IoT Analytics released a new analysis, based on the ’Industrial IoT & Industry 4.0 Case Study Report 2023’.

Key insights:

• Digitalization has become essential for industrial companies worldwide, as IoT Analytics expects the industrial IoT market to reach $145 billion in 2023.
• The Industrial IoT and Industry 4.0 Case Studies Report 2023 delves into 22 case studies, exploring their project objectives, technologies deployed, lessons learned, challenges, and outcomes.
• In this article, we share five learnings from the report: 1) Upgrading the ERP is often the first step in digital transformation, 2) cloud-native data storage and streaming are coming up, 3) first successful implementations of private 5G use cases, 4) digitalization becoming a prerequisite to achieving sustainability, and 5) the continued journey toward predictive maintenance.

Key quotes:

Rajini Nair, Analyst at IoT Analytics, remarks: “Upon analyzing the case studies outlined in the report, it becomes evident that digitalization is a key catalyst driving technological progress in industrial settings. This includes the enhancement of ERP systems and the migration of data to cloud platforms equipped with real-time streaming capabilities. Furthermore, digitalization proves essential in harmonizing companies with their sustainability objectives. Strategies such as the implementation of predictive maintenance algorithms and the adoption of private industrial 5G use cases are leveraged to improve operational efficiency. Looking forward, the technological landscape is transforming with the rise of AI, poised to shape the future of manufacturing.”

Digitalization has become crucial to manufacturers globally

Digitalization has become crucial for manufacturers in their respective competitive landscapes. IoT Analytics estimates the industrial IoT market to reach $145B in 2023, with a CAGR of 17.9% until 2030, as more and more companies undertake digital transformation initiatives.

For many, digitalization has already become a game changer:

• Carmaker Mercedes has achieved 25% greater efficiency in its S-class assembly after optimizing the value chain and introducing innovative technologies at its Germany-based Factory 56 facility.
• Energy giant TotalEnergies aims to generate $1.5 billion annually in savings with its digital solutions by 2025.
• Chemical company Covestro increased efficiency and reduced unnecessary downtime by shifting from calendar-based to condition-based maintenance.

These are just some of the benefits of the digital transformation initiatives our research uncovered as part of the 255-page Industrial IoT and Industry 4.0 Case Studies Report 2023. The report delves into 22 recent industrial digital transformation case studies, looking at initiatives related to digital transformation, data architecture, predictive maintenance, AI, and industrial 5G.

Benefits of case studies for digitalization journeys

Case studies by peers or companies in other industries are a great way to learn about digitalization, identify common challenges, develop a view of best practices, and understand how companies manage to scale.

The 22 case studies in our report offer readers a diverse set of manufacturing examples of current IIoT and Industry 4.0 projects, along with project objectives and takeaways from each. Our analysis of these takeaways yielded many trends in these companies’ digital transformation journeys, five of which we will delve into in this article (including selected highlights from the report):

1. ERP: An upgraded ERP is often the first step to digital transformation.
2. Cloud: Cloud-native data storage and streaming are increasingly accepted.
3. 5G: First manufacturers have successfully implemented private 5G use cases.
4. Sustainability: Digitalization is becoming a prerequisite to achieving sustainability objectives.
5. Maintenance: The journey toward predictive maintenance and remote monitoring continues.

Learning 1: An upgraded ERP is often the first step to digital transformation

Our analysis found that many manufacturers elect to prioritize upgrading their ERP systems to ensure their various data sources are connected before prioritizing other digital transformation initiatives. Since ERP systems are often the central nervous system of a business, prioritizing an updated ERP allows different departments to share and operate on the same data, reducing errors and improving efficiency.

Selected highlight: Celanese

In recent years, US-based chemical manufacturer Celanese has acquired several businesses or divisions from other companies. Celanese had been operating on a legacy SAP ERP system, and the acquired assets had different legacy ERP environments, making cross-section integration difficult. Celanese’s global CIO, Sameer Purao, did not want the company to invest in integrating the new acquisitions into older technology. Given this situation and Celanese’s adoption of a strategic, long-term approach to a scalable digital transformation plan, an ERP upgrade became necessary.

“Our previous ERP system had been a backbone, but it was close to 20 years old. Given its age, we didn’t want to invest in transforming until we upgraded that piece first. The acquisitions underscored that it wouldn’t make sense to invest in integrating them into older technology, so we opted to upgrade.” – Sameer Purao, senior vice president and global CIO, Celanese Corporation

In May 2023, Celanese announced that it had completed its upgrade to SAP S/4HANA. Further, since Celanese acquired DuPont’s Mobility & Materials (M&M) business just six months prior, it quickly cutover to upgrading M&M’s legacy ERP system as well, which is expected to be completed in the first half of 2024.

While there are other major aspects of Celanese’s digital transformation journey detailed in our report, this upgrade to its ERP provided a stronger backbone from which other digitalization solutions could be built. Another benefit of this upgrade is improved visibility and collaboration, enhancing transparency and teamwork and allowing for efficient data access across the enterprise.

Learning 2: Cloud-native data storage and streaming are increasingly accepted

The cloud market nearly doubled between 2020 and 2022, growing from $109 billion to $206 billion, based on our analysis of global cloud projects. While the COVID-19 pandemic certainly played a major role, it was not the only growth factor. Our analysis found that large-scale enterprise digitalization efforts and strong SaaS adoption also helped fuel this growth.

Cloud storage and data streaming allow companies to centralize and share their data with a smaller footprint than running their own on-premises servers, which comes with footprint and maintenance costs. Moving these services to the cloud also allows companies to scale without the need for significant capital investment in physical hardware.

Selected highlight: Michelin

In 2019, tire manufacturer Michelin started using Apache’s Kafka event streaming platform on-premises in its data centers to gain real-time insights and process data as continuous streams. However, as its operational footprint expanded, so did the resources it had to dedicate to maintaining the solution. By Q4 2019, Michelin’s IT department initiated its migration to the cloud, with Microsoft Azure as the cloud partner.

“One of the challenges with [streaming technology] Kafka was its operational complexity, especially as the footprint expanded across our organization. It’s a complex, distributed system, so we had to allocate a lot of our valuable technical resources and expertise to babysit it and keep it running.” – – Olivier Jauze, now CTO of Experiences Business Line, Michelin

By 2021, Michelin migrated its services to Confluent Cloud for Azure, a Kafka-based platform, to support its multi-cloud environment. Soon after, the company began exploring use case projects and has since migrated one of its most critical projects, online order management, to the cloud—replacing its on-premises orchestrator. By 2023, Michelin expanded its cloud-based event streaming architecture into several departments, including supply chain management, customer services, manufacturing, and R&D.

Through its adoption of cloud-native data storage and streaming, Michelin achieved the following benefits (among other things):

• Cost savings: Estimated 35% in cost savings in the cloud compared to on-premises operations
• Improved uptime: 99.99% uptime

Learning 3: First manufacturers have successfully implemented private 5G use cases

As 5G continues its public rollout globally, some manufacturers have successfully deployed private 5G networks to enable new use cases within their facilities. While faster speeds and lower latency may seem like key adoption drivers, our analysis found that improved reliability over Wi-Fi, enhanced cybersecurity, and the ability to access data locally are the core motivating factors.

Our analysis also found that during the public rollout of 5G, some companies did not simply dive into integrating 5G-specific technology. Instead, many integrated robust LTE solutions that were upgradable to 5G with relative ease (or so-called 4.9G solutions) once the technology evolved or became approved for industrial use.

Selected highlight: Airbus

To increase aircraft production and validation efficiency, European multinational aerospace corporation Airbus partnered with Ericsson, a Swedish multinational telecommunications company, in 2021 to implement private industrial 5G networks at 11 aircraft assembly manufacturing sites in Europe. The approach began with implementing 4G networks that either already had 5G capabilities or could seamlessly upgrade to 5G.

However, Airbus is not limiting this deployment to its European facilities. During a Q&A at the 5G Manufacturing Forum in November 2022, Hakim Achouri, the 5G and IoT solutions expert for digital aviation at Airbus, noted, “Airbus is going way beyond 11 networks at 11 sites, expanding beyond its core European manufacturing bases in France and Germany, to also deploy private 5G in Canada, China, Spain, the UK, and the US.”

With its implementation of private 5G networks at its production and assembly facilities, Airbus has realized the following benefits:

• Ability to implement advanced use cases: This includes site surveillance, efficient flight-to-ground data offloads, quality inspections, and the operation of automated guided vehicles (AGVs).
• Enhanced user experience: With increased speed, bandwidth, and reliability, employees at the production sites have access to more data, making operations smoother, more efficient, and more secure.
• Scalability through reusability: By developing a pattern in its strategy, Airbus was able to roll out private 4G/5G networks across its many sites with consistent quality and performance.

Learning 4: Digitalization is becoming a prerequisite to achieving sustainability objectives

We recently noted a trend of companies deploying digital twins to help realize their sustainability goals. But it is not simply digital twins assisting companies on this front—digitalization projects overall are helping companies monitor energy consumption, optimize resource usage, and reduce their environmental footprint in the manufacturing process.
Backing this awareness and trend toward sustainability are data points from our latest What CEOs Talked About report, where “sustainability” and related terms remained among the most discussed topics in boardrooms.

Selected highlight: TotalEnergies

French multinational energy and petroleum company TotalEnergies has publicly declared its ambition to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. To meet this goal, the energy company has leveraged digital solutions to advance the implementation of sustainability measures on its offshore platforms.

For instance, TotalEnergies retrofitted their pipes with LoRaWAN-connected temperature sensors to detect gas leaks along their flare networks. As hydrocarbons are released, the temperature of the pipes significantly changes. When this change is detected, operators are alerted via emails for immediate action. This not only helps limit the release of hydrocarbons but also saves TotalEnergies money by reducing the loss of product.

Learning 5: The journey toward predictive maintenance and remote monitoring continues

According to our Predictive Maintenance and Asset Performance Market Report 2023–2028 (published in November 2023), the predictive maintenance market reached $5.5 billion in 2022. While the report notes several tailwinds supporting this interest and market growth, such as skill shortages and interest in reducing energy usage and CO2 emissions, costs are a major driver, as noted in our case studies report as well.

Equipment failure, especially during core operational hours, reduces productivity and adds repair expenses. To avoid these costs, companies often use preventative maintenance procedures, such as time-based inspections and repairs or condition criteria from sensors or physical measurements to trigger preventative intervention. However, intervening based on time can be inefficient since the equipment may not be in need of repair at that time, and data collection/monitoring requires personnel to conduct these tasks.

By implementing digital solutions, companies can remotely monitor the condition of critical equipment and establish conditions in which intervention is actually needed well before failure occurs.

Selected highlight: Battalion Oil Corp

US-based Battalion Oil Corp partnered with Novity, a US-based predictive maintenance solutions company, to pilot a predictive maintenance solution to detect valve leaks within their compressors and reduce unexpected compressor downtime. Initially, Battalion would sporadically measure valve cap temperatures using handheld devices to identify potential gradual leaks that could lead to a failure. While the checks were intended to be conducted daily, varying daily maintenance tasks and priorities often disrupted these important checks.

“Predictive automation is a game-changer for the oil and gas industry. By analyzing data in real-time and making accurate predictions about future events, drilling companies can optimize their operations to maximize efficiency, reduce costs, and improve safety. This technology has the potential to transform the way we do business and stay competitive in today’s market.” – John Smith, CEO of Oil and Gas Exploration Company

An initial step in the solution was to use a crank angle sensor and pressure transducers. However, physical crank angle sensors are usually the most difficult and expensive sensors to install, so the engineers developed a virtual crank angle sensor based on physics-based and data-driven methods using data from the pressure sensors.

After validating that the rotational position calculated by the virtual sensors matched the position provided by the physical sensors, engineers applied prognostic methods to the data from the virtual crank angle sensor and physical pressure sensors. The result was predicted gradual valve failures several weeks in advance—five to seven days on average before temperature checks indicated a gradual leak.

The digital transformation journey carries on

The Industrial IoT and Industry 4.0 Case Studies Report 2023 delves further into the above-mentioned and 18 other case studies of ongoing digital transformation projections. While these companies and many others are advancing in their digital transformation journeys, there is still a long road ahead for many companies, some of which still rely on analog, pen-and-paper methods in their facilities. Even still, many companies are already experiencing real value, e.g., Mercedes’ achieving 25% greater efficiency and Battalion observing signs of gradual valve failures several weeks in advance.

Digitalization has become more than a nice-to-have for manufacturers today—it has become crucial for them in their respective competitive landscapes. The market reflects this assessment: according to our enterprise IoT market dashboard, the IIoT market size in 2023 is approximately $145 billion, with a forecasted CAGR of 17.9% between 2023 and 2030.

Looking ahead, AI continues to become a major theme in companies’ digital transformation initiatives. According to our continual series What CEOs Talked About, the topic and its related terms have already been of high and growing interest in boardrooms throughout 2023. We see a plethora of generative AI projects across the board, even in the industrial space (which we will report on soon). We will continue to monitor this space and highlight interesting case studies from adopters.

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In today’s interconnected world, the convergence of technology and industry has given rise to the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), a powerful force that is revolutionizing the way we operate, optimize, and innovate within various sectors. The IIoT, a subset of the broader Internet of Things (IoT), is reshaping industrial processes, enhancing productivity, and fostering new possibilities across a wide range of industries.

What is the Industrial Internet of Things?

The Industrial Internet of Things, often referred to as Industry 4.0, is the application of IoT technologies and concepts to the industrial sector. It involves the integration of smart sensors, data analytics, cloud computing, and machine-to-machine (M2M) communication into traditional industries, such as manufacturing, energy, transportation, and agriculture. These technologies enable the collection, analysis, and exchange of data to create more efficient and intelligent systems.

Key Components of IIoT

1. Sensors and Devices

At the core of IIoT are sensors and devices that collect data from the physical world. These devices are equipped with a variety of sensors, including temperature, pressure, motion, and more, which allow them to capture real-time information.

2. Connectivity

The data collected by sensors and devices is transmitted through various communication protocols such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or cellular networks. This connectivity allows data to be sent to central servers or cloud platforms for analysis.

