🇨🇳 Customer: Large-Scale Logistics Enterprise
🌎 Location: China
📡 Product: NR120 & NR130 Industrial 5G Router
🤖 Application: AGV Wireless Communication
📅 Installed: 2021
“Our AGV fleet is moving constantly across the sorting floor, so we needed wireless connectivity that would not drop for even a moment. The 5G coverage from the Yifan routers keeps every AGV online and in sync with our dispatch system at all times.”
Project Overview
A large-scale logistics enterprise in China has deployed Yifan Communication NR120 and NR130 Industrial 5G Routers across its fleet of automated guided vehicles (AGVs) at a smart sorting facility. Each router is connected via Ethernet directly to the AGV’s control unit, providing the onboard system with a dedicated 5G network link. Commissioned in March 2021, the routers deliver full 5G coverage across the facility floor, enabling real-time communication between the AGV fleet and the central dispatch control system as part of the facility’s automated material handling and sorting operations.
AGV handling robots queued along the warehouse aisle, each connected to the dispatch system via an onboard Yifan 5G router
Challenge
Deploying wireless connectivity for an AGV fleet at this scale presented several requirements:
- 🤖 Real-time AGV-to-dispatch communication: Each AGV must stay continuously connected to the central dispatch control system to receive routing instructions without delay
- 📡 Full-facility 5G coverage: AGVs operate across the entire sorting floor, requiring wireless coverage with no blind spots throughout the site
- ⚡ Ultra-low latency for AI-guided navigation: AI-based autonomous driving requires real-time adjustment of travel speed and routing, which depends on a low-latency network connection
- 🔗 Dispatch-to-production system integration: The AGV dispatch platform needed reliable connectivity to interface with the factory’s production and order management system for automated order allocation
- 🧭 Uninterrupted operation for laser-guided routing: AGVs rely on laser navigation combined with instructions issued over the network, so any connectivity gap directly interrupts material handling
Solution
Each AGV in the fleet connects to a Yifan NR120 or NR130 Industrial 5G Router via Ethernet, giving the vehicle’s control unit a dedicated link to the facility’s 5G network and the central dispatch system.
5G NR Low-Latency Connectivity
NR120 and NR130 both support 5G NR (NSA & SA) with up to 3.4 Gbps downlink, delivering the low latency required for real-time AGV dispatch communication and AI-guided path adjustment.
Direct Ethernet Connection to AGV
Each router connects via Gigabit Ethernet straight into the AGV’s control unit, delivering network access directly to the vehicle’s onboard system.
Interchangeable by AGV Chassis
NR120 (135×110×43 mm) and NR130 (106×76×23.5 mm, compact) are functionally interchangeable, allowing the model that fits each AGV’s available installation space to be selected.
Industrial-Grade Reliability
IP30-rated housing and a −35°C to +75°C operating range keep both routers running continuously inside the AGV chassis in a demanding warehouse environment.
Yifan Communication NR120 and NR130 Industrial 5G Routers were selected as interchangeable onboard gateways for the AGV fleet:
- 5G NR (NSA & SA): Up to 3.4 Gbps downlink / 900 Mbps uplink on both models, supporting the low-latency link needed for real-time dispatch and AI-guided routing
- Dual-SIM support: NR120 provides 2× SIM slots; NR130 provides dual Micro-SIM plus eSIM compatibility, allowing flexible carrier configuration
- Dual-band WiFi (802.11ac): Built-in 2.4 GHz/5.8 GHz WiFi is available on both routers as an additional connectivity option alongside the primary 5G link
- Compact form factor: NR130 measures just 106×76×23.5 mm (285g), fitting AGV chassis where NR120’s standard 135×110×43 mm housing does not fit
- Gigabit Ethernet: Wired connection directly into each AGV’s onboard control unit
- Industrial durability: IP30-rated housing, −35°C to +75°C operating range, with DIN-rail, wall, or desktop mounting options
Onboard installation detail: NR120 fitted inside a disc-type sorting AGV (left) and NR130 fitted inside a compact AGV chassis (right)
Results
- ✓ Real-time AGV-to-dispatch communication maintained via low-latency 5G connectivity across the sorting facility
- ✓ Full facility-wide 5G coverage with no blind spots for continuous AGV operation
- ✓ Flexible fleet-wide deployment — NR120 and NR130 fitted interchangeably based on each AGV chassis’s available space
- ✓ Reliable integration between the AGV dispatch platform and the factory’s production/order management system
- ✓ Stable industrial-grade operation since commissioning in March 2021
“Our AGV fleet needs to move constantly without losing signal — that’s non-negotiable at our scale. Since installing the Yifan 5G routers, our AGVs stay connected to the dispatch system in real time, and being able to use either the NR120 or NR130 depending on each robot’s available space made the rollout across our different AGV models much simpler.”
Products Used in This Deployment
View NR130 →
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Customer name withheld per company policy. Deployment location: China.