South Korean conglomerate Doosan has become the first company to demonstrate the possibilities of 5G communications by operating an excavator in South Korea from 8,500km away, in Germany.
The demonstration was carried out at Doosan’s stand at the Bauma construction machinery trade fair in Munich this week.
Staff used 3D machine guidance, real time diagnostics and a full gauge display to operate a 40-tonne DX380LC crawler excavator located eight time-zones away in Incheon.
The concept, which is calls "TeleOperation" uses a 5G systems set up by LG Uplus, a telecoms subsidiary of Korean tech firm LG, which it says is 10 times faster than existing 4G networks.
It means the operator can control remote machinery unhampered by communication lags.
Doosan says the system can be used to carry out work on sites that are contaminated by toxic or radioactive substances, as well as offering remote training for operators.
The company comments: "It is also useful for work on collapsing waste piles and in areas where there are buried mines and other munitions. Safety can be further increased via the zoning and area limitation functions available through the Doosan TeleOperation system."
Image: The 40-tonne DX380LC crawler excavator was located in Incheon (Doosan)
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