EMF Exposure of Workers Due to 5G Private Networks in Smart Industries

Abstract

5G private mobile networks are becoming a platform for ‘wire-free’ networking for professional applications in smart industry sectors, such as automated warehousing, logistics, autonomous vehicle deployments in campus environments, mining, material processing, and more. It is expected that most of these Machine-to-Machine (M2M) and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) communication paths will be realized wirelessly, as the advantages of providing flexibility are obvious compared to hard-wired network installations. Unfortunately, the deployment of private 5G networks in smart industries has faced delays due to a combination of high costs, technical challenges, and uncertain returns on investment, which is reflected in troublesome access to fully operational private networks. To obtain insight into occupational exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF EMF) emitted by 5G private mobile networks, an analysis of RF EMF due to different types of 5G equipment was carried out on a real case scenario in the production and logistic (warehouse) industrial sector. A private standalone (SA) 5G network operating at 3.7 GHz in a real industrial environment was numerically modeled and compared with in situ RF EMF measurements. The results show that RF EMF exposure of the workers was far below the existing exposure limits due to the relatively low power (1 W) of indoor 5G base stations in private networks, and thus similar exposure scenarios could also be expected in other deployed 5G networks. In the analyzed RF EMF exposure scenarios, the radio transmitter—so-called ‘radio head’—installation heights were relatively low, and thus the obtained results represent the worst-case scenarios of the workers’ exposure that are to be expected due to private 5G networks in smart industries.