3. Data Analytics

Once the data is collected, it is processed and analyzed using powerful algorithms. Advanced analytics can uncover valuable insights, trends, and patterns that were previously hidden in the massive amounts of data generated.

4. Cloud Computing

Cloud platforms play a crucial role in IIoT, serving as the storage and processing hubs for the vast amounts of data generated. Cloud solutions enable real-time access to data, making it accessible to authorized stakeholders anywhere in the world.

5. Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence

Machine learning and AI are integral to IIoT for predictive maintenance, anomaly detection, and process optimization. These technologies make it possible to respond to real-time data and automate decision-making.

Transforming Industries

The IIoT is transforming industries in various ways, leading to increased efficiency, improved safety, and a fundamental shift in business models.

1. Manufacturing

In the manufacturing sector, IIoT is revolutionizing production processes. Smart factories equipped with IIoT technologies can monitor equipment health, automate maintenance, and optimize production schedules. Real-time data analytics help manufacturers identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies, reducing downtime and waste. The result is increased productivity and cost savings.

2. Energy and Utilities

The energy and utilities sector is harnessing the power of IIoT to improve grid management, energy distribution, and asset maintenance. Smart meters and sensors allow for better monitoring of energy consumption, while predictive maintenance minimizes the risk of power outages. IIoT has the potential to significantly reduce energy waste and carbon emissions.

3. Transportation and Logistics

In the transportation and logistics industry, IIoT is improving supply chain visibility and efficiency. Fleet management systems equipped with IIoT devices can track vehicle location, monitor cargo conditions, and optimize delivery routes. This not only improves customer satisfaction but also reduces operational costs.

4. Agriculture

Agriculture is experiencing a digital transformation thanks to IIoT. Smart farming solutions utilize sensors and data analytics to monitor soil conditions, crop health, and weather patterns. This data helps farmers make informed decisions about irrigation, fertilization, and planting, ultimately increasing crop yields and reducing resource usage.

Challenges and Considerations

While the Industrial Internet of Things offers tremendous benefits, it also presents challenges that must be addressed:

1. Security and Privacy

The increased connectivity and data sharing in IIoT raise concerns about data security and privacy. Organizations must invest in robust cybersecurity measures to protect sensitive information from unauthorized access or cyberattacks.

2. Interoperability

With various devices and systems being integrated into IIoT ecosystems, ensuring interoperability between them can be complex. Standards and protocols must be established to facilitate seamless communication and data exchange.

3. Data Overload

The sheer volume of data generated by IIoT devices can be overwhelming. Organizations need to implement effective data management strategies to sift through the noise and focus on relevant information.

4. Workforce Training

The adoption of IIoT technologies requires a skilled workforce capable of managing and maintaining these systems. Investment in training and upskilling is necessary to harness the full potential of IIoT.

Future Trends of IIoT

The IIoT continues to evolve, and several key trends are shaping its future:

1. 5G Connectivity

The rollout of 5G networks promises faster and more reliable connectivity, enabling real-time data transmission and better support for IIoT applications.

2. Edge Computing

Edge computing, which involves processing data closer to the source, is gaining importance in IIoT. It reduces latency and can be crucial for applications that require rapid decision-making.

3. AI Integration

AI and machine learning will play an increasingly significant role in IIoT, providing intelligent insights and predictive capabilities to optimize industrial processes.

4. Sustainability

IIoT will contribute to sustainability efforts by improving resource management, reducing waste, and enhancing energy efficiency.

Conclusion

The Industrial Internet of Things is reshaping industries across the globe, unlocking new possibilities and revolutionizing the way we approach manufacturing, energy, transportation, and more. As organizations continue to invest in IIoT technologies, it is essential to address challenges related to security, interoperability, data management, and workforce training.

The future of IIoT looks promising, with advancements in 5G connectivity, edge computing, and AI integration. As the world becomes increasingly connected, the Industrial Internet of Things will continue to drive efficiency, innovation, and sustainability in a wide range of industries, ushering in a new era of digital transformation.

The post The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT): Transforming Industries with Connectivity appeared first on IoT Business News.

According to IoT Analytics, a leading global provider of market insights and strategic business intelligence for the Internet of Things (IoT), the industrial IoT gateways market accelerated significantly from 2021 to 2022, growing ~14.7% to reach $860 million (38% of the overall IoT gateways market).

KEY QUOTES:

Knud Lasse Lueth, CEO at IoT Analytics, comments that:
“Industrial IoT gateways are critical for connecting legacy systems with modern technology. They also play an important role to support the migration of manufacturing applications to the cloud. In the future I also expect a number of smaller applications to sit directly on IIoT gateways, leveraging containerization technology, more powerful storage and computation and in some cases even AI chips for ML inference.”

Kalpesh Baviskar, Analyst at IoT Analytics, added that:

“IoT gateways have emerged as a highly cost-effective solution for deploying IoT systems with multiple sensors. They play a crucial role in connecting legacy equipment and devices that were previously unconnected.”

“In recent years, we have seen the integration of high-performance processors and AI chipsets into IoT gateways, transforming them into edge IoT gateways. These edge gateways can perform local data processing and analytics, significantly reducing the amount of data that needs to be sent to the cloud. This can lead to significant cost savings and performance improvements for IoT applications.”

KEY INSIGHTS:

• According to the IoT Gateway Market Report 2023–2027, the $0.9B industrial IoT (IIoT) gateway market experienced accelerated growth between 2021 and 2022, which is set to continue on the back of several favorable tailwinds.
• IIoT gateways are enabling IT and OT convergence by securely and efficiently sharing data between floor-level OT equipment and IT equipment or the cloud—with implementation typically as part of one of four broader IoT architectures.
• There are several IIoT gateway advancements e.g., in security, edge computing, and storage.

The vital role of industrial IoT gateways in bridging IT and OT

IIoT gateways: Market and role

The industrial IoT gateways market accelerated significantly from 2021 to 2022, growing ~14.7% to reach $860 million (38% of the overall IoT gateways market), and we forecast continued growth at least through 2027. The factors driving this growth include the following:

• Connecting the unconnected. Many companies are retrofitting their legacy equipment with sensors and controllers, using IIoT gateways to perform necessary protocol and data transformation and transfer the data to an IT endpoint.
• Software applications are migrating. Companies with connected equipment are moving some key applications to the cloud, with IIoT gateways emerging as the main nexus point for information flow in and out of industrial premises. Some applications are also now run locally on the gateway itself.
• More powerful hardware. New, enhanced gateways with embedded multi-core processors, AI chipsets, and secure elements are enabling faster and more secure data processing and transmission (to an IT endpoint or cloud).

These factors reflect our assessment that IIoT gateways are becoming the juncture for IT and OT convergence.

Note: When we refer to IIoT gateways, we refer to (ruggedized) hardware that connects sensors, IIoT devices, and industrial equipment to cloud or on-premises servers or PLCs/IPCs operating on distinct industrial networks. For an exact definition, refer to our report.

How IIoT gateways connect the IT and OT worlds

Many companies maintain legacy equipment that does not have sensors or control devices. Even if the legacy equipment has sensors or controllers that connect locally, such as to a human-machine interface or panel PC on the factory floor, it may not offer connectivity options or use messaging protocols that end equipment (like an IT server or cloud) uses. Meanwhile, companies that possess IoT-enabled equipment may desire to move data off-premises (e.g., to remote IT equipment or the cloud) or enhance local data computation for automated responses before transmitting the data.

In cases like these, IIoT gateways can connect with standalone or integrated sensors—either wirelessly or wired through I/O module masters—to transmit data to IT or cloud servers. As described below, they fit within many architectures found in industrial IoT solutions.

IIoT gateways within IoT architectures

Whether a company builds or buys an IoT solution, the solution will align with an IoT architecture to collect and transmit data to the endpoint. While a direct sensor-to-cloud architecture does not require the use of an IIoT gateway, IIoT gateways are commonly found in 4 general types of IoT architectures.

1. Sensors/devices to PLC/IPC to IIoT gateway to cloud

In industrial environments with existing automation hardware, the sensors/devices to PLC/IPC to IIoT gateway to cloud architecture is very common. Field sensors or actuators are connected to I/O module masters. These I/O module masters transmit data to the on-premises PLC or IPC. The PLC/IPC is then connected to the IIoT gateway, which serves as a bridge between the PLC/IPC and the cloud.

This architecture can be very powerful but also potentially dangerous. The IIoT gateway can technically be configured to remotely access the entire architecture that sits below the PLC/IPC. While this setup enables any data to flow between IT and OT and thus any imaginable use case, it also has the biggest potential attack surface (potentially the entire facility), e.g., in case of a misconfigured security architecture.

2. Sensor to I/O modules to IoT gateways to cloud

In the sensor to I/O module master to IoT gateways to cloud architecture, simple sensors connect to I/O module masters. The I/O module master then uses wired or wireless connectivity standards to transfer data to IIoT gateways, bypassing any PLC or IPC. This architecture proves to be highly effective in scenarios where multiple sensors are arranged into clusters—the I/O module master acts as the central node for each cluster of sensors, efficiently gathering and transmitting data to the cloud via an IIoT gateway.

3. Sensors in devices to IoT gateway to cloud

In the sensors in devices to IoT gateway to cloud architecture, devices equipped with single or multiple onboard sensors are connected directly to the IIoT gateway. This architecture is often deployed where non-standalone IoT devices are used (i.e. devices that cannot connect to the internet by themselves).

4. Sensors to IoT gateway to cloud

In the sensors to IoT gateway to cloud architecture, IIoT gateways enable connections between sensors and cloud servers directly. This architecture can for example be found when retrofitting specific sensors on an asset (e.g., for condition monitoring) with the desire to bypass all other existing networks (to not interfere with them and create a new security risk).

Advancements in the capabilities of IIoT gateways

As IIoT gateways have become more common in IIoT solutions, they have become capable of offering more for their users. In general, IIoT gateways typically offer 8 key functions:

• Protocol translation
• Data management
• Device management
• Computation
• Communication
• Resource management
• Security management
• Managing quality of service

As the IIoT gateway market has grown, these functions have advanced. The following are just some examples of advancements.

“A growing number of customers [are] requiring proof of security level from manufacturers for their industrial IoT equipment.”

Security management

As the number of connected devices continues to increase, the risk of cyberattacks and unauthorized access becomes more significant. This is especially true for companies looking to connect factory equipment to external IT or cloud servers. Fortunately, to address these risks, IIoT gateway vendors are proactively incorporating security features into their products and adhering to industry-specific regulations and standards, allowing OT monitoring and control to reside securely behind layers of policies and access controls.

A notable series of standards is IEC 62443, approved in 2021, which directs all IEC 62443-certified products to adhere to specific product development requirements from the early stages of design. This set of standards has become mandatory technical requirements in many countries, and according to Pascal LeRay, Head of Cyber Security at Bureau Veritas, “a growing number of customers [are] requiring proof of security level from manufacturers for their industrial IoT equipment.”

In our research, IIoT gateway companies noted the importance of incorporating security standards in their products. Teltronic’s CEO, Juan Ferro, stated that “the sudden irruption of cybersecurity in the industry has been interpreted by Teltronic as an opportunity to improve both [our] products and associated processes,” adding that the pre-emptive adoption of security standards placed them ahead of other companies in their sector.

Along with standards, IIoT gateways are increasingly incorporating hardware security, using embedded secure elements either within processors or on the PCB/modules as trusted platform modules (e.g., TPM 2.0). Ultratronik’s A1 IoT gateway integrates NXP’s EdgeLock SE051 secure element, and Eurotech’s RELIAGATE 10-14 series maintain IEC 62443-4-1, -4-2, and PSA Level 1 certifications and have a TPM 2.0 security chipset—OPTIGA TPM SLM 9670 from Infineon Technologies.

“The milliseconds of latency [between] an industrial robot and many real-time systems can be the difference between a safety hazard and a productive assembly line.”

Computation

IoT gateways in general have trended toward more processing power. In industrial solutions, this has helped companies move data processing and computation toward the solution’s edge—nearer to the data collection point—saving them bandwidth and communications power and freeing their IT and cloud servers to manage other tasks. Additionally, there has been a trend of integrating AI chipsets into some IoT gateways to facilitate edge computing. A noteworthy example is AAEON’s AIOT-AVID IoT Video Analysis Gateway, which incorporates Intel’s Myriad X vision processing unit (VPU).

The ability to process and automate data in real time can mean much for a company’s bottom line, as one senior VP stated, “The milliseconds of latency [between] an industrial robot and many real-time systems can be the difference between a safety hazard and a productive assembly line.”

Data and resource management

Local data storage helps enable data processing at the edge. Further, some industrial use cases may call for data sorting and analysis before being transmitted to an IT or cloud server, either due to limited network connectivity or the desire for more efficient use of IT equipment.

The need for local data storage has led to eMMC flash memory and SSD solutions on IoT gateways in general. In mid-2022, Robustel launched three ARM-based IIoT gateways with varying DDR and eMMC sizes to meet application needs. A few months later, Compulab announced its IOT-GATE-RPI4, a Raspberry Pi-based IIoT gateway that offers up to 128 GB of eMMC memory and mPCIe slots for SSD storage expansion up to 256 GB. Other examples include MOXA’s AIG-301 series IIoT gateway with 16 GB of eMMC and Belden’s Hirschmann OpEdge-8D with 64 GB of SSD flash memory.

Device management

With integrated storage comes the ability to containerize applications for deployment on IoT gateways, including device management software. Traditionally, deploying applications on IoT gateways involved installing them directly on the equipment’s operating system, which had limitations in terms of scalability, flexibility, and ease of management. However, companies are increasingly using containerization as a deployment strategy for applications on IIoT gateways, offering platforms like Kubernetes and runtimes like Docker. These technologies provide a way to create lightweight and isolated runtime environments, known as containers, where applications can run consistently across various platforms and environments.

Many gateway OEMs are also building app stores with hundreds of ready-made applications that end users can deploy to their gateways (and in the cloud), such Bosch Rexroth’s ctrlX store, Siemens’s Industrial Edge Marketplace, and Advantech’s WISE-Marketplace.

