# Towards Flexible and Cognitive Production--Addressing the Production Challenges
## 7 Cognitive Communication and Safety on Shop Floors
### Communication Systems
The 5G standard is touted to be the universal solution for industrial applications. The problems as mentioned, however, remain the same due to physical constraints. An implementation of a fully working 5G network in a defined and confined environment such as an assembly line is the most likely scenario in the context of 5G communications. The distances are short enough to utilize even the high frequency ranges of 5G (up to 60 GHz), which is difficult in any other scenario. Viewed realistically, a5G network is only useful if there are devices or applications which require high bandwidths (e.g., raw image data) or low latency [103]. Low latency is required e.g., when drones are used which are controlled in real-time. If only states and simple information is being exchanged (steering, checks,...), then a 5G system coheres well. Much more interesting, however, are adaptive technologies which identify the best communication channel in real-time. The mentioned mobile components in the context of assembly line are IMU, depth sensor, and workers with head worn devices, which move around in the environment. Some of the components are on a fixed path, some of them move around \"randomly\". Considering all the deliberations, a system architecture for a cognitive assembly line can be created. As a first step, the technology must be identified to satisfy the demands for reliability, latency, safety, security, battery life, and data rate. The most promising technology at the present time would appear to be Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) with high data rates plus low energy consumption. BLE devices are very cheap and, with a fitting topology and adaptability, they can meet most requirements for indoor wireless systems. With the easy deployment and the low costs, they are very attractive for most companies. By adjustment of the antennas on the COTS PCB (printed circuit board) devices, the throughput can be further increased [102]. In [104], an antenna recommendation system has been designed and verified to identify fitting antennas for specific positions within a harsh environment. This approach is also applicable to industrial environments, which have similar properties to the investigated engine compartment. In Figure 10, two common architectures are depicted which represent a wireless communication system solution for cognitive assembly lines. On the left side is a meshed topology, which can be very useful in such a harsh environment, where the direct communication path to another node might be blocked or strongly attenuated by movement of objects or persons. Then, the communication will be rerouted over the next best path to keep up a reliable communication. In the scenario on the right, a typical star topology, with a central communication hub, the individual communication paths might fail at times. Star topology networks are not flexible in structure and need to be defined at the beginning. If we want to achieve a smart adaptive assembly line, where parts and stations might change over time, the only solution is to apply a meshed topology. Even though the efforts required for developing a meshed topology are comparatively higher, the benefits are also increased by the same degree. The main benefit of a meshed topology is clearly the property that the connection can be routed over other devices for which a connection exists. If a large number of devices are included in the environment, there will be always an active connection over a specific route to the main transceiver station. This is not the case with a star topology, where the link will simply fail. The drawback of a meshed network is th  
Figure 10: Network architectures for industrial applications [105]. The adapted image denotes the meshed (**left**) and star (**right**) topology which can be utilized, depending on the production environment. of the individual sending nodes will increase, since each device might be used for the transmission of information of other devices.