5G networks are well on their way to becoming the new normal. We are beginning to see how they can impact industries and society more broadly.
From everyday care to the introduction of new technologies and practices, 5G will have a widespread and hugely beneficial impact in this space. Its significance is demonstrated by how it boosts several industries including healthcare, manufacturing, printed circuit board (PCB) design and mobile tech design.
5G networks
The list of businesses and entire industries that stand to benefit from 5G could fill volumes already. The following are some particularly powerful early examples that come to mind.
1. healthcare
The healthcare industry may ultimately see some of the most significant benefits from 5G, in that the technology stands to improve patient care. Improved wireless networks will enable more telehealth and enable robotic surgery and that is to say nothing of these networks’ implications when it comes to data management, according to HealthTech.
Telehealth is all the more significant in light of the events of 2020. With 5G, healthcare facilities will be better equipped to gather and catalogue the vast troves of data they need to keep track of patients and expedite care.
2. manufacturing
This has become arguably the main industry people talk about when considering the impact of 5G and while broad, the benefits to are fairly easy to sum up Tech Briefs characterized 5G in manufacturing as something the will help companies to improve factory automation, human/machine interfaces and mobility in their processes.
Clearly, those benefits cover a lot of ground but the idea is that 5G networks provide the reliable and speedy connectivity needed to propel advanced manufacturing processes forward. Any practice involving automation or machine usage stands to benefit as machines gain greater ability to communicate with each other and with humans.
3. PCB design
It is also worth taking into account industries that will be more productive because of the demand introduced by 5G networks. In this case, we are referring to the worldwide PCB design industry, which produces the circuit boards housed in our electronic devices.
As Altium’s overview of PCB antennas puts it, consumer and industrial demand has prompted the demand for smaller wireless devices, including IoT products. PCB designers have met this demand by manufacturing smaller circuit boards that can still manage high-speed wireless connections.
With 5G, demand for such products is only intensifying. In all likelihood, this industry has busy days ahead as it is called upon to power innumerable new devices that will connect over 5G.
4. mobile tech design
This category is somewhat more vague. However, just as circuit board design is going to adjust to what’s happening with 5G, engineers and designers with connections to the mobile device industry will also be changing and accelerating their practices.
Most interesting in this area will be the changes we see in smartphones, wearable devices and mobile applications. New capabilities are within reach for all of these products thanks to the spread of 5G but designers and developers will have to work to turn those capabilities into realities.
CONAN Daily 