GE Research is launching a 5G testbed at Forge Labs on the Niskayuna Research Campus, building a new platform for innovation. Powered by Verizon, GE is leveraging the next-generation speed, scale, reliability and flexibility of 5G to develop tomorrow’s industrial devices.
GE Research’s testbed, announced in April, includes Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband and plans to expand to more 5G technologies in the coming months. By leveraging these 5G capabilities, the team at GE Research can execute on its vision of creating next-generation healthcare, energy, and aviation applications.
Demystifying 5G
When most people hear the term 5G, they don’t realize that mobile networks are made up of three different categories: high-band, mid-band, and low-band.
high band 5G uses ultra-wideband millimeter wave spectrum to enable faster network data speeds and lower latency. Verizon’s high-bandwidth network is called 5G Ultra Wideband. AT+T is called 5G+.
mid band 5G, also known as sub-6, is slower than high band but offers greater range. Verizon does not differentiate between high-band and mid-band networks. AT+T is simply called 5G.
low range 5G is the more widely known and available 5G product. This allows 5G-enabled devices, i.e. mobile phones, to continue to utilize his 5G technology even when high-band networks are not available. Verizon’s low-bandwidth network is called 5G National. AT+T is called 5GE.
Building a testbed starts with strong relationships
As the race for 5G intensifies in the United States, there is no better place to develop 5G capabilities than at the GE Research campus in Niskayuna.
“It was clear that there was going to be massive investment in 5G, so we wanted to be part of the conversation,” said SM, engineering lead at GE Research and supporter of many of GE’s government projects. Hasan said. Mr. Hasan is also the leader of GE Research’s 5G mission. “We bring decades of technical expertise, a wide range of great partnerships, and cross-industry technology.”
Mr. Hasan led the development of a document for the National Spectrum Consortium detailing 10 technology areas where GE Research can leverage 5G to overcome challenges and optimize availability and safety. Active projects such as remote patient monitoring, industrial control, remote robotics, and aircraft asset and operations management could benefit from the near-instantaneous response times enabled by 5G.
Hasan has been working on the logistics behind the scenes to ensure the 5G rollout met the expectations of both GE’s IT department and the research community. He works closely with Eric Tucker, Senior Director of Enterprise High’s Performance Computing and Research Mission. Christopher Miller, Network Operations Engineer. And then there’s Ben Verschueren from GE Research, who oversees a number of mission-based teams as a growth leader for Forge Lab.
“The research center, and especially Forge Labs, creates a unique opportunity to introduce 5G across multiple industries,” said Eric. “This industry testbed is the culmination of more than a year of his work to build the infrastructure to put GE on the cutting edge of his 5G technology.”
The role of 5G in research
GE Research’s Forge Lab consists of multiple breakout rooms where lab teams execute mission-based projects. Many rooms are now equipped with his 5G antennas, allowing his team to harness the power of his 5G to develop and test products and sensors.
“5G brings not only improvements in bandwidth and latency, but also a ton of built-in capabilities, from edge computing to security, virtualization, and more. We needed to build a custom solution, which added complexity to the design and limited what we could achieve,” says Ben. “It’s great to have all of this built in so we can change the way we design and rethink what’s possible.”
So what does a 5G world look like? In the energy sector, renewable energy assets such as offshore wind farms can be wirelessly controlled and monitored in near real-time, improving resiliency and energy output. You can imagine. In the medical field, wireless patient monitoring in the home could become the new normal. Opportunities for telemedicine are expanding, seamlessly connecting patients with top medical professionals at home or on the other side of the world. To learn more about how 5G will transform the industry, watch this video from Ben.
As Ben concludes in the video, “4G for the consumer turned my personal devices into something widely usable. 5G is really about industry. Industrial use cases are the killer for 5G. It’s going to be an app.”
For more information about 5G, including frequently asked questions, click here.
