Wind Farm – Private 5G, Red Hat Openshift and the demand for certified Engineers

Vanakkam all

I am from Kanyakumari, southern tip of India. We have India’s largest operational onshore windfarm in the place called Muppandal, Kanyakumari District. On the way home, we cross the landscape withlush green fields surrounded by mountains, goats, sheep, cow, birds, farmers walking brisk by the morning sun shine ( this generation is lacking that brisk and natural energy) and not just this – gentle breeze, early morning sunshine on your face, a backdrop of wind turbines with avg 80 feet height and the rotating gigantic blades. The wind farm developed by Tamilnadu Energy Development Agency.

Often I just think about the birds safety crossing those windfarm radar, blades but have never thought about how technology can solve that problem.

Private 5G

As the name implies, Private 5G is a dedicated network that uses 5G technology to create a private network tailored to specific organization needs. Its exclusive to the organization that sets them up. This gives them more control over the network’s setup, management, security, access and performance. One quick example of deployment of private 5G network in an industrial environment would be Siemens Automotive Test Center.

Key Features of Prviate 5G

  • High Speed and Low Latency
  • Enhanced Security
  • Customizability and Control
  • Improved Connectivity for IoT Devices
  • Dedicated Resources

What is the connection between Private 5G and Windfarm

Windfarm- a group of wind turbines is used to produce electricity. They harness kinetic energy of wind and convert it into electrical energy through the rotation of blades connected to generators.

Protected Birds :

Wind turbines blades can pose threats to species that are protected by law. Birds can collide with rotating blades or disturbed by wind farms leading to decline in their population.

Problem statement :

The problem outlined in#MWC24 on Feb 28,2024 was ‘Possible collision of birds in wind farm to protect wildlife and prevent penalties’

Solution: #MWC24

Early detection of protected birds in wind farms to avoid the environmental impact.

Redhat Openshift & Private 5G

As per Kelly Switt – Global Head of Intelligence Edge, Red Hat, ‘Red Hat and Intel have collaborated to create a cloud and edge-native private 5G solution for industrial and cross vertical deployments that is cost-effective and easier to adopt. This enables manufacturers to more readily capitalize on the massive revenue opportunity presented by AI-enabled software-defined operations and factories’.

In windfarm, Private 5G can be applied in :

  • Real-time Data Analytics and Monitoring
  • Remote Control and Automation
  • Enhanced Safety and Security
  • Drone Inspections
  • Digital Twin Technology – Virtual representation of windfarm
  • IoT Integration

By leveraging the capabilities and niche features of 5G, wind farm operators can achieve higher efficiency, enhanced safety and lower operational costs.

Private 5G applications can be deployed on Redhat Openshift which provides a unified cloud-native platform. Openshift can be beneficial for Simplified Network Functions Virtualization (NFV), Edge computing, Automation and Orchestration, Security and compliance.

Whats the AI role in this – Usecase

Utilizinghigh-resolution cameras around wind farms, AI algorithms can continuously monitor skies for bird activity and these algorithms are trained to identify protected bird species from video feeds in real time. By recognizing specific species, especially those that are protected or at risk, AI can provide immediate alerts when such birds are detected near the turbines.

When a protected bird or its flock is detected, there are two ways to prevent the collision . 1- Generate a acoustic sound which can help divert the bird flying direction, 2-Slow down the blade rotation automatically.

Private 5G networks ensure that the vast amounts of data collected by cameras and microphones are transmitted with minimal latency to the AI processing units. This helps in immediate actions and avoid any collision.

AI system can also learn from every incident and improves the accuracy and effectiveness overtime. This also helps the windfarm operators to be regulatory compliant.

Demand for Redhat Openshift Engineers :

All these innovative solutions with Redhat Openshift is inturn creating a huge job market for certified Redhat Openshift Engineers. Learn the technology, understand the nuances, were it is being used and how, and finally get placed in reputed organizations and enjoy the journey of innovation.