSP) and a high-performance graphics engine that supports smooth 1080P video playing and multi-channel camera input. SC151-GL is fully capable of connecting to the external peripheral terminals thanks to the rich interfaces and scalable hardware design. And the firmware and OS can support continuous future upgrades, which is beneficial for manufacturers to keep up with core competitiveness as technology evolves.
Accelerating the digital transformation with Fibocom's "Rugged Core" 5G smart wireless solution
Evidently, Fibocom has a proven reference in offering industrial-grade wireless modules and solutions that is long-life-cycle compatible to industry customers by working closely with ecosystem partner Qualcomm. Take the Qualcomm MDM9x07 as an example, even though it has been released for nearly 8 years, it still performs actively and is widely deployed in diversified IoT use cases. The chipset platform was first introduced as early as 2016 and has been adopted by more than 100 designs from over 60 manufacturers worldwide. Based on the MDM9x07 chipset family, Fibocom has announced multiple series of module products ranging from LTE Cat 4/Cat1/Cat M, and these solutions have been maturely used in a wide scope of IoT markets such as smart metering, security monitoring, asset tracking, and industrial automation, healthcare and continues in offering the customers support of software upgrades and hardware developments.
In the era of 5G AIoT, Fibocom has launched multiple 5G/4G smart wireless module series based on the Qualcomm QCM series, which is the industrial-grade chip platform specially designed for IoT applications. With advantages and advancements in technology innovations, long-lasting product lifecycle management support, and value-added service, we will help industry customers to ensure productivity and profits during the entire product life cycle and reduce sunk costs and time to commercialization.