Key Benefits of IIoT Gateways

In our analysis of 65 case studies, we identified numerous benefits of IIoT gateway implementations based on various use cases. The following are 3 of the main benefits companies cited.

1. Better IT/OT integration

Indeed, this is a key goal of implementing IIoT gateways, and our analysis shows that many companies have achieved this goal. A common goal of IT/OT integration is remote monitoring and response. As an example, Vitesco Technologies Italy used Zerynth’s 4ZeroBox, an on-premises IIoT system for real-time monitoring and predictive maintenance. This solution enabled Vitesco to predict pneumatic valve malfunctions 24 hours in advance, which reduced assembly downtime and increased productivity.

2. Reduced labor costs

IIoT gateways are often deployed for automation purposes and as such can reduce labor costs, human effort, and human errors. While Vitesco saw a 50% reduction in its manual labor requirement with its 4ZeroBox application, Colombian steel manufacturer Corpacero cut costs associated with repair labor after partnering with Senzary to deploy RotaryIQ and InsightsIQ solutions for predictive maintenance and remote machine management.

3. Energy savings

Enterprise energy management analytics software provider Wattics partnered with Kontron to use Kontron’s KBox A-101 as a central ‘edge node’ for Wattics Sentinel software at the customer’s site. It connects to the local energy grid and the Sentinel grid, facilitating meter configuration, reliable data collection, pre-processing, compression, and secure communication.

IoT gateway market outlook

With many companies seeking to either retrofit their equipment or enhance their IoT solutions, we have seen solid growth in the IIoT gateway market (8.1% CAGR) between 2018 and 2022, with acceleration specifically from 2021 to 2022. We assess that this trend will continue since use cases in manufacturing and certain applications continue to demand real-time processing, low latency, and secure data handling. Further, the following 5 trends, which are discussed in more depth in the IoT Gateway Market Report 2023–2027, support this assessment:

1. IoT gateways are becoming more modular, allowing IIoT gateway vendors to offer a range of options and configurations to meet customer needs and enable easy scalability.

2. IoT gateways are supporting more wireless connectivity options, such as secure cellular solutions with eSIM/iSIM technology, enabling IIoT gateways to handle multiple connected devices in an expanded perimeter of operations.

3. IIoT gateway vendors are collaborating to combine hardware and software solutions, simplifying deployments and reducing costs.

4. OT hardware is starting to consolidate (e.g., I/O module masters shifting to IIoT gateways)

5. Virtualization of workloads (e.g., virtual PLCs) allows IPCs and IIoT gateways to perform tasks that were previously tightly coupled to other pieces of hardware.

IIoT gateways play a pivotal role in bridging the gap between legacy machinery and modern systems, facilitating retrofits and brownfield installations. As industries strive for global connectivity and centralized management of OT devices, IIoT gateways will continue to play a major role in integrating operations across various locations.

What it means for IoT gateway vendors

5 key questions IoT gateway vendors should ask themselves based on the findings of the report:

1. Do our IIoT gateways remain compliant with updated security standards?

2. Do our customers require AI edge capabilities as a general offering?

3. Have we explored local data storage options to increase computation while decreasing latency?

4. Should we containerize our edge IIoT applications? And if so, how?

5. Are our general solutions enabling seamless IT/OT integration for customers? If not, should we focus on tailored solutions for our customers?

What it means for IoT adopters

5 key questions IoT adopters should ask themselves based on the findings of the report:

1. Have we assessed the various available IIoT gateways and their potential impact on our overall IoT strategy?

2. Which IoT architecture(s) are we using? Can an IIoT gateway offer improvements?

3. Do our current IIoT gateways meet current security standards? If not, what updates do we require to meet these standards?

4. Have we assessed the possible benefits of edge computing (e.g., automating controls locally based on the data)?

5. Should we leverage local data storage and containerized applications for better device management and updates?

The post The vital role of industrial IoT gateways in bridging IT and OT appeared first on IoT Business News.

• Proof-of-concept (PoC) trial by Nestlé Brazil showcases 5G’s ability to support demanding, mission-critical applications such as industrial robotics
• Telit Cinterion’s 5G evaluation kit helps manufacturers and systems integrators identify where and how to leverage 5G for factory automation

Telit Cinterion, a global enabler of the intelligent edge, today announced completion of a successful proof-of-concept trial of private 5G for factory automation.

Conducted in partnership with Nestlé Brazil, the trial showcases why and how manufacturers are increasingly making 5G a foundational component of their Industry 4.0 transformation strategies. Many manufacturers are considering or already implementing 5G, including private 5G networks, a global trend that will be worth $109 billion by 2030.

Nestlé conducted the trial at Parque Tecnologico São José dos Campos, a government-sponsored research park where it is one of the resident companies exploring next-generation technologies and business processes. The trial focused on how Nestlé could use 5G to connect autonomous manufacturing robots and automated guided vehicles at their plants like the one in Caçapava, Brazil.

The trial used the Telit Cinterion 5G FT980-WW evaluation kit, which features the FN980 module. Based on the 3GPP Rel. 15 standard, the FN980m supports all major 5G frequency bands, giving private networks maximum deployment flexibility. The Nestlé trial focused on the use of sub-6 GHz spectrum.

“Telit Cinterion has been a partner of Nestlé since we began conducting the first tests using 5G technology at Nestlé’s Innovation and Technology Center (CIT) at the São José dos Campos Technology Park. We are very pleased with this unprecedented joint work, which is so important for the national industry,” explained Gustavo Moura, Digital Transformation Program Manager for Operations at Nestlé Brazil.

Neset Yalcinkaya, SVP Sales Americas at Telit Cinterion, said:

“Nestlé Brazil is one of several recent Latin America 5G factory automation trials that Telit Cinterion has been part of, which shows that manufacturers across the region see 5G as key for ensuring the success of their Industry 4.0 migration.”

“This successful trial also is the latest example of how manufacturers, systems integrators, and others turn to Telit Cinterion for private 5G factory automation and PoC trials.”

The post Telit Cinterion and Nestlé Brazil Partner on Private 5G for Industry 4.0 Factory Automation appeared first on IoT Business News.

Expanding emnify’s IoT SuperNetwork into Brazil enables consistent experience and technical capabilities of superior cloud-native IoT connectivity for local and multinational IoT businesses targeting the Brazilian market.

emnify, the industry-leading, cloud IoT connectivity provider, is excited to announce the first dedicated, cloud-native, IoT connectivity in Brazil, in a direct partnership with Claro Brasil.

The addition of Brazil to the emnify IoT SuperNetwork advances the company’s mission to provide a single, globally distributed, cloud-native IoT network to reduce the complexity of IoT connectivity while creating new opportunities for growth for IoT businesses everywhere.

This most recent expansion of the SuperNetwork marks a significant milestone in emnify’s commitment to unlocking challenging markets while maintaining consistent capabilities against a highly fragmented coverage and regulatory landscape. emnify’s success in Brazil demonstrates the agility of the company’s cloud-native approach to rapidly innovate to help IoT businesses take advantage of new opportunities and work together to achieve successful IoT business outcomes. As an AWS Advanced Technology Partner, emnify will be the first to enable a complete, native, AWS IoT cloud stack, including connectivity, in Brazil. Now, local customers can benefit from a native integration of SuperNetwork connectivity into the leading global IoT application stack of AWS.

Innovating to unlock IoT opportunity

According to Transforma Insights, cellular-based IoT connections in Brazil are forecast to grow from 29 million at the end of 2022 to 69 million at the end of 2027, a CAGR of 19.1%.

“Brazil is the most prominent example of a country where strict roaming regulations have proven to be a challenge for IoT businesses looking to capture the opportunity in the market,” said Matt Hatton, Founding Partner at Transforma Insights. “Enterprises looking for consistency in managing global IoT deployments require a solution that specifically addresses the demands of the Brazilian market, such as emnify’s IoT-specific network access allied with its own cloud-native mobile core network.”

“We are proud to be the first cloud-native IoT connectivity provider to add Brazil to the growing list of countries where we currently offer coverage, delivering on the promise of the SuperNetwork,” said Frank Stoecker, CEO of emnify.

“Wherever you deploy IoT devices, the SuperNetwork provides a consistent and complete set of superior capabilities including connectivity management, cross-network insights, device and data security and a complete set of APIs, creating new levels of scalability and reducing operational friction.”

The post Emnify Announces First, Cloud-Native IoT Connectivity in Brazil appeared first on IoT Business News.

• New software solution with artificial intelligence (AI) enables real-time quality control throughout the factory floor to maximize productivity and customer satisfaction while minimizing waste and rework.
• Deployable in the cloud or on premises, deviceWISE AI Visual Inspection seamlessly integrates with industrial cameras, robots and PLCs, as well as major platforms such as AWS, Azure IoT, IBM Maximo, SAP and Siemens.

Telit Cinterion, a global enabler of the intelligent edge, today announced deviceWISE® AI Visual Inspection, an AI-powered solution that enables automakers, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, health care, energy and other manufacturers to optimize quality control, productivity, customer satisfaction and profitability.

Designed for a wide variety of factory floor use cases, deviceWISE AI Visual Inspection provides the granular, actionable insights that are critical for success in demanding production environments such as just-in-time manufacturing (JITM) and Industry 4.0.

deviceWISE AI Visual Inspection provides manufacturers with a turnkey solution for collecting visual inspection data from factory floor devices and then feeding it into analytics platforms. These insights enable manufacturers to quickly identify and address emerging quality control problems involving employee workstations, industrial robots, CNC machines and more. In the process, these insights help minimize rework and downtime and help meet production schedules.

Deployable in the cloud or on premises, deviceWISE AI Visual Inspection:

• Leverages the latest visual AI technologies to identify problems such as missing bolts, improperly installed product badges, bad welds, misaligned seams and more.
• Uses a broad array of technologies from the NVIDIA Metropolis stack — the NVIDIA Jetson edge AI platform, DeepStream SDK and TensorRT SDK.
• Provides customizable algorithms for on-the-fly model training deployment.
• Integrates seamlessly with a wide range of factory floor equipment such as cameras, PLCs, robots and CNC machines, as well as enterprise software systems including AWS, IBM Maximo, Microsoft Azure IoT, SAP and Siemens.

deviceWISE is a scalable, integrated IIoT platform that provides visibility and control over connected machines and data. deviceWISE allows customers to use NVIDIA AI technologies to boost throughput and improve quality in each step of their manufacturing process. The platform collects and transforms data, integrates machines and systems, runs edge logic and provides data visualization. deviceWISE AI Visual Inspection leverages Telit Cinterion’s decades of experience in integrating industrial machines and data orchestration, while making it easy to identify and resolve problems in real time, minimizing downtime and reducing the impact on production.

“deviceWISE AI Visual Inspection significantly enhances the ability of manufacturers to quickly find and fix problems that directly affect their competitiveness and bottom line,” said Ricardo Buranello, SVP of IoT Platforms Business Unit, Telit Cinterion.

“deviceWISE is an IIoT platform that enables manufacturers to collect, transform and integrate data from any machine to any IT system, creating full applications for Industry 4.0 and digital transformation. Now with the new module deviceWISE AI Visual Inspection, we add cameras as sensors in a fully integrated suite. This will provide all the tools manufacturers need to disruptively innovate on their manufacturing processes.”

deviceWISE AI Visual Inspection is currently in pre-release with release expected in Q3 2023.

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A new report from Kaleido Intelligence, a leading connectivity market intelligence and consulting firm, has found that smart manufacturing will generate almost $5 billion in cellular connectivity revenue by 2028, a CAGR of 36.7% from an expected $772 million in 2023.

This wealth of data is generated from an increasing level of automation in maintenance, alongside a significant expansion of real-time video-based use cases, which will push monthly ARPU over $3.00 in many places from 2024, thanks to high levels of data transmission.

Mixed Connectivity Networks the Future for Manufacturing

The new research, Cellular IoT Connectivity Series: Manufacturing Industry Opportunities & Forecasts, has found that the manufacturing industry will transmit nearly 220 petabytes of data over cellular channels by 2028, due to this increased video-based automation. However, the majority of data generated will remain local due to the integration of edge computing, reducing the cost of cellular connectivity for end users.

The research also anticipates many deployments leveraging LPWAN technologies alongside data-intensive ones, and indeed several use cases being better served by non-cellular data entirely. The report notes that being able to offer both cellular and non-cellular connectivity to customers is rapidly becoming a key component of industrial IoT offerings.

Private Networks Bring Reliability but also Complexity

These increasingly complex network architectures will be supported through the use of private cellular networks in many cases, with technologies like DAS struggling to compete with dedicated networks in terms of reliability, security and latency in the years ahead. Kaleido notes that many such deployments are also focused on 5G even where the full features of the latest cellular standard are not utilised, both as a future-proofing method and to allow ease of management for service providers.

However, the increasing network complexity will restrict connectivity to businesses that can afford to deploy and manage the networks, with only 8% of manufacturing establishments worldwide adopting cellular connectivity by 2028. This is because the technologies require dedicated management, and as such will remain out of the reach of most small- and medium-sized enterprises for the foreseeable future.

Research author James Moar remarked:

“Cellular connectivity can bring many benefits to manufacturers, by providing a reliable platform for predictive maintenance and elements of production automation. However, both the complexity of the systems and upfront costs of managed services will make more budget-constrained businesses think twice about adopting the technology, particularly in the current economic climate. This will keep connectivity use confined mostly to larger businesses that have the ability to make costly technology investments.”

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The Sparkplug specification that enables a “Plug n Play” Industrial Internet of Things Poised to become an Official ISO/IEC Standard.

The Eclipse Foundation, one of the world’s largest open source software foundations, in collaboration with the Eclipse Sparkplug Working Group, today announced the release of the Sparkplug 3.0 specification.

Sparkplug is an open software specification that enables mission-critical operational technology (“OT”) clients to use industry standards, including MQTT, to seamlessly integrate data from their applications, sensors, devices, and gateways with most Industrial Internet Of Things (IIoT) Infrastructure. The Sparkplug 3.0 specification represents the first version of the specification managed under the Eclipse Foundation specification process. It also represents the proper formalization of the specification over the v2.2 release.

