Industrial IoT in 5G-and-Beyond Networks: Vision, Architecture, and Design Trends

• Published in: IEEE transactions on industrial informatics Vol. 18; no. 6; pp. 4122 - 4137
• Main Authors: Mahmood, Aamir, Beltramelli, Luca, Fakhrul Abedin, Sarder, Zeb, Shah, Mowla, Nishat I., Hassan, Syed Ali, Sisinni, Emiliano, Gidlund, Mikael
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Piscataway IEEE 01-06-2022; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: 5G mobile communication; 5G mobile communication systems; 5G-and-beyond; Artificial intelligence; Cellular communication; Computer architecture; Design trends; Distributed computer systems; IIoT; Industrial applications; Industrial internet of thing; Industrial Internet of Things; Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT); Industrial research; Industries; Industry 4.0; Industry 40; Internet of Things; Millimeter waves; millimeter-wave (mmWave) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) capacity; Millimeter-wave multiple-input multiple-output capacity; MIMO systems; mmWave-MIMO capacity; Network architecture; New radio in unlicensed band; new radio in unlicensed bands (NR-U); NR-U; Open radio access network; open radio access network (RAN); open RAN; private 5G; Radio; Radio access networks; Security; Time-sensitive networking; time-sensitive networking (TSN); Trends; TSN; Vision; Wireless communication; Wireless networks; Wireless sensor networks
• ISSN: 1551-3203; 1941-0050; 1941-0050
• DOI: 10.1109/TII.2021.3115697

Cellular networks are envisioned to be a cornerstone in future industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) wireless connectivity in terms of fulfilling the industrial-grade coverage, capacity, robustness, and timeliness requirements. This vision has led to the design of vertical-centric service-based architecture of 5G radio access and core networks. The design incorporates the capabilities to include 5G-AI-Edge ecosystem for computing, intelligence, and flexible deployment and integration options (e.g., centralized and distributed, physical, and virtual) while eliminating the privacy/security concerns of mission-critical systems. In this article, driven by the industrial interest in enabling large-scale wireless IIoT deployments for operational agility, flexible, and cost-efficient production, we present the state-of-the-art 5G architecture, transformative technologies, and recent design trends, which we also selectively supplemented with new results. We also identify several research challenges in these promising design trends that beyond-5G systems must overcome to support rapidly unfolding transition in creating value-centric industrial wireless networks.