METIS project develops a 5G system concept to fulfil the requirements of the beyond-2020 connected information society and to extend today's wireless communication systems for new usage scenarios. The physical layer METIS test-bed is a real-time hardware platform providing a proof-of-concept for a flexible waveform based on Filter-Bank Multi-Carrier (FBMC) modulation. Over-the-air transmission is demonstrated using the recent Zynq-7000 All Programmable SoC (latest FPGA series with ARM Cortex-A9) paired with off-the-shelf RF modules. Multiple system parameters can be configured and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) visualized through a user-friendly GUI. Compared to state-of-the-art OFDM, as used in LTE, key advantages are better spectrum usage, resilience to imperfect synchronization and higher robustness to mobility (Doppler). Such advantages are key elements, with respect to 5G challenges resulting from the extension of asynchronous dense networks (including device-to-device and massive deployment of machines) and vehicular communications. Furthermore, the presented novel hardware architecture illustrates its efficiency in terms of complexity, latency, and energy consumption.