Ecopetrol, in partnership with the Ministry of Information and Communication Technologies and Claro Colombia, successfully carried out new tests with 5G technology for industrial use at the Barrancabermeja Refinery.
The objective was to find solutions for remote assistance, video-analytics and transmission of information and data in real time, which generates efficiencies in time and costs.
(Also read: Ecopetrol exported its first cargo of asphalt to Chile)
Barrancabermeja Refinery
Specialists will be able to attend to situations from anywhere in the world in real time
This exercise will allow us to take a step towards the technological transformation that ecopetrol in the search for tools supported by 5G, which will offer a greater number of devices connected simultaneously in the field and expansion of coverage.
With remote assistance, through intrinsically safe devices such as glasses and mobiles, specialists You can handle situations from anywhere in the world in real times.
For the test, a specialist engineer with restricted physical mobility who was unable to travel to the refinery, provided online technical advice to a rotating equipment reliability engineer in training.
Through the use of 5G devices and an assisted reality viewer, the information and images were displayed in real time, through the Teams virtual meeting platform, to guide the sequence of activities in one of the refinery’s Hydrocracking units.
This pilot is a sample of how 5G technology is going to change the lives of all Colombians
The video-analytics solution in process safety was also implemented, for the detection of presence of unauthorized persons in restricted areas with activation of alerts for plant operators, which consisted of the use of industrial cameras, connected to the industrial 5G network.
Lastly, real-time data transmission technology was used to visualize the running tests, devices using intrinsically safe devices designed to operate in 5G networks.
The ICT Minister, Mauricio Lizcano, assured that “this pilot is a sample of how 5G technology will change the lives of all Colombians and will benefit all sectors: citizens, companies, consumers, sectors of the economy and the public sector”.
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Meanwhile, the president of Ecopetrol, Ricardo Roa, said that “these tests allow us to assess the adherence of the technology to our operating conditions, identify the appropriate frequencies for communications, evaluate coverage in work areas and determine the value potential that it generates in our operations”.
For his part, Juan Carlos Archila, president of América Móvil Colombia, highlighted that “the reduction in latency and speed provided by this fifth-generation network allow them, in the field, to carry out work guided by people who are in another country The technology must be available to all companies in the country to Optimize costs and times in daily tasks“.
These advances will allow, in the medium term, to continue advancing in the construction of the public policy that determines the technical scope required for the massive use of this technology in Barrancabermeja and the country.