The goals for Sparkplug 3.0 are to leverage the Eclipse Foundation’s open and vendor-neutral specification process to clarify ambiguities in the v2.2 version and add explicit normative statements while maintaining backward compatibility. In addition, the Sparkplug specification has begun the process of transposition as an international standard at ISO/IEC, an independent, non-governmental international organization with a membership of 167 national standards bodies. To support this standardization effort, the Eclipse Foundation has obtained the status of Publicly Available Specification (PAS) submitter from ISO/IEC’s Joint Technology Committee (JTC) 1. The PAS process is a fast-track process enabling a specification to be approved as an ISO/IEC standard in less than a year, as opposed to a full-length process that can take up to four years. Already growing quickly, Sparkplug’s transition to approved industry standard specification should further speed its growth and acceptance throughout multiple industries.

“Today’s release of Sparkplug 3.0 represents a major milestone,” said Mike Milinkovich, executive director for the Eclipse Foundation.

“This march to Sparkplug’s transformation into an official industry standard has come from significant industry-wide collaboration that continues under the auspices of the Sparkplug Working Group. We look forward to continuing to foster new partnerships to advance the adoption of MQTT and Sparkplug in the industry.”

The Sparkplug Working Group is simultaneously launching a product compatibility program for Sparkplug implementers. The program will ensure that Sparkplug-compatible products and implementations demonstrate a high degree of compatibility and interoperability.

About Sparkplug & MQTT

Sparkplug provides an open and freely available specification for how Edge of Network (EoN) gateways or native MQTT-enabled end devices and MQTT Applications communicate bi-directionally within an MQTT Infrastructure. It is recognized that MQTT is used across a wide spectrum of application solution use cases and an almost indefinable variation of network topologies.

By design, the MQTT specification does not dictate a Topic Namespace or any payload encoding. However, as the IIoT and other architectures leveraging the publisher/subscriber model are adopted by device OEMs in the industrial sector, having different Topic Namespace and payload encoding can inhibit interoperability for the end customer. To that end, the Sparkplug specification addresses the following components within an MQTT infrastructure:

• Sparkplug defines an OT-centric Topic Namespace.
• Sparkplug defines an OT-centric Payload definition optimized for industrial process variables.
• Sparkplug defines MQTT Session State management required by real-time OT SCADA systems.

The post The Eclipse Foundation Announces The Release of Sparkplug 3.0 and Unveils it is Being Fast Tracked to Become an International Standard appeared first on IoT Business News.

• Powered by deviceWISE® EDGE, deviceWISE® CLOUD, Telit’s LE910 module family and connectivity, Lantech Intelligent Network Connection (LINC) addresses and resolves key smart factory and machine challenges including uptime, performance, load quality and cost
• LINC is Lantech’s first IoT powered SaaS offering which includes machine data, analysis, and alerts to allow users to monitor stretch wrapper performance remotely

Telit, a global leader in the Internet of Things (IoT), today announced that it is working with Lantech to change how companies package and protect their products for shipment from the factory floor to the retailers door.

Without proper stretch wrapping, loads can fail and shift during shipment causing costly damage to a company’s product or brand. With the Lantech Intelligent Network Connection (LINC) — powered by Telit’s deviceWISE Edge, deviceWISE Cloud, connectivity and LE910 cellular module — Lantech addresses key problems for smart factories that stretch wrap pallet loads, increasing uptime, performance and load quality, and decreasing film cost.

“In 1972 Lantech revolutionized how customers ship their products with the invention of the stretch wrapper,” said Alex Verret, director of Customer Care Services, Lantech. “Today, Lantech stretch wrappers help our customers produce millions of safe-to-ship loads every year, at the lowest possible cost. LINC, our latest innovation, allows our customers to easily connect to machine performance data and proactively address issues to improve wrapping operations.”

LINC is a data visibility solution that allows subscribers to monitor machine data and performance in real-time, from any place. It provides actionable intelligence to maintain and improve system uptime, productivity, load quality, and cost — allowing customers to react to issues before they become problems.

Performance feedback information is vital to anticipating — and proactively addressing — systemic issues. Previously, the only way to access important information was directly from the HMI for L-Series systems (legacy systems that did not even tabulate summary data). Lantech built LINC to harvest and transmit data to allow for wrapper status and performance data to be collected, displayed and analyzed without accessing a customer’s network. The goal of the system is to significantly reduce response times, downtime, quality problems and environmental impacts.

These products enable the LINC system:

• Telit deviceWISE Edge – Industrial IoT edge platform made by hundreds of industrial drivers. It interfaces directly with Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC) and other industrial control systems, enabling the edge application and supporting machine learning.
• Telit deviceWISE Cloud – Cloud-based IoT platform that aggregates data collection, device management, secure remote access, connectivity management and remote access all from one intuitive web interface (with the necessary tools and resources).
• Telit connectivity – Global visibility and control down to the individual SIM, reducing the costs of managing a connectivity ecosystem.
• LE910 module family – LTE Cat 4 industrial grade modules for IoT applications that need a combination of performance and affordability. The modules are ideal for remote asset monitoring and tracking use cases.

“Viewing critical machine analytics anytime — from anywhere — is critical for today’s smart factories and represents a competitive advantage,” said David DeLaRosa, VP deviceWISE Industry 4.0, IoT Platforms Business Unit, Telit. “Empowering the right people to view data to improve uptime and productivity is often an overly complex task. deviceWISE simplifies the process by providing industrial drivers and enabling advanced edge logic, cloud connectivity and secure remote access.”

DeLaRosa continued:

“Through our partnership with Lantech, its LINC system allows users to set and monitor performance targets and receive event-based notifications. This allows wrapping systems to become part of the team by notifying users when important events occur.”

The post Telit Enables Lantech’s Intelligent Stretch Wrapper Solutions Designed to Improve Shipment Costs, Serviceability and Load Quality appeared first on IoT Business News.

Through its plug-and-play edge software platform, IOTech will deliver connectivity solutions and more to King Steel’s Award-Winning Injection Moulding Machines NexCell®.

IOTech, the edge software company, today announced it is partnering with King Steel Machinery Co., LTD to provide Industry 4.0 capabilities and connectivity to smart manufacturing equipment.

King Steel selected IOTech’s industrial edge software platform to deliver real-time data acquisition, data storage, data visualization and analytics for its award-winning NexCell® Injection Moulding Machines.

IOTech plug-and-play edge platform software allows users to create industrial applications that leverage the latest advances in AI, analytics and inferencing technologies. The edge platform enables easy data acquisition from an extensive range of industrial OT devices/sensors to efficiently act on the data. Transformed data or processing results can then either be sent to any SCADA or IT/Cloud endpoints for further processing/storage. Alternatively, commands can be sent back to the connected OT devices.

“We’re pleased that King Steel selected IOTech’s edge software to enable its Industrial 4.0 capable smart manufacturing offerings,” said Keith Steele, CEO of IOTech.

“We make it easy for our partners and customers to connect their equipment and manage their data regardless of the communication standards used. It provides them the ability to create future-proof solutions that can be easily evolved as needed.”

IOTech’s advanced OT connectivity solutions provide simplified integration with a broad range of industrial devices and enable the acquisition of real-time machine data at very low latencies. Initially, King Steel requires integration with Modbus and Siemens S7 endpoints supported by the King Steel equipment. Normalized multi-device access is provided in form an Industry 4.0 data layer based on the OPC UA standard with support for both client/server and publish/subscribe communication models.

“It’s our pleasure to partner with IOTech to provide Industry 4.0 capabilities to our customers,” said Jim Chen, General Manager of King Steel. “Through IOTech’s edge computing solution, we are able to create an optimum product and service that brings significant value to our customers.”

The post IOTech Partners With King Steel to Provide Industry 4.0 Capabilities to Smart Manufacturing Products appeared first on IoT Business News.

• Partnership to transform the manufacturing industry with immersive experiences across the lifecycle from design through operation
• Companies will connect NVIDIA Omniverse and Siemens Xcelerator platforms to enable full-fidelity digital twins and connect software-defined AI systems from edge to cloud

Siemens, a leader in industrial automation and software, infrastructure, building technology and transportation and NVIDIA, a pioneer in accelerated graphics and artificial intelligence (AI), today announced an expansion of their partnership to enable the industrial metaverse and increase use of AI-driven digital twin technology that will help bring industrial automation to a new level.

As a first step in this collaboration, the companies plan to connect Siemens Xcelerator, the open digital business platform, and NVIDIA Omniverse, a platform for 3D-design and collaboration. This will enable an industrial metaverse with physics-based digital models from Siemens and real-time AI from NVIDIA in which companies make decisions faster and with increased confidence.

The addition of Omniverse to the open Siemens Xcelerator partner ecosystem will accelerate the use of digital twins that can deliver productivity and process improvements across the production and product lifecycles. Companies of all sizes will be able to employ digital twins with real-time performance data; create innovative industrial IoT-solutions; leverage actionable insights from analytics at the edge or in the cloud; and tackle the engineering challenges of tomorrow by making visually rich, immersive simulations more accessible.

“Photorealistic, physics-based digital twins embedded in the industrial metaverse offer enormous potential to transform our economies and industries by providing a virtual world where people can interact and collaborate to solve real-world problems. Through this partnership, we will make the industrial metaverse a reality for companies of all sizes,” said Roland Busch, President and Chief Executive Officer, Siemens AG. “For over a decade, our digital twin technology has been helping customers across all industries to boost their productivity and today offer the industry’s most comprehensive digital twin.”

“When Siemens Xcelerator is connected to Omniverse, we will enable a real-time, immersive metaverse that connects hardware and software, from the edge to the cloud with rich data from Siemens’ software and solutions.”

“Siemens and NVIDIA share a common vision that the industrial metaverse will drive digital transformation. This is just the first step in our joint effort to make this vision real for our customers and all parts of the global manufacturing industry,” said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO, NVIDIA. “The connection to Siemens Xcelerator will open NVIDIA’s Omniverse and AI ecosystem to a whole new world of industrial automation that is built using Siemens’ mechanical, electrical, software, IoT and edge solutions.”

This partnership brings together complementary technologies and ecosystems to realize the industrial metaverse. Siemens is uniquely positioned at the intersections of the real and digital world, information technology and operational technology. The Siemens Xcelerator platform connects mechanical, electrical and software domains across the product and production processes and enables the convergence of IT and OT.

NVIDIA Omniverse is an AI-enabled, physically simulated and industrial-scale virtual-world engine that enables for the first time full-fidelity live digital twins. NVIDIA AI, used by more than 25,000 companies worldwide, is the intelligence engine of Omniverse in the cloud and autonomous systems at the edge. NVIDIA Omniverse and AI are ideal computation engines to represent the comprehensive digital twin from Siemens Xcelerator.

The post Siemens and NVIDIA to enable industrial metaverse appeared first on IoT Business News.

• Gibson deploys an industrial IoT solution powered by Telit deviceWISE® EDGE, a no-code platform, to enable operation optimization, preventive maintenance, and efficiency control for one of the world’s most important ports
• Easy-to-implement deviceWISE® EDGE collects, analyzes, and visualizes machine data into actionable KPIs

Telit, a global enabler of the Internet of Things (IoT), and its partner, Gibson Engineering, are bringing state-of-the-art technology to shipping ports used by many of the most modern industrial companies across the globe to increase productivity.

At the request of one of the world’s largest ports, Gibson deployed its industrial solution powered by Telit deviceWISE® EDGE—a leading no-code Industrial IoT (IIoT) platform that collects data from any machine and integrates with any IT system—to enable operations optimization, preventive maintenance, and efficiency control.

As a consequence of COVID, American ports are under tremendous pressure to increase productivity and reduce the waiting time for ships to deliver and offload goods. Using the platform, Gibson enables continuous real-time monitoring and data collection from essential machines such as cranes used in the port’s logistics processes.

With visibility and insight into equipment health, costly breakdowns can be avoided. A single crane disruption in the middle of the day, for example, can result in hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses to the port and to the companies that depend on it.

“We selected Telit’s deviceWISE EDGE as it is the most flexible and capable IIoT platform available,” said Kurt Evans, Business Development Engineer, Gibson.

“We developed the solution in a few weeks and implemented it in just days, which provided our customer immediate ROI during such a challenging time.”

Telit has invested decades in developing its no-code IIoT deviceWISE EDGE platform, enabling industrial enterprises to visualize machine data, create custom dashboards and health management information in only a few clicks to see trends, and make more intuitive business decisions. The data can be transformed and analyzed at the edge and integrated with any enterprise system. With machine data visibility, processes can be automated and optimized to give managers real-time visualization and predictive maintenance alerts before a problem occurs.

“Industrial companies are heavily investing in Industry 4.0 IIoT solutions, and now ports can take advantage of these disruptive, state-of-the-art technologies,” said Ricardo Buranello, Head of IoT Platforms Business Unit, Telit. “We are proud of our partnership with Gibson and this solution, which can be replicated in any port around the world to increase productivity and reduce costs.”

The post Telit and Gibson Engineering Bring State-of-the-Art Technology to Ports Across the Globe to Increase Productivity appeared first on IoT Business News.

Advancing smart factories, SIPOAL is a smart single point lubricator leveraging LoRaWAN® for constant real-time connectivity.

Semtech Corporation, announced its collaboration with Enthu Technology Solutions India Pvt Ltd, a next-generation technology company that helps enterprises and startups reimagine their businesses for the digitally connected age, and Xorowin Mechatronics, a technology company focused on producing cyber-physical systems for industrial automation needs.

Semtech’s LoRa® devices and LoRaWAN® offer real-time monitoring for Enthu’s and Xorowin’s SIPOAL self-powered electromechanical controller for industrial use cases.

“With our launch of SIPOAL with LoRaWAN integration, Xorowin is committed to supporting customers globally in reducing the operational costs while improving uptime and productivity of their machines,” said Girimurugan Srinivasaraghavan, CEO at Xorowin Mechatronics. “LoRaWAN allows us to provide solutions that meet today’s automation needs through the constant connectivity that’s meeting the industry’s high performance standards.”

