5G Bavaria

The test center at Fraunhofer IIS is an ideal starting point for the implementation of planned 5G applications. This is where simulations of new transmission technologies take place, to determine whether they will stand up to the requirements of the planned applications, for example, or to compare the performance of different technological approaches. A team of experts at Fraunhofer IIS is responsible for developing, maintaining and providing the simulation environments. Some of these environments are cloud-based and can be used anywhere in the world.

If the results of the simulation look promising, the developers have already cleared the first hurdle. The next step is emulation, which involves testing the mobile technologies in real time under the most realistic conditions possible. To this end, special software and hardware is used to recreate real-life transmission scenarios and conditions. Given that the process requires specific laboratory equipment, emulation of new transmission technologies is conducted in the lab at Fraunhofer IIS, supervised by the team of experts.

The upshot is that test center users receive timely feedback on the usability of 5G for their specific application, which then gives them time to work on any further improvements they identify.

In addition to the 5G test center, Fraunhofer IIS operates an Industry 4.0 test bed in Nuremberg as well as an automotive test bed in Rosenheim. The test beds serve to perform specific customer use cases with 5G technology on a trial basis. This helps to test the possibilities and limits of 5G even before its roll-out is completed. The 5G test environments feature real infrastructure such as highways and production facilities to enable the first 5G applications to be rolled out on a small-scale.

Research organizations, universities and businesses can use the test beds for field tests, and the test beds are also available for use in public research projects.