I recently toured two John Deere facilities located in the heart of the American Midwest. The company’s roots date back to 1837, when its namesake blacksmith developed the first self-smelting steel plow, which revolutionized agriculture at the time. Almost 190 years later, John Deere continues to innovate on many fronts.
Visiting the company’s Tractor & Engine Museum and 5G Connectivity Factory in Waterloo, Iowa, was an eye-opening experience. In this article, he explains how the company is leveraging cellular connectivity to enable automation and autonomy for its iconic green and yellow vehicles, and how he uses 5G to improve efficiency within the factories that produce vehicles. Let’s talk about what you’re releasing.
Modern manufacturing powered by 5G
You might not immediately associate an agricultural brand like John Deere with cutting-edge technology, but you’d be wrong. In addition to Iowa, the company has opened research facilities and laboratories in technology hot spots such as Austin and San Francisco. In addition, Deere’s acquisitions such as Blue River Technology bring together smart people and technologies such as computer vision, machine learning, AI, and cloud-native infrastructure to revolutionize farming operations. Add in Deere’s significant multi-billion dollar annual research and development spending and you have an impressive commitment to making agriculture smarter.
The same goes for Deere, who recognized the power of private 5G communications early on. In 2020, the company began its 5G deployment efforts by procuring a dedicated spectrum license through the Citizens Broadband Radio Service managed by her OnGo Alliance. Not wanting to rely on third parties to design, deploy, and operate the mobile phone network, Deere chose to build his in-house team of network engineers to work with Nokia. They completed the initial work in record time, requiring just six weeks to launch a production network. From my perspective, the decision to assemble an in-house team and the surprisingly quick execution that followed speaks volumes about the company’s confidence in its technological capabilities and its desire to accelerate the vertical integration of its manufacturing processes.
Notable manufacturing use cases benefit from Deere’s investment in private 5G networks. The company has so far deployed more than 100 of his automated guided vehicles, controlled via 5G, to move engines, drivetrains, cabs, wheels and other parts within the assembly process. Leveraging 5G’s ultra-low latency and high data throughput, computer vision is being used to inspect welds for quality control and monitor worker safety. Last but not least, 5G connectivity allows Deere to improve its assembly line processes. Useful for intensive tasks like wirelessly measuring torque levels on power tools to ensure optimal workflow. It can also be applied more broadly to maximize operational efficiency by reconfiguring assembly lines in hours rather than days or weeks.
Why use 5G over Wi-Fi?
Some may wonder why John Deere chose to provide 5G cellular connectivity over Wi-Fi and its accompanying unlicensed underlying “free” spectrum. There are multiple answers to that question. 5G cellular connectivity is inherently more decisive than Wi-Fi because the handoff from radio to radio is smoother. 5G can also support a huge number of devices per radio. Deere reports that private 5G cellular will support up to 800 devices per radio within his network. This is in contrast to the company’s previous experience where one Wi-Fi access point could only handle 50 devices. In operational technology environments like Deere, the introduction of industrial IoT dramatically increases the number of devices connected to the network for scenarios such as predictive maintenance. The economics of densifying his Wi-Fi to meet these needs quickly extend beyond affordability. Moreover, the 5G architectural design also improves the security posture on his Wi-Fi in the form of enhanced encryption. This is an important consideration given that the expanded attack surface that comes with large-scale IoT deployments often creates vulnerabilities.
Beyond 5G’s ultra-powerful technical and security capabilities, 5G’s fiber-like throughput and latency profile provides flexibility when it comes to installation and access. For example, it is often impractical to connect Ethernet to overhead connected devices such as cranes, hoists, and smart cameras, but 5G makes it easy to do so. Additionally, the cellular spectrum can propagate over a wider range both indoors and outdoors, providing reliable connectivity for moving objects. This is particularly relevant for manufacturing workflows such as yard management, driving audits, rollover testing, and trailer tracking.
summary
The way I see it, John Deere is leaning into 5G to gain a competitive advantage in producing the most technologically advanced, safe and reliable agricultural equipment to feed the world. I am. This is an initiative that firmly reflects our core values of integrity, quality, commitment and innovation.
The flexibility, high throughput, and ultra-low latency of 5G deployment will improve Deere’s ability to process data, perform analytics, and provide actionable insights in near real-time to optimize manufacturing processes. reveals new value. The company is a pioneer in leveraging cellular connectivity to accelerate digital transformation efforts and modernize manufacturing processes, and other world-class manufacturers should consider doing the same.
Moor Insights & Strategy, like all technology industry research and analyst firms, provides or offers paid services to technology companies. These services include research, analysis, advisory, consulting, benchmarking, acquisition matchmaking, video and speaker sponsorship. Moor Insights & Strategy has no paid business relationship with any of the companies mentioned in this article.