SIPOAL consists of an Internet of Things (IoT)-based smart single point lubricator and self-powered electromechanical controller which delivers the precise volume of lubricant to the lubrication point of machinery automatically at frequent intervals of time programmed by the user.

“The SIPOAL smart lubricator is a unique product for the Industrial IoT segment,” said Shanmugam Kanagaraj, director of operations at Enthu Technology Solutions India Pvt Ltd. “Through our work with Xorowin Mechatronics and Semtech for its LoRa devices, delivering this solution is moving the needle for Enthu Tech as well as the industrial market as a whole for the solution’s long range capabilities with LoRaWAN.”

According to Xorowin Mechatronics, the SIPOAL smart lubricator has been deployed in industries developing textiles, auto-looms and sugar canes. Additionally, the SIPOAL smart lubricator solution could be deployed in any kind of industries where single point or multipoint lubrication is required such as steel, cement, food and beverages, paper, and printing. By implementing LoRaWAN, SIPOAL is able to provide lubrication to machines during runtime without any impact on production and can be configurable via a mobile and web platform in real time.

“As industrial factories continually strive to improve productivity and performance, Semtech’s LoRa devices and the LoRaWAN standard are the best solutions that match automation needs for a smart factory,” said Marc Pégulu, vice president of IoT product marketing and strategy for Semtech’s Wireless and Sensing Products Group.

“The SIPOAL solution from Enthu Tech and Xorowin Mechatronics showcases the capabilities of LoRaWAN to ensure limited to no downtime of state-of-the-art machinery factories depend on today.”

The post Semtech’s LoRa® Devices and the LoRaWAN® Standard Integrated Into Self-Powered Electromechanical Controller appeared first on IoT Business News.

The financial implications of the IIoT and, on a wider scale, Industry 4.0 are constantly changing. This is, in large part, because the underlying technology enabling the IIoT is itself evolving.

Change isn’t welcome in most areas of manufacturing. Any change represents risk, and even when that change brings with it almost guaranteed gains the risks remain. Many OEMs are now assessing the risk and reward of letting the internet onto their shopfloor.

Most of the time we don’t go looking for change, it is forced upon us. What really matters is how we manage that change. This is where many of those manufacturers now find themselves with their assessment of the IIoT.

It may feel like a herculean task. The scale can be overwhelming but as with most tasks it needs to be broken down into manageable efforts. What is it they say about Rome? The perceived problem is that, unlike Rome, manufacturers are not starting with a clean piece of paper. Neither do they have the luxury of letting style overtake substance.

But like any large structure, getting the foundations right is probably the most important step. It may involve some remodeling, but if those foundations are solid the rest should follow. This is happening in the IIoT. New technologies are being developed to provide the scalable, solid foundation needed to bring existing manufacturing plants into the IIoT.

Services bring the IIoT together

The practice of delivering ‘X as a Service’ is already strong, and not only in traditional service industries. One often cited example is the jet-engine as a service offered by Rolls-Royce. Turning ‘things’ into services makes them much more manageable because it creates uniformity and removes superfluous complexity at the interface.

The same concept is now being used in the deeply embedded domain. Turning functions into services makes those functions more accessible across domains. This is the subject of an Avnet article Supporting a service-oriented approach in the IIoT (avnet.com), which takes a look at the technologies being developed to support the move to services in the industrial IoT.

Making the IIoT simpler

The internet provides the critical infrastructure for connectivity. The IoT takes advantage of this infrastructure to allow any device, anywhere, to become part of that wider network. The Industrial IoT represents a slice of this wider network, one that puts safety and security above almost anything else.

As industrial connectivity predates the IoT there are many legacy networks that now need to be integrated. Doing that safely is part of the challenge, but so too is removing the complexity that already exists within these different networks.

Ethernet is the single most common protocol used in the information technology domain. Its use is now permeating other verticals, including the industrial sector. But Ethernet alone cannot meet all the requirements imposed by the industrial world.

To address this, the IEEE has developed standards for single pair Ethernet (SPE). This relatively simple development has huge implications across the IIoT. In the article What does single pair Ethernet bring to the IIoT? (avnet.com), Avnet talks with George Zimmerman, the chair of the IEEE Ethernet task force and independent consultant on high-speed communications technology to find out why.

Taking control at the network edge

An important aspect to remember in this transition is that industrial control is often a real-time application. In the example above, SPE may only be viable in an industrial setting if time-sensitive networking (TSN) technology is also applied.

This real-time imperative propagates throughout the network, all the way to edge. This is where the control resides, typically in the form of a programmable logic controller, or PLC. These highly optimized embedded devices have also been evolving in response to the introduction of the IoT.

In the article Can edge controllers bring balance to the Industrial IoT? (avnet.com), Avnet takes a closer look at this evolution and the technology behind it. Edge controllers are emerging that combine PLC and PC in a way we haven’t seen before.

An edge controller relies on combining real-time control with network connectivity. The key is to provide this functional combination in a way that doesn’t compromise either side. Industrial PCs and gateways represent a best-effort to achieve this but each has its own weaknesses. Can the edge controller bring balance to the IIoT?

Find the right approach

At its core, the IIoT relies on the same electromechanical, hardware and software components that enable all modern life. As a leading distributor working with a broad supplier base, Avnet also provides design services to help its industrial customers throughout their digital transformation journey.

Avnet has been doing business the right way since 1921. It has over 1,800 FAEs available to customers, support from its extensive engineering communities, subject matter expertise and access to the latest development kits. These resources will help you move from proof of concept to production faster. Avnet supports you through rapid prototyping and small volume production.

Customers have access to over a century of experience in supply chain management, to ensure your production scales. We provide assurance of supply and flexible inventory programs through a global distribution and logistics infrastructure.

Avnet’s capabilities cover technologies and solutions, design services and expertise, and supply chain and logistics. Accelerate your digital transformation to the IIoT with Avnet.

The post The IIoT is change in a changing landscape appeared first on IoT Business News.

There is a lot to gain from diving deeper into the Industrial IoT. This huge topic requires some navigation. Avnet provides resources to help engineers find the right solution for their current and future design objectives.

The Industrial IoT is one, important, element of Industry 4.0. On a wider scale, Industry 4.0 impacts all vertical markets. It describes new ways of doing old things, and innovative technologies that enable entirely new concepts.

These concepts are rapidly gaining attention and becoming trends. It is important for all commercial enterprises to be aware of these trends because they represent competitive advantage. We could argue that it is too late to be an early adopter in the Industrial IoT, and those arriving now are the early majority. Some would say that the risk is much lower for the late majority but so too may be the reward. For this reason, trends can help shape business decisions.

The trends now visible in the IIoT go beyond buzzwords. The important difference is they reflect significant buy-in from suppliers. This leads to investment and enablement. The intention of any investment is to see a return. The enablement impacts manufacturers looking to exploit these trends.

Understanding IIoT trends

As part of its ongoing support for customers looking to capitalize on the IIoT, Avnet offers a series of resources and solutions. In a new article, Avnet looks at three of the trends shaping the IIoT right now. The full impact of these trends is yet to be felt.

The article covers three trends that converge to enable the new industrial landscape. This could be characterized as being widely distributed, on-demand, service-based manufacturing. The trends include micromanufacturing, additive manufacturing and digital twins.

These three distinct but connected aspects of Industry 4.0 are in various stages of their development. Arguably, additive manufacturing is the most mature but the way it will be used to enable new manufacturing services is still developing. Digital twins is becoming a common term but it can mean different things to different people, depending on what they need from technology. Micromanufacturing is the relative newcomer but it could be the most impactful, particularly as more companies look towards onshoring for future growth and stability.

To read the full article, visit Three future Industrial IoT trends manufacturers should think about now (avnet.com)

Discovering IIoT Platforms

Industrial systems are moving beyond routine control. Manufacturers see this and appreciate that their systems need to understand more about the operating environment. Connected sensors bring that understanding through real-time data. This presents its own challenges, but the industry is reacting to this challenge through the development of platforms.

These platforms are intended to balance simplicity with complexity and provide scalability. Abstraction is fundamental to this approach, but it also demands a new way of developing solutions. Platforms aimed at the IIoT need to understand how to provide a robust yet flexible approach to system development.

Software development is one of the biggest demands on engineer resources. Not only that, but it also provides perhaps the biggest potential for design errors. A large amount of embedded software doesn’t contribute to the OEM’s value-add, making it even more cost-intensive.

How no-code design could accelerate Industrial IoT development (avnet.com) explains how abstraction is implemented in IIoT platforms. It describes how developers can meet their objective of designing and maintaining a network of smart endpoints. It achieves this by reducing the burden of software development, potentially removing it completely.

Machine Learning in the IIoT

Artificial intelligence is becoming almost synonymous with cloud computing. It already influences commercial activities across all vertical markets but is perhaps mostly felt in the service industry today. That is changing rapidly as AI and machine learning find their way into smaller systems at the network’s edge.

Machine vision is already widely used in industrial manufacturing. There is a clear connection between machine vision and machine learning, but how simple is it to implement? How to get to market with machine learning (avnet.com) provides one expert’s view on taking that next step.

Image sensors are a key element of machine vision. The data they generate is essential in any system that uses machine learning. Avnet explores this common thread to give engineers an insight into how to bring machine learning to their machine vision applications.

Take the next step

At its core, the IIoT relies on the same electromechanical, hardware and software components that enable all modern life. As a leading distributor working with a broad supplier base, Avnet also provides design services to help its industrial customers throughout their digital transformation journey.

Avnet has been doing business the right way since 1921. It has over 1,800 FAEs available to customers, support from its extensive engineering communities, subject matter expertise and access to the latest development kits. These resources will help you move from proof of concept to production faster. Avnet supports you through rapid prototyping and small volume production.

Customers have access to over a century of experience in supply chain management, to ensure your production scales. We provide assurance of supply and flexible inventory programs through a global distribution and logistics infrastructure.

Avnet’s capabilities cover technologies and solutions, design services and expertise, and supply chain and logistics. Accelerate your digital transformation to the IIoT with Avnet.

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The IoT now touches every aspect of modern life, in every nation. Its accessible nature means it has impacted and improved lives everywhere. This is being felt most strongly across industrial sectors.

The Industrial IoT underpins Industry 4.0. This quiet revolution is getting louder, changing not only the way individual companies work internally but how they collaborate with each other. The IIoT creates a new kind of connection between vertically and horizontally integrated manufacturing companies and suppliers.

Apart from the technical implications of that, there are wider considerations. Choosing not to embrace Industry 4.0 and the IIoT is rapidly becoming a moot point. How to embrace it is now very much the topic of discussion.

Building a business case for the IIoT isn’t necessarily easy, as it will require new ways of calculating capital and operational expenditure. It will depend on the age of equipment and the cost of replacement or upgrading. Eventually all manufacturers will be part of the IIoT, at least at some level, but it will take some longer than others.

If the end goal is the same, how you get there depends on where you start from. Not all companies will be new to the IIoT, but most will be new to at least some of the practices. There are mid to long-term trends emerging that manufacturers will need to consider. This includes the impact of disruptive but complementary technologies, such as additive manufacturing.

These topics are covered in more detail in an Avnet White Paper ‘A top-down analysis of the Industrial IoT’, and article The Industrial IoT is driving economic growth (avnet.com). Both are part of Avnet’s wider resources supporting the Industrial IoT.

On-demand manufacturing

Other challenges are emerging, which are a direct result of the IIoT. This includes a ‘manufacture on demand’ approach to mass production. Consumer habits indicate a growing demand for more customization. While modern, connected and ‘smart’ factories may be able to accommodate this demand, it has the effect of reducing volumes. Part of the reason why industry works is because volumes are high, using equipment designed to manufacture the same thing over and over. Change is not the friend of high-volume manufacturing.

Although there are obvious challenges, the financial incentive is huge. Countries stand to benefit from growth in the region of trillions of US dollars. This figure is comparable to the new resources that will need to be installed. Sensors, the manufacturing heartland of data, will be deployed in their billions. This is driving change in the infrastructure and its associated solutions.

All this data needs to be processed. Much like a manufacturing production line, data will need to be inspected, analyzed, and put to good use. The impact artificial intelligence will have here is hard to quantify. Current developments indicate that the intelligence is moving closer to the data, to reduce latency and the burden of moving large files around a network and the internet.
The information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) domains are colliding to make this vision a reality. Interfacing these two worlds requires new solutions, both technical and operational. Innovations here include new protocols that speak both languages, and new platforms that accommodate IT and OT demands.

The IIoT is a simple concept

Conceptually, the IIoT is simple. It involves capturing information and turning it into actionable data. This masks the reality; that change comes with risk. Successful and profitable manufacturing facilities rely on a careful, almost delicate balance between risk and reward. The IIoT provides demonstrable rewards but the risk must also be quantified.

Digital transformation is happening everywhere. Another key trend that will impact manufacturers is the shift towards a service-based economy. This shift is accelerating, not least because leaders in this field already recognize the value in developing new services. It requires more than just good intent to move from a product-based business model to a service-based revenue stream. The IIoT is enabling that evolution. This will result in hybrid approaches that must coexist, at least initially and possibly for the long term.

At its core, the IIoT relies on the same electromechanical, hardware and software components that enable all modern life. As a leading distributor working with a broad supplier base, Avnet also provides design services to help its industrial customers throughout their digital transformation journey.

Avnet has been doing business the right way since 1921. It has over 1,800 FAEs available to customers, support from its extensive engineering communities, subject matter expertise and access to the latest development kits. These resources will help you move from proof of concept to production faster. Avnet supports you through rapid prototyping and small volume production.

Customers have access to over a century of experience in supply chain management, to ensure your production scales. We provide assurance of supply and flexible inventory programs through a global distribution and logistics infrastructure.

Avnet’s capabilities cover technologies and solutions, design services and expertise, and supply chain and logistics. Accelerate your digital transformation to the IIoT with Avnet.

