Terahertz Communications for Industrial Manufacturing: a Use Case Analysis

Due to the limitation of existing wireless technologies and the ossification of the industrial sector, current manufacturing systems are still largely based on wired communications which limit their flexibility with an increase deployment and maintenance costs. In this context, terahertz (THz) communications can play a relevant role by enabling high-performing and easily-reconfigurable wireless connections. In this paper, we describe three use cases related to industrial manufacturing that can benefit from communicating over the THz band. An overview of the peculiar and distinctive features of THz communications is provided, and their impact on industrial uses cases is discussed. A quantification of the communication requirements is provided, where we show that communications over the THz band may support ultra-high data rate communications for industrial applications.