Deployment options of AI components for network resource management in 5G‐enabled agile industrial production cell

Summary On‐demand manufacturing in Industry 4.0 requires flexibility of the networks which can be provided with the fifth generation (5G) of mobile communications wireless connectivity. A key component in the efficient utilization of the radio resources in a manufacturing scenario is network resource management (NRM). We show how NRM can be automated with artificial intelligence (AI). We introduce several futuristic industrial use cases that require AI in various parts of the process. We analyze the AI components' benefits and disadvantages in several deployment scenarios. The findings can be used by business stakeholders interested in deploying the 5G cellular wireless network to choose the best NRM and AI implementation strategy for a particular use case. We show that there are many viable options for the AI component in the process automation, but the cost of AI has to be considered in all cases. Also, we point out that an essential component, the standardized information flow on the status of the productivity key performance indicators (KPIs), is needed for the successful deployment and application of the 5G AI.