New Delhi: The Union Minister for Coal and Mines G Kishan Reddy, inaugurated the '5G Use Case Test Lab' at the Central Mine Planning and Design Institute (CMPDI) Limited in Ranchi on Thursday. This state-of-the-art facility is dedicated to advancing digital transformation within the coal sector by serving as a testbed for developing, testing, and adapting various 5G-based applications tailored to the industry's needs.
The Ministry of Coal has designated CMPDI as the Centre of Excellence for establishing this lab to effectively leverage 5G technology.
During the inauguration, Minister Reddy commended CMPDIL's pioneering efforts in innovation, emphasizing that through relentless research and development, the institute is enhancing mining safety, efficiency, and environmental sustainability. He stated, "The establishment of the 5G Centre of Excellence Lab further cements CMPDI’s leadership in leveraging cutting-edge technologies to meet the evolving challenges of the mining sector."
On the occasion, key officials, including Secretary of the Ministry of Coal Vikram Dev Dutt; Additional Secretary Vismita Tej; Chairman of Coal India Limited (CIL) P.M. Prasad; CMD of CMPDI Manoj Kumar; CMD of Central Coalfields Limited (CCL) Nilendu Kumar Singh; CMD of Eastern Coalfields Ltd (ECL) Satish Jha; and other senior officers and dignitaries were present.
In addition to the lab inauguration, Minister Reddy unveiled a 'Replica of CMPDI services' sculpture crafted from scrap materials such as delivery hose pipes, NQ drilling rods, and core boxes. This art installation highlights CMPDIL's commitment to sustainable practices by intricately depicting its core services, including geomatics, exploration, planning and design, and environmental monitoring. The minister also inaugurated CMPDIL's new corporate logo during the ceremony.
According to an official statement, this 5G Use Case Lab is a lab-scale representation of an industry 5G private network, specifically designed to support the coal mining industry. It will function as a hub for testing and developing the integration of 5G radio and core technologies with 5G-enabled devices, as well as with edge/cloud enterprise IT/OT applications and equipment. The lab aims to create a scalable and replicable model that mirrors a real-world industry 5G private network setup, facilitating the development of innovative use cases such as voice, video, and data communication applications, and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) sensors for vehicle management and other applications over a 5G network.
Looking ahead, the lab plans to explore the development of high-resolution video and IoT applications, focusing on providing reliable, high-speed, low-latency wireless connectivity to support mission-critical applications in the coal mining sector, including smart mining, predictive maintenance, and real-time monitoring. It also aims to implement next-generation advanced use cases like mines digital twin, automated guided vehicles (AGVs), and augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) applications to optimize various field operations and productivity.
The implementation of a 5G network by Coal India Limited (CIL) is expected to significantly enhance the efficiency, safety, and sustainability of its mining operations. By connecting a wide range of IoT applications, including surveillance cameras, sensor-integrated machines, predictive maintenance systems, and automated machinery, CIL will benefit from real-time data exchange, improved decision-making, and streamlined operations. Notably, as the network is a private captive network, the data generated during operations will remain within CIL, ensuring data security and confidentiality.
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