Driven by the development of Industry 4.0, a national strategic initiative from the German government, many countries have established smart manufacturing strategies, making it the most eye-catching topic in the global manufacturing industry. 2019 marks the commercial launch of 5G networks. With the aggressive efforts of 5G telecom operators and equipment vendors, it is believed that 5G will make a splash in smart manufacturing. However, reliability is the biggest concern for manufacturers. Since 5G NR Release-16 will not be released until late 2019, standards for industrial automation will not be completely ready until then.

This report presents the development of the global smart manufacturing industry, outlines three major 5G use cases in manufacturing, explores potential applications of 5G in smart manufacturing such as device monitoring, AR/VR (Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality), AGR/AMR (Automated Guided Vehicle)/(Autonomous Mobile Robot), digital twin, AI (Artificial Intelligence), and cybersecurity.