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Combined Technology Empowers Enterprise Managers and Site Operators To Easily, Quickly, and Cost-Effectively Benefit from Industry 4.0.

Kerlink, a specialist in solutions dedicated to the Internet of Things (IoT), and Senzary, an industrial IoT service provider for end-to-end industrial solutions, today announced Kerlink’s hardware and software connectivity offers and Senzary’s IoTLogIQ platform are available in a single solution.

Senzary’s secure IoTLogIQ platform provides scalable, on-demand, real-time data processing, with advanced analytics, AI-enabled machine learning, and anomaly-detection solutions to help users plan and deploy their digital-transformation projects quickly and cost effectively.

Kerlink provides end-to-end connectivity solutions for designing, deploying, and operating public & private low-power/wide-area (LPWA) IoT networks. Its comprehensive product portfolio includes industrial-grade network equipment, best-of-breed network core, operations & management software, value-added applications, and expert professional services.

The combination of Kerlink’s Wanesy Management Center and Wirnet indoor/outdoor LoRaWAN® gateways with Senzary’s technology and IoTLogIQ’s end-to-end services provides the necessary elements for clients looking for a turnkey, professional solution, allowing them to focus on their business processes, and not on the technology.

“Our partnership provides integrators and enterprise customers with a complete solution, from sensors and gateways to an IoT platform, analytics, and machine learning, as a single, on-demand solution that can be deployed as cloud-based, edge-based, or a hybrid system,” said Josic Thepaut, sales manager Americas at Kerlink.

“Upon installation, site owners and enterprise managers can quickly achieve maximum visibility into their equipment or processes, along with receiving predictive failure alarms and utilization reports, by simply adding more sensors over time.”

Senzary’s IoTLogIQ platform thus enables plug-and-play solutions that solve every day industrial problems and tasks. These include predictive maintenance with RotaryIQ, energy management with PowerIQ, and water management with WaterIQ. Its end-to-end integration and pre-designed solutions allow for quick-to-market applications and pilots, enabling users to cost effectively embrace the full potential of industry 4.0 solutions.

“Industry 4.0 still has significant barriers, most of which are centered around sensors connecting to the network, secure communication, aggregated management, and then what to do with all this generated data,” said Senzary CEO Eric Schummer. “Organizations realize that for them to stay competitive, their equipment must become more connected to their businesses. Senzary’s IoTLogIQ and Kerlink’s connectivity technology working together pave the way for enterprise managers and site operators to have easier, quicker, and more cost-effective access to the reality of industry 4.0.”

Immediate benefits include aggregated information for operations, early warning of equipment failure, and timely reaction to critical events. These benefits increase companies’ ability to plan for and reduce downtime more effectively and manage the supply chain intelligently based on anticipated preventive maintenance, to avoid costly repairs.

“The direct benefits are increased productivity, positive EBITDA contributions, and improved on-site safety, among many others,” Schummer said.

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• 5G Steel, the 4G/5G network in industrial and critical environments, led by ArcelorMittal
• A project requiring very high performance mobile broadband across several sites focused on industrial use cases, from mobile remote maintenance to autonomous vehicles
• Built with the expertise of Orange Business Services, operator integrator, and a partnership with Ericsson, a technology leader of 5G private networks

ArcelorMittal France, Orange Business Services and Ericsson today announced the launch of 5G Steel to test 4G/5G connectivity at ArcelorMittal’s industrial sites in France over the next three years.

The French government supports this initiative as part of the France Recovery plan. The Grand Port Maritime de Dunkerque, EasyMile and the Caisse des Dépôts are also among the project partners.

Orange Business Services, Ericsson and ArcelorMittal France have developed this project together, including the design of industrial use cases adapted to ArcelorMittal’s challenges and business requirements. The project is based on Ericsson’s technology leadership within 4G/5G private cellular networks suited for advanced industrial use cases and high-risk sites and Orange Business Services’ integration and support expertise.

This deployment will meet the needs for industrial network performance and connected workers and operations in a production environment on complex industrial sites. The benefits include better energy efficiency and worker safety.

The 5G private network provides:

• Extensive coverage: to cover all of ArcelorMittal’s complex industrial sites, both outdoors and indoors. Workers and machine operators can move freely with reliable connectivity anywhere on-site.
• High throughput: to meet the high-performance requirements of modelled processes, connected devices, production data, etc.
• Low latency: to support the deployment of autonomous vehicles and remote-controlled machinery as well as security in high-risk areas.
• Network slicing: to tailor services to each business process and needs.
• Data security: to protect sensitive industrial data on-site.

5G Steel will enable ArcelorMittal’s plants, starting with Dunkirk, followed by Mardyck in Hauts-de-France and Florange in the Grand Est area, to deploy use cases requiring high-speed cellular connectivity.

Targeted to different business operations (production, maintenance, logistics, etc.), these industrial use cases include better worker flexibility and mobility in different situations. In addition, autonomous rail vehicles in Dunkirk and Florange, autonomous road vehicles, remote maintenance with feedback from the field, virtual or augmented reality and safety devices are also relevant use cases.

The objective is also to enable the digital transformation of the French value chain ecosystem for industrial use cases. From the outset, 5G Steel will cover the Grand Port Maritime de Dunkerque and ArcelorMittal’s Digital Labs in Dunkerque and Florange, and tests are being conducted to extend the network to the Hauts-de-France and Grand Est regions.

David Glijer, Director of Digital Transformation at Arcelor Mittal France, commented:
“ArcelorMittal is firmly committed to its digital transformation and is positioning itself as a leader in the digitalization of the steel industry. In production, maintenance, logistics and development, digital technologies have already begun to transform our processes, increase the reliability of our operations and improve the comfort and safety of our teams. The opening of our two Digital Labs in Dunkirk and soon in Florange is another illustration of ArcelorMittal’s desire to create an ecosystem at the crossroads of industry and digital.”

Valérie Cussac, Executive Vice President, Smart Mobility Services, Orange Business Services, said:
“We are delighted to support ArcelorMittal in its digital transformation project. Within the framework of 5G Steel, we have worked with a use case approach. The project is co-piloted with ArcelorMittal using an agile method based on the collective intelligence of technical and functional experts. In addition, thanks to our dual expertise as an operator-integrator, ArcelorMittal will benefit from this solid private network , allowing maximum and secure critical data performance and improved productivity.”

Franck Bouétard, Head of Ericsson, France, said:
“With 5G Steel, Ericsson is pleased to support ArcelorMittal in testing new industrial use cases based on 4G/5G cellular technologies. Ericsson once again demonstrates our expertise and technological leadership with private networks in a complex industrial environment.”

5G Steel, a network that enables new industrial use cases

With 5G Steel, ArcelorMittal will develop key industrial projects. Two examples:

• Remote maintenance: equipped with tablets, maintenance teams can support operations and access the necessary documentation. Once the maintenance operation has been carried out, they validate it and record it directly in the company’s information systems. With augmented reality, the teams can also access documents, images or call on an expert remotely and live.

• Autonomous vehicles: transport by rail is essential at ArcelorMittal’s large sites. The Dunkirk site, for example, has 44 kilometers of track to transport products between the various manufacturing stages. With EasyMile, ArcelorMittal will launch the first autonomous train on an internal private network, which will be put into service in 2023. ArcelorMittal is also working on a heavy-duty road vehicle capable of transporting up to 120 tons of steel coils.

The post ArcelorMittal partners with Orange Business Services and Ericsson to launch the largest industrial 5G network in France appeared first on IoT Business News.

The impact of automation: revenues up 5-7%, employment up 4-7%, long-term productivity up 15% – according to research from Centre for Economics and Business Research and SnapLogic.

SnapLogic, provider of the #1 Intelligent Integration Platform, today released first of its kind research into the economic impact of automation.

The study – ‘Automation: Past, Present, and Future – A Driving Force for Economic Growth’ – looks at the growing adoption of automation and its role in bolstering business revenues, creating jobs, increasing productivity, and strengthening economic resilience.

The new research finds that investments in automation are directly linked to increased business revenues (up 5-7%), job growth (up 4-7%), and long-term productivity (up 15%). Spurred on by the pandemic, the adoption of automation is accelerating, with companies in the U.S. and UK spending 8-13% of their annual revenues on automation-related technologies.

The new research was conducted by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr), in conjunction with SnapLogic.

Automation Boosts Revenue and Economic Resilience

The research reveals that those businesses who invested in automation saw a marked increase in revenues. In addition, the research indicates that the more a country employs automation, the better equipped it is to deal with worldwide economic disruptions, such as a recession or the recent COVID-19 pandemic.

• Increased Revenue – Within three months of investment, U.S. companies witnessed an average year-on-year increase in revenue of 7%, or an extra $195 billion per month, according to the study. UK companies saw an average increase of 5%, or £14 billion each month.

• Economic Resilience – Analysis suggests that during the COVID-19 crisis, countries with greater adoption of automation were better equipped to deal with the disruption.
  • The UK could have prevented £10-14 billion of its 2020 GDP contraction if it had matched the automation level of a country like the U.S.
  • Meanwhile, the U.S. could have witnessed a $105-212 billion smaller GDP contraction had it entered the pandemic with the degree of automation similar to a country like Singapore.

Automation Drives Job Growth and Worker Productivity

The report showcases a relationship between automation, job growth, and worker productivity. Despite some claims that automation can limit opportunities for employees, the results tell a different story:

• Employment Growth – U.S. companies adopting automation-related technologies saw an average annual increase in employment of 7%, equating to a total of 7.2 million jobs, within three months (compared to one year earlier). UK companies saw an average increase of 4%, estimated to amount to 676,000 jobs in total.

• Improved Productivity – In the UK, automation has the potential to increase productivity by 15% in the long-term, with notable benefits in industries such as transportation, healthcare, and social work. This translates into the potential to create up to 3.3 million additional jobs. If the same increase in productivity occurred in the U.S., it would support the creation of approximately 16 million jobs.

Automation Usage is Increasing, Supported by Core Technologies

The popularity of automation continues to accelerate in both the U.S. and UK. According to the report, U.S. companies spent an average of 13% of their annual revenue (amounting to $4.4 trillion) on automation-related technologies, while in the UK there was an average spend of 8%, or £268 billion in total.

This increased automation spending was focused on certain core technologies:

• Cloud Computing – Adoption of cloud solutions led the way, with 78% of U.S. and 64% of UK companies investing in the cloud to help improve and automate their companies.

• Data Integration – Data integration was the next most popular technology implemented, with 71% of U.S. companies and 44% of UK companies relying on it as a part of their automation strategy.

• Internet of Things (IoT) – IoT was rated the third most adopted automation technology, with 64% of firms in the U.S and 40% in the UK looking to expand their IoT projects to power automation.

• Big Data Analysis – Meanwhile, the analysis and use of big data was part of the automation strategy enacted by 62% of companies in the U.S. and 41% in the UK.

Companies also had clear business goals for moving forward with automation adoption:

• Boost Speed and Agility – At least half of U.S. (52%) and UK (50%) companies identified the need to improve business speed and agility as the top reason for adopting automation.

• Increase Worker Productivity – The idea that automation can help lift worker productivity was the next highest adoption driver in the U.S., identified by 47% of the companies in the country and 35% of those in the UK.

• Reduce Costs – 38% of U.S. companies and 37% of those in the UK invested in automation to reduce business costs.

• Improve Customer Engagement – A higher proportion of U.S. firms (39%) said their investment in automation technologies was motivated by an expected improvement in customer engagement, compared to 37% of UK firms.

“Our new research confirms a significant positive relationship between automation and economic resilience,” said Josie Dent, Managing Economist at Cebr. “The adoption of automation, spurred on by the recent pandemic, has helped organizations shield themselves from disruption and quickly position themselves for accelerated growth. Automation has also led to job creation and greater worker productivity, a significant contrast to the economic picture seen in the period following the global financial crisis.”

“This first of its kind report from Cebr demonstrates the power of automation to help businesses navigate widespread disruption, and shows how it can be used as a tool to accelerate growth in a post-pandemic age,” said Gaurav Dhillon, CEO at SnapLogic.

“Businesses today need to equip themselves with enterprise automation technologies that will allow them to quickly adapt and execute business strategies in a rapidly changing world.”

The post New Study Finds Automation Adds $195 Billion to Monthly Business Revenue in the U.S. and £14 Billion in the UK appeared first on IoT Business News.

IoT Analytics, a leading provider of market insights and competitive intelligence for the Internet of Things (IoT) and Industry 4.0, recently published a follow-up research report titled: “Virtualization in Industrial Automation: Adoption Report 2021.”

For this report, 70 global c-level operational technology (OT) executives in various manufacturing companies were interviewed to understand their views on virtualization in the broader context of industrial automation, and specifically on soft PLCs.

Key insights:

• Software-based programmable logic controllers (Soft PLCs) may pose an innovator’s dilemma to the incumbents of the industrial automation world and threaten their hard-PLC business.
• Our most recent research on the topic shows that the threat of disruption for incumbent vendors is lower than previously assumed because customers are indicating that they would stick to existing vendors for soft-PLC setups.

Key quotes:

• Knud Lasse Lueth, CEO at IoT Analytics, says:
  

  “Our new research suggests that the promise of virtual and soft PLCs is clearly resonating with potential end-users. Interestingly, however, the research also shows that industrial end users have a preference to buy soft PLCs from existing hard-PLC vendors, thereby altering our idea of the industry potentially being open to disruption by new entrants.”

• Sharmila Annaswamy, senior analyst at IoT Analytics, adds: “In our interviews, 74% of respondents say they would likely or very likely consider their existing hard-PLC vendor for a future soft-PLC/virtualized control setup. Thus, it was unsurprising that the vendors most mentioned included the current market leaders for hard PLCs, such as Siemens, Rockwell Automation, and ABB.”

Revisiting our 2020 research on software based PLCs

In December 2020, we published a widely read article titled “Soft PLCs: The industrial innovator’s dilemma.” In it, we argued that the rise of software based PLCs in the industrial world can be compared to the rise of digital cameras in photography and represents a potential innovator’s dilemma for incumbents similar to the infamous Kodak example.

