How Meshmerize and 5G Worked Together In the 5G FoLa Project To Keep Teleoperated Construction Connected
5G promised to solve industrial connectivity. In real construction environments, however, it runs into the same problems every network faces: radio shadows, moving obstacles, and terrain that changes hour by hour.
The 5G FoLa project — Forschungsfeld Lausitz — spent three years investigating exactly this challenge. The conclusion was clear: 5G alone cannot reliably handle the demands of teleoperated construction. However, 5G combined with a secondary mesh network can.
Meshmerize provided both the hardware and software for that secondary mesh network. Here is what the project found.
What the Project Set Out to Test
The 5G FoLa project focused on communication technologies for teleoperated construction — remote control of machinery on active construction sites. Researchers tested 5G and wireless mesh networks in real-world scenarios, assessing which technologies delivered the reliability, low latency, and stability that future automated construction demands.
One specific objective was to assess wireless mesh networks as a reliable backup communication system when the primary 5G link struggled. To achieve this, Meshmerize equipped nodes with both Meshmerize and 5G interfaces simultaneously. As a result, each node could communicate through both the mesh and cellular networks at the same time — with the cellular connection fully visible and accessible to the mesh nodes.
Scenario 1: Drone Relay for a Teleoperated Excavator
A driverless excavator needs to lift and place three pipes at precise target locations on a construction site. The base station connects to the excavator through a 5G link. Close to the base station, the connection holds reliably.
The Problem Emerges With Distance
As the excavator moves further away, the quality of the 5G link degrades. An unstable link causes problems ranging from video distortion to control failures that risk crashes. Furthermore, if a radio shadow forms between the excavator and the base station — which is entirely unpredictable on an active construction site — connectivity drops completely.
The Mesh Solution
A drone deploys as an additional relay link, positioning itself between the base station and the excavator. This creates a secondary mesh network connecting all three: base station, drone, and excavator. Meshmerize’s multipath protocol then utilises both the 5G link and the drone relay link simultaneously, creating smart redundancy — a stable connection built from two individually unstable ones.
Additionally, the secondary mesh extends further by adding more nodes as needed, increasing coverage without additional infrastructure investment.
Scenario 2: Synchronised Drone Swarm for Heavy Lifting
Multiple drones need to form a coordinated swarm to collaboratively lift and move a heavy item. For this to work, every drone must receive control messages simultaneously — even a slight delay in one drone’s response breaks the coordination entirely.
The problem with 5G alone
The constantly changing construction site environment creates obstacles that block the primary 5G connection for certain drones in the swarm. Consequently, some drones receive control messages later than others, breaking the synchronisation the operation depends on.
The mesh solution
The drones form a secondary mesh network alongside their individual cellular connections. When a control message arrives at any one drone through the 5G link, that drone immediately broadcasts the message to all other drones through the mesh. As a result, only one drone needs an active 5G connection at any moment for the entire swarm to receive the control message simultaneously.
Furthermore, each drone maintains both its individual cellular link and its mesh connection at the same time — so the system does not choose between 5G and mesh. Instead, it uses both, with the mesh filling every gap the cellular link creates.
What the Results Showed
Both scenarios produced consistent conclusions. 5G cellular alone struggles to meet the reliability, low latency, and stability requirements of future automated construction use cases — including drones, driverless vehicles, IoT devices, and mobile robotics.
Meshmerize’s secondary mesh network reduced the time dispersion of control messages received from a remote server in both scenarios. Moreover, results from both the analytical approach and a discrete-event simulator matched — confirming that the findings reflect real-world performance rather than controlled conditions alone.
The overall conclusion of the 5G FoLa project: combining 5G with a Meshmerize secondary mesh network significantly improves communication reliability, safety, and efficiency in teleoperated construction — and the same approach applies directly to other automated industries facing the same connectivity challenges.
The Bottom Line
5G is a powerful technology. However, in real industrial environments, it needs a partner. A secondary mesh network does not replace 5G — instead, it fills the gaps that 5G cannot cover alone, turning two unreliable links into one consistently stable connection.
Meshmerize is proud to have collaborated with the Vodafone Chair at TU Dresden as the key partner in the 5G FoLa project.
Meshmerize is based in Dresden, Germany. To find out what this looks like in your operation, reach out at [email protected].
