Use of real time localization systems (RTLS) in the automotive production and the prospects of 5G – A literature review

ABSTRACT

Numerous challenges in automotive production lead to an increased need for transparency and optimization. Real-Time-Location-Systems (RTLS) is a key tool for achieving this goal. They enable intelligent and automated production processes. Existing solutions such as Ultra-Wideband, Bluetooth-Low-Energy, or Radio-Frequency-Identification have drawbacks in costs, range, or accuracy. 5G is a newly developing standard, recently including high-accuracy positioning. It is unclear, however, if 5G positioning has reached industrial maturity. This contribution aims to determine the state-of-the-art of 5G positioning by performing a systematic literature review and comparing its findings to industrial positioning requirements. 143 articles were analyzed and categorized as: the fundamentals of radio-frequency positioning, an overview of existing solutions, the state-of-the-art, and the maturity of 5G as an industrial positioning system. Results show that, theoretically, centimeter-level accuracies are pursued. However, practical tests are rarely conducted. Concluding, 5G positioning shows great potential, but industrial pilots are required to validate the theoretical characteristics.

KEYWORDS:

• Automotive industry
• production control
• industry 4.0
• 5G
• positioning

Acknowledgments

Gratefully acknowledged is the funding of the Ph.D. thesis and research of Christoph Küpper by the BMW Group. The authors would like to thank their colleagues and supervisors for their assistance and support during this research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data Availability Statement

Due to the nature of a literature review, no data was generated, collected, or used for the analysis of this publication. All references can be found below. Therefore, no data exists that can be made public.

Geolocation Information

The literature review was conducted in Munich, Germany and Cottbus, Germany.