This month, we published a follow-up research report titled: “Virtualization in Industrial Automation: Adoption Report 2021.”

Our new research suggests that the promise of virtual and soft PLCs is clearly resonating with potential end-users. Interestingly, however, the research also shows that industrial end users have a preference to buy soft PLCs from existing hard-PLC vendors, thereby altering our idea of the industry potentially being open to disruption by new entrants. Soft-PLC vendors would remain the innovators, but their chances of disrupting the majority of the market now seem lower.

“The promise of virtual and software based PLCs is clearly resonating with potential end-users”

THE BIG PICTURE: COMPANIES ARE DIGITIZING THEIR INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION SETUPS

With 75% of interviewed companies having a dedicated digitalization strategy, modernizing existing industrial automation setups is clearly in the focus of most manufacturers. In fact, according to our survey, one-third of the automation budget is now being dedicated to digitalization activities. This includes themes such as connecting disparate assets, performing data visualization and analytics, upgrading control systems to meet enhanced data needs, and modernizing equipment and software, among others.

Selected quotes from OT decision makers on their digitalization strategy

“We are bridging the gap between the operations of various departments. For example, we fully digitalised design & operations work to include project management, material handling, compliance and certification, operations, maintenance and procurement systems, cost control, planning and reporting.” – Director of Operations at an Oil&Gas company in the USA

“We have an Industry 4.0 roadmap, which is only 30% completed. Our strategy is to integrate all of our production tools to drive up tool utilisation levels (real-time detection of events), increase productivity (tied to our MES and ERP systems), and AI (building a large database of product-related data).” – VP Operations at an electronics manufacturing company in the USA

The virtualization of automation workloads is another key theme for industrial companies today. Virtualization decouples hardware from software and allows the workloads to be executed in a distributed fashion from the cloud all the way to the far edge. According to our research, 60% of companies have already virtualized some of their storage, visualization, supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), or control workloads. Although the virtualization of PLCs (i.e., the introduction of software-based PLCs) is not yet the top priority for most of the manufacturers, they are aware that it is an option and are considering control workload virtualization via software based PLCs. The move towards virtualized control workloads has certainly begun.

SOFT PLCS: STICKING TO FAMILIAR VENDORS

| Definition of soft PLC

Soft PLC (or software based PLC) = A control system setup in which the control logic software is partially or fully decoupled from the PLC hardware, thus enabling the software to perform the execution of control logic workloads (e.g., the command for shutting or opening a valve) on different pieces of hardware.

| Definition of virtualized PLC

Virtualized PLC = A soft PLC that is deployed in a virtualized computing environment (i.e., on top a of hypervisor).

In our interviews, 74% of respondents say they would likely or very likely consider their existing hard-PLC vendor for a future soft-PLC/virtualized control setup. Thus, it was unsurprising that the vendors most mentioned included the current market leaders for hard PLCs, such as Siemens, Rockwell Automation, and ABB.

The three standout companies from our interview set are Honeywell, with 89% of their customers likely to consider their soft PLCs in the future, and Yokogawa and Siemens (both at 85%).

WHY THE PREFERENCE FOR EXISTING VENDORS?

The clear number-one decision-making criteria when purchasing virtualized or software based controllers is that they need to guarantee high availability, with extremely high uptime and low mean time between failures. This is so important because the downtime of a controller may lead to the production stop of an entire factory which can cost millions of USD in a matter of minutes.

Cybersecurity practices, and the ability of an in-house team to maintain the system, are also important decision-making criteria.

Incumbent vendors have mostly already proven that they satisfy these criteria with their existing automation systems, and hence their solutions are perceived to have a higher level of trustworthiness when compared to new players in the market (or a combination of commoditized hardware and PLC software).

VENDORS ARE POSITIONING THEMSELVES FOR THE FUTURE

While a truly hardware-agnostic software based PLC offering is yet to be presented by any of the large incumbent players, incremental steps are being taken in this direction to “test the water.”

Examples include:

• Rockwell’s latest Emulation software for the Control Logix 5580 allows the user to develop and test control codes in a completely virtual environment without any hardware.
• Siemens expanded its edge offering with the introduction of the Industrial Edge v1.0 platform, capable of device management, edge apps, and remote software upgrades even for edge devices with container (Docker)-based runtimes.

Schneider Electric also seems to have taken clues from the market with the latest launch of its software-centric industrial automation system, EcoStruxure Automation Expert platform, under its Universal Automation portfolio. Based on the IEC 61499 standard, Automation Expert sets the stage for open, portable, and reliable automation. Automation Expert enables its users to fully decouple control hardware and software, allowing control logic to execute in the edge and in the cloud.

These examples show that the incumbent players are active and are evolving their systems towards more modular and virtualized setups of the future.

CONCLUSION & OUTLOOK – THE CUSTOMER BECKONS

As we revisit what we called the industrial innovators dilemma, we no longer think that it represents an actual innovator’s dilemma. Incumbent vendors are ready, and customers are willing to work with them. At the same time, there are also market innovators (we highlighted Beckhoff and Codesys as two interesting examples in our last analysis; another one is Austria-based Logi.cals) that are likely to gain more traction in the near future.

Our latest research shows that manufacturers are actively digitizing and virtualizing their industrial automation systems. In addition to control logic, other workloads such as storage, visualization, and SCADA, are also being virtualized rapidly.

Our research further suggests that industrial automation vendors do not need to be afraid of margin dilution when introducing virtualized or soft PLCs. In fact, some manufacturers have indicated that they would be willing to pay more for their soft PLCs compared to their hard PLC setup because of the promise of additional cost savings in system maintenance and potentially higher reliability.

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Rebounding from dips in consumer spending to the post-pandemic surge in demand is catching many manufacturers “flat-footed.” The Wall Street Journal reports that, while consumer spending on long-lasting goods rose 6.4% in the U.S. in 2020, production of those goods fell 8.4%. What will come to the aid of frazzled manufacturers in the coming months? A digital thread that provides end-to-end connectivity is becoming a reality.

The interconnectivity of devices, equipment and all corresponding operations provided by the Internet of Things (IoT) is taking over manufacturing operations today, and it’s playing a transformational role in industries around the world. This is critical as our global economy navigates the imminent post-recession surge in consumer spending coupled with historic labor shortages.

The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), then, is the application of connected IoT in factories and process facilities that introduces a new level of efficiency, reliability and performance. It operates on the concept of feedback loops through which the heartbeats of machines, equipment and production systems continually flow back through the complex systems and processes that produce manufactured products. The IIoT can offer manufacturers new business opportunities, cost savings and improved machine monitoring and maintenance. IIoT solutions are already offering endless benefits to modern-day manufacturers.

Here are the top 10 benefits of IIoT deployment:

1. Production System Awareness and Monitoring: At the core of IIoT solutions is constant communication between systems and machines, which ensures throughput is optimized and machine defects are identified in real-time.

2. Manufacturing Process Optimization: Machines and equipment enabled with sensors and managed with IIoT systems can monitor conditions, equipment and workflows—like machine performance, assembly line management, supply chain optimization, workforce safety or quality assurance processes—for optimization.

3. Predictive Maintenance: More than 75% of equipment and system failures occur without notice. With IIoT, preventative maintenance incorporates analytics to predict machine failures.

4. Optimizes Quality: It can address problems on the production line immediately and reduce downtime, lost productivity and product defects. IIoT equipment is programmed to monitor the quality of materials, analyze equipment performance in real-time, and measure and test finished products.

5. Inventory and Supply Chain Management: Data, analytics, insights and contextual intelligence makes inventory systems run seamlessly, which gives more accurate estimates of available material, the work-in-progress and the estimated arrival time of new materials—which helps optimize the supply chain and cuts costs.

6. Customer Service Levels and Satisfaction: Sensor-equipped production systems and inventory make it possible for customers to stay apprised of the progress of their orders in near real-time. Sensors offer insights about customer usage that can help manufacturers improve features, alert customers to problems and bottlenecks, and competitively differentiate their business.

7. Worker Safety and Health: Intelligent wearables allow managers to monitor the health and safety of production workers by tracking histories for illness and injury, absences, near-misses, machinery or vehicle accidents or life-threatening events such as gas leaks.

8. Energy Management and Sustainability: Industrial manufacturing is responsible for consuming 54% of the world’s electricity. Manufacturers that use IIoT can significantly increase energy efficiency by optimizing energy consumption.

9. Service Provisioning and Orchestration: Field services delivery enabled by IIoT is a value-based approach based on factors provided, such as the timing, context and technical personnel involvement for a given service activity.

10. Service Contract Compliance and Performance: IIoT enables data visibility in real-time so both the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and the user are aware of the risks and issues as they arise.

The post Top 10 Benefits of Industrial IoT Deployment appeared first on IoT Business News.

Mobile friendly solution helps industrial companies and machine builders to completely digitize their production process with no-code dashboards.

Telit, a global enabler of the Internet of Things (IoT), today announced a new, mobile-friendly, addition to its industrial IoT platform suite.

Telit deviceWISE VIEW is a new IIoT-driven SCADA/ HMI system that allows engineers and shop floor staff to easily visualize, monitor, manage and analyze all factory machinery, external sensors and IT data from a central point. For more information, visit https://www.telit.com/m2m-iot-products/iot-platforms/telit-devicewise-for-factory-iiot-platform/devicewise-view/.

With Telit deviceWISE VIEW, enterprises can create custom dashboards and HMIs to display on-premises or in the cloud easily using drag-and-drop widgets. Visualizing factory data can enable smarter business decisions by seeing patterns and trends, more easily analyzing data, and interpreting the data received.

Telit deviceWISE VIEW is designed to work in conjunction with the award-winning Telit deviceWISE, which saves time and simplifies the solution development lifecycle with advanced edge and cloud software capabilities. The product comes with hundreds of industrial drivers for machine and sensors data collection, an edge logic engine for data transformation and monitoring, IT and Cloud connectors for IT/ OT integration, and a full SCADA/ HMI system for data visualization and alarming. Telit deviceWISE connects plant floor machines, enterprise systems and clouds without the need of custom code.

Using Telit deviceWISE and Telit deviceWISE VIEW in combination, shop floor managers can monitor machine productivity – in terms of parts processed per minute, process throughput analysis, quality and first pass yield, overall equipment effectiveness and other relevant KPIs for manufacturing management. The solution provides and presents vital data that enables preventive maintenance minimizing machine downtime and maximizing factory floor efficiency.

Ricardo Buranello, Head of Platforms Business Unit, Telit, said:

“Telit deviceWISE collects machine and sensor data with a selection of hundreds of industrial drivers. The data can be transformed and monitored on the edge without writing a single line of code and integrated with databases, IT systems or cloud.”

“Now, with Telit deviceWISE VIEW, we can display that information in an easy-to-understand format, creating dashboards, digital twins and HMIs using quick and visual rich drag and drop tool. It’s like a live PowerPoint for machine data.”

The post Telit deviceWISE® VIEW Brings New Combination of HMI and Scada System with Native Industrial IoT appeared first on IoT Business News.

IoT Analytics this month launched the Smart Factories Insights Report 2021 discovering 80 smart factories, portraying 10 of them in detail, and highlighting commonalities and best-practices.

The analysis of these also uncovered some common misconceptions about what it takes to realize a smart factory.

Key findings of the research include:

• Factories are becoming more intelligent, flexible, and sustainable through the power of technology, data, and the Internet of Things (IoT).
• IoT Analytics researched how 80 of the world’s best factories became so smart and discovered that, among other things, there is much more to smart factories than technology.

Introduction – The smart factory as a competitive advantage

Moderna, the American biotechnology company and maker of the well-known Moderna vaccine, is the poster child of how a digital-first vision applied to a smart factory can be a business game-changer in 2021 and beyond.

In 2018, the company invested in a new 200,000-square-foot manufacturing site in Norwood, Massachusetts as part of its 10-year vision to “integrate automation and digital technology into everything we do.” The company equipped the factory with various state-of-the-art digital technologies that enabled end-to-end testing, developing, and scalable manufacturing capabilities for mRNA drug candidates. Some of the latest robotics, automation, AI, data analytics, and blockchain technology were deployed to create a digitally connected ecosystem or a “smart factory.” The goal was to be able to use the digitally advanced factory to scale up production quickly and with agility, according to the market need.

In 2020, Moderna’s smart factory was put to the test by the COVID-19 pandemic. In July 2020, the company became one of the first US companies to enter phase III of a clinical trial for a potential coronavirus vaccine, just months after the genetic code of the virus was released.

The smart factory became a cornerstone for Moderna to accelerate the vaccine development process in several ways, including using AI-based algorithms for massive sequence optimization and using digital twin technology to rapidly simulate and test the related production processes. This vaccine development process, which usually takes an average of 10 years, was reduced to months, in part thanks to Moderna’s previous investments in smart factory technologies.

Our latest research on smart factories shows that Moderna’s facility is a prime example of a new generation of factories that are more agile, sustainable, collaborative, and efficient than many of the factories that exist today.

What a smart factory really is – a definition

Based on our research, a smart factory is “the holistic transformation of people, processes, and technologies along with the use of data to achieve the intended performance/business goals of one or more production site(s).”

Commenting on the findings of the research Knud Lasse Lueth, CEO at IoT Analytics, says:

“It is important to understand that a smart factory is not a destination or an end goal, but a journey that all manufacturing organizations can embark on at their own pace.”

Sharmila Annaswamy, senior analyst at IoT Analytics, adds:
“The “smartness” of a factory is measured on a spectrum. Factories of all shapes and sizes can assess their maturity and begin their journeys (e.g., by using digital maturity models, such as the Acatech model or Fraunhofer’s I4.0 assessment model, which are discussed in the report). According to our research, this amorphous nature of smart factories has led to the formation of seven common misconceptions, which are discussed below.”

Seven misconceptions about smart factories

1. Smart factories must be started from scratch (greenfield projects).

WRONG. For sure,greenfield smart factory projects (i.e., new factories built from scratch) are easier to realize because there is no existing infrastructure to upgrade and no existing processes that could be disrupted, making planning and implementation much easier. Our research, however, shows that many existing (brownfield) facilities are also becoming smarter, in some cases with worldwide recognition.

Industrial automation vendors are at the forefront of showcasing how a brownfield smart factory transformation can be achieved. Here are two examples:

• Schneider Electric has showcased how its own technologies (e.g., EcoStruxure platform, AVEVA platform) are in use at their own factories. The Schneider Electric facility in Lexington, USA, was recognized as an advanced lighthouse factory by the World Economic Forum in 2020.
• Siemens Electronics Works plant in Amberg, Germany was also recognized as an advanced lighthouse factory by the World Economic Forum in 2021. Using the company’s own solutions, from Siemens Cloud infrastructure to digital twins, the plant has achieved a 50% increase in efficiency and now serves as a guideline for other smart factories.

2. Only large organizations can realize smart factories.

WRONG. It is true that IoT Analytics research from 2019 shows that big companies are further along and less budget-constrained, but there are ways that make realizing smart factories viable for smaller companies as well. Here are some examples:

• Financial support. There are several industry associations, like CESMII in the U.S. or the Gaia-X community in Europe, that provide subsidies and support for SMEs who are looking to make their factories smart.
• Determine viability. Non-profit smart factory initiatives, like Smart Factory OWL and Smart Factory KL, allow manufacturers to witness and test certain technologies off-site and discuss them with like-minded professionals before spending on them.
• Pay per use. A notion exists that smart factory initiatives involve a lot of CAPEX, infrastructure, and data upgrading and hence are not suitable for SMEs. The rise of as-a-service business models (mostly for software but also increasingly for everything else, including expensive equipment), pushes those costs to OPEX, bringing smart factories within the reach of SMEs.

3. There is a one-size-fits-all blueprint for realizing a smart factory.

WRONG. Unfortunately, no two smart factories look exactly alike because each has different production characteristics, and, perhaps even more importantly, each has its own performance/business goals.

In our research, we identified eight typical performance/business goals, which we grouped into three types: operational, commercial, and R&D. The examples below highlight how different goals can lead to different types of smart factory deployments (in this case the Moderna plant has a different goal than the Trumpf factory). Examples:

• Moderna (Operational goal—Improving agility). The Moderna example discussed earlier is an example of how increased agility created by a smart factory created tremendous value. In this case, time to market was crucial, not just for the company, but for the entire world, and investments in the smart factory ended up eventually paying huge dividends for Moderna, whose stock ended 2019 at <$20/share and today is trading at ~$400/share.
• TRUMPF (Commercial goal—Showcasing new offerings). TRUMPF’s €30M Smart Factory in Chicago realizes TRUMPF’s vision of networked production and acts as a showcase for TRUMPF customers. One of the main goals of the factory is to showcase the art of the possible and help customers of TRUMPF realize their own smart factories.

4. Smart factory initiatives are mostly about technology.

WRONG. While new technology is often a key part of a smart factory transition, it is not the only part and, according to our research, not the most important one. Almost all smart factory practitioners that we have interviewed in the last two years have pointed us toward the importance of less tangible aspects, mostly related to people and processes within an organization. In fact, when asked about the success factors of Industry 4.0 initiatives, only one of the top 10 success factors revolved around technology.

One particularly important concept to consider is change management, which is required to ensure that the transformation process is transparent and that employees feel included throughout the process. Example:

• Infineon introduced change ambassadors at their factory in Singapore. In 2017, Infineon, a Germany-based global electronic and semiconductor manufacturing company, announced a five-year transformation roadmap for its manufacturing site in Singapore. To engage employees right from the start, members of the workers union were appointed as change ambassadors to facilitate two-way communication of new initiatives and promote feedback between shopfloor staff and management.

5. Smart factory initiatives replace existing continuous process improvement projects.

WRONG. Smart factory initiatives need to work alongside existing process improvement tools (e.g., Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma) rather than replace them.

Our research shows that Smart factory technologies play a vital part in automating aspects of data collection and analysis, and in eliminating inefficiencies and errors associated with manual processes, thereby improving the efficiency of the continuous improvement process.

Even though the “Lean” methodology in its purest form avoids significant technological assistance, many practitioners now try to use various smart factory technologies to help eliminate different wastes. The picture below shows some selected smart factory technologies and which of these can help with which forms of waste.

6. Scaling the successes at one factory to other factories in the network is easy.

WRONG. Scaling from one smart factory to several others is often the most difficult part because each factory setup is inevitably different from the predecessors, with both the tangible (machine conditions, IT landscape, product features) and intangible conditions (employee mindset, management mindset) being entirely different in different locations.

The journey of a smart factory often begins with a single digital use case and quickly grows into a mesh of technologies and use cases. Approaches on how to navigate the strategic decisions around scaling a smart factory approach vary.

Some companies find that it is easier to first try out some of the technologies and use cases in an existing factory before building a new smart factory from scratch (greenfield). Example:

• Siemens. The German conglomerate invested heavily into digitizing its existing Amberg plant before deploying a similar setup, with very minor local modifications, at its greenfield Chengdu plant in China. Siemens claims that, on a technology and process level, the plant is a one-on-one replication of the Amberg plant.

Other companies have employed the opposite approach. Rather than building a new smart factory based on best practices from an existing plant, they build a new flagship plant and use it as the central element in their smart manufacturing network strategy. Example:

• Bonfiglioli. In 2016, Bonfiglioli, an Italian manufacturer of power transmission components, introduced its “EVO” (short for evolution) strategy to build technologically advanced smart factories. The company built a new flagship factory at its Clemintino Bonfiglioli site, Italy, and is now using the plant to recruit new employees, train existing employees, and continuously transfer technologies and methodologies to its other plants in various locations worldwide.

7. A smart factory must be fully automated.

WRONG. While many smart factories contain highly automated systems, automation is not a prerequisite for realizing the goals of smart factories.

According to our research, data, not automation, is the key foundation underpinning all smart factory use cases. Technology that enables the acquisition, orchestration, and analysis of relevant data will empower the humans running the factory to make faster, more informed, and ultimately better decisions. Example:

Hugo Boss. Apparel manufacturing is considered one of the most labor-intensive industries. Hugo Boss’s apparel manufacturing smart factory in Izmir, Turkey, has implemented technologies such as augmented reality, machine learning, cloud computing, and data analytics alongside its 3,500 workers to produce suits, jackets, shirts, and coats. The factory improves efficiency by using more than 1,600 Wi-Fi-enabled tablets to capture data and empower front-line employees with order and operational data.

Conclusion

As the example of the Moderna smart factory has shown, investing in production technology, personnel, and processes can pay enormous dividends. Today’s generation of smart factories is not necessarily characterized by heavily high-tech greenfield installation. Due to the rapid change in customer preferences and the availability of promising technologies, companies of all shapes and sizes can (and should) have a comprehensive smart factory strategy in 2021—regardless of their current digital maturity. The messaging is clear: Companies that have already embarked on their smart factory journey will continue to adapt better to the dynamic business environment and grow faster than those that have not.

Here are three action points that, based on our research, have worked for several manufacturers to start their smart factory journey:

• Action point 1: Focus on a use case and not a technology. Out of the many use cases out there, pick an applicable high-ROI, high benefit use case and then experiment with suitable technologies. (Note: IoT Analytics has performed several IoT use case analyses and measured ROI of each, e.g., in 2019 as part of the Industry 4.0 Adoption Report. We will publish a new IoT Use Case Adoption Report in September 2021, based on input from 200+ practitioners.)
• Action point 2: Do not wait for employee engagement. Engage front-line workers from the beginning of the smart factory project. Alleviate their doubts through transparent communication and empower them through upskilling efforts. Communicate, communicate, communicate.
• Action point 3: Tie the smart factory to an existing process improvement initiative. Support the initiative with smart factory technologies to make processes more efficient with technology.

The post What are smart factories? 7 misconceptions and a definition appeared first on IoT Business News.

Even though the number of connected IoT devices in the consumer space currently exceeds those in the industrial one, Industrial IoT investments are seeing strong growth, in terms of cross-sector solutions as well as devices made to meet the needs of specific sectors.

Reply’s latest research “Industrial IoT: A Reality Check” explores two key areas that are driving the growth of IoT within the industrial market: smart factory and smart transport & logistics.

By connecting machinery and tools, the Industrial IoT (IIoT) enables manufacturing companies to improve the visibility of their production in real time. The huge amount of data generated by Industrial IoT devices constitutes the fuel for optimising production, improving the delivery quality, introducing predictive maintenance, automating the supply chain and much more.

Filippo Rizzante, Reply CTO, explains:

“Without the Industrial IoT, Industry 4.0 cannot exist. Data are the fuel for all “smart” use cases in the industrial world; Industrial IoT is the crucial element that guarantees the infrastructure to collect data, to send them to the cloud and to manage the feedback post-analysis, all as part of a virtuous circle of benefits to business.”

Market growth

The research, carried out thanks to the data collected with the use of the proprietary Trend Sonar platform and the support provided by the Teknowlogy Group, also examines the main markets for smart factories and smart transport & logistics, grouped into two clusters: “Europe-5” (Germany, Italy, France, Belgium and the Netherlands) and “Big-5” (the USA, China, India, Brazil and the UK).

Despite the though economic climate of 2020, both clusters saw a small growth in investments in smart factories, as well as in the smart transport & logistics area, while further and much more significant growth is expected by 2025. Overall, the smart factory market of the “Big-5” cluster, led by the US, is expected to exceed €86 billion by 2025, with strong investments in platforms, predictive solutions and remote monitoring. The smart transport & logistics market is set to exceed €15 billion. In the “Europe-5” cluster, on the other hand, the smart factory market is expected to nearly triple in all countries, reaching a total of over €23 billion in the five countries in question, with Germany in the lead. Platforms are set to experience exponential growth and businesses will invest to manage quality better and to reduce costs. Germany will also remain the leader in the smart transport & logistics area, but the other countries in the cluster will still see significant growth. This Cluster is expected to reach a total value of €3.6 billion in 2025.

The drive of 5G and edge computing

The adoption of low-cost sensors and 5G networks, driven by large investments by Telcos, will further improve the diffusion of Industrial IoT. For example, improved communication between autonomous vehicles/robots, artificial intelligence and machinery, combined with increased computing power and very low latency, is expected to improve not only the efficiency of plants, but also their safety. Moreover, the ability to create high-density private networks will enable a wider deployment of the Industrial IoT, as well as the connection of a significant number of sensors, machinery, vehicles and robots, complemented by a greater use of augmented and virtual reality to support “connected workers”.

Cybersecurity is a crucial factor

The constant growth of connected devices and their heterogeneity requires bold security management of the setup and maintenance policy of both devices and networks. Based on its experience, Reply believes that organisations need to adopt micro-segmented environments (on-premises and/or cloud-based), which are stable and ready to react to both traditional and new dangerous technologies and techniques, thus reducing the probability that new types of attacks will be successful. The analysis of IoT architecture, of industrial components and of entire infrastructures will help companies to eliminate existing gaps, vulnerabilities and threats in advance. But this is much more than merely a technological issue: training programmes aimed at employees, together with the study and continuous testing of all devices used will also be crucial.

From factories to consumers

If, in recent years, Industrial Internet of Things technologies have been adopted and used, above all, to improve the efficiency of factories and logistics centres, during the pandemic, new investments have been directed primarily towards improving worker safety. The long-term trend, however, is expected to directly involve final consumers. The success of so-called “connected products” is, in fact, accelerating investments towards solutions in which the collection and processing of usage data does not only involve production machinery, but also the use of finished products. The redesign of design, production and distribution processes of IoT-connected products is enabling the creation of value-added services and facilitating the ability to remotely update and maintain household appliances, cars, robots, electronics and entertainment devices.

The post The IoT, Together With the Evolution of 5G and Edge Computing, Is Driving Industrial Innovation appeared first on IoT Business News.

Quectel’s 5G New Radio (NR) sub-6GHz module the RM500Q-AE has been selected by Robustel, a global provider of industrial IoT routers and gateways, to support its first 5G industrial router – the R5020.

The R5020 has been designed to deliver high bandwidth, low latency and high reliability connectivity for in-vehicle, branch office and industrial IoT applications.

With Quectel’s 5G module inside, the R5020 industrial router is able to work on 5G NR Sub-6GHz bands in both standalone (SA) and non-standalone (NSA) modes as well as on global 4G/LTE and 3G networks. With the support of 2 x 2 MIMO uplink technology in SA mode, the router can provide more real-time, bandwidth sensitive, low-latency data transmission for applications such as industrial controls, smart offices, logistics, smart cities, ports and many others.

As one of the key enablers of industrial controls, the industrial router not only requires rapid response times, but also reliable and stable communication in complex industrial and harsh environments. The R5020 offers a robust industrial design alongside a rich variety of interfaces such as 4 gigabit Ethernet interfaces, I/O, 2.4 GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi. All these features enable the deployment of high-speed IoT devices in various segments including medical, oil and gas, retail, energy, and environmental protection.

Key features of the R5020 5G industrial router:

• Global 5G/4G/3G cellular coverage
• Support for Ethernet, Wi-Fi and 4G/5G internet with WAN-failover
• Fully programmable Operating System with a well-documented SDK
• Multiple industry standard VPN options available including DMVPN and IPSEC
• GNSS/GPS and ignition sensing for in-vehicle applications
• Compact design with industrial grade metal enclosure

As a proven industrial grade module, the RM500Q-AE has been supporting hundreds of industrial and commercial customers to design 5G devices and is now commercially available in applications such as industrial routers, smart TVs, HD live broadcast, smart power, rugged tablets and more.

Designed in the M.2 form factor, the 5G NR module is compatible with Quectel’s LTE-A Cat 6 module EM06, Cat 12 modules EM12-G/EM120R-GL/EM121R-GL, and Cat 16 module EM160R-GL, which facilitate customers’ migrations from LTE-A to 5G.

Currently, the RM500Q-AE has been certified by global regulatory institutions including GCF (Global Certification Forum), RED (Radio Equipment Directive), KC (Korea Certification), RCM (Regulatory Compliance Mark) and SRRC (State Radio Regulatory Committee).

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