The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) opens up a wide range of opportunities for the manufacturing industry in particular. Detailed media is no longer a vision of the future, and the 5G mobile communications standard will presumably increase the dynamic.
What is the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)?
Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) refers to the use of IoT concepts in industrial production. In the German-speaking world, the Industrial Internet of Things is often referred to as Industry 4.0.
Compared to the Internet of Things from the private sphere (IoT), the focus in the industrial sector is on the networking of machines (machine-to-machine) and seamless process chains.
The primary concept of the IIoT is thus to integrate machine learning and large data technology and thus considerably increase the effectiveness of companies. However, complexity and requirements are much higher in IIoT than in IoT.
IIoT- Architecture: Edge — Network — Cloud
Essential requirements for a IIoT architecture are scalability, real-time capability, interoperability as well as data protection and security. Sensors, actuators and intelligent devices that gather data (edge computing) and send it to servers (network) play a central role.
At the cloud computing level, they are further processed into action-relevant”smart data” using smart algorithms.
These then form the basis for automated processes. Major cloud providers such as Microsoft, Amazon Web Services and Google now provide IoT platforms that facilitate the development and administration of IIoT applications. Such solutions are ideal for the entry level in particular.
Manufacturing sector is leading in IIoT applications
As an important aspect of digital transformation, the use of IoT technology is becoming increasingly important in the manufacturing sector. According to the market study”The State of Industrial Internet of Things 2019″ from the technology group PTC, IIoT technology is currently being used primarily in production plants.
The market study makes it clear that optimizing operational efficiency and increasing productivity across the internal value chain are the main reasons for using IIoT technologies. The most important findings from the study are as follows:
IIoT technology spreading steadily
The Internet of Things is becoming increasingly popular in industrial environments and is increasingly used for applications in industrial factories, automotive plants, pharmaceutical plants, electronics and high tech plants as well as in petroleum refineries and food and beverage supply chains.
IIoT interfaces increase efficiency
Enterprises gain by placing people at the center of their digitization strategies and implementing IIoT interfaces across the entire organizational hierarchy. The benefits of the technology are then available to many workers and have a positive effect on the implementation of projects.
Complex solutions are required
The solution environment, the implemented use cases and the technologies utilized in the whole IIoT stack are still different. Therefore, the achievement of users increasingly requires seamless integrations, different technology portfolios and expertise in the field.
Global companies increasingly use ready-made IIoT solutions
Industrial companies under global pressure are turning to more integrated, prefabricated IIoT solutions with greater technological breadth and partner ecosystems to move fast. 89 percent of respondents expect use cases to be converted to production in a year of purchasing the IIoT solution. In many cases, the ready-made IIoT solutions lead to a shortening of the provision times to a few months. In addition, some companies have noted a payback period of a few weeks
What possibilities does IIoT create in the manufacturing sector?
From the IIoT, the combination of sensors and analytics allows real-time access to data that was previously unavailable. The findings from this data are fed to the processes along the entire supply chain without delay. This makes it possible, for example:
- Optimization of procedures (e.g. through remote monitoring)
- Greater flexibility of manufacturing processes
- Increasing level of automation
- Increased operational efficiency and lower failure rates
- Faster detection of productivity weaknesses and problems
- More accurate predictions of machine condition and more efficient maintenance
- Cost savings by avoiding unnecessary repairs
- Better availability and fewer machine failures
- Improved quality control and reduction of the error rate
- Improved transparency through global access to machine data
- Improved technical customer service
Development of trend-setting business areas and models (e.g. supplementary services such as remote troubleshooting or predictive maintenance)
One example of how IIoT can be executed is the ski manufacturer Blizzard. The manufacturing of the skis is controlled by an internal IIoT production management system, which uses manufacturing process sensors to analyze real-time operating and machine data (BDE/MDE) and their correlation.
The analysis data indicates which production parameters need to be changed if necessary to avoid downtime, delays or defects.
IIoT platforms at the heart of IoT solutions
Powerful IoT platforms analyze the collected data from the devices, make it available to the users and send instructions back to the devices.
They thus provide the basic functions to leverage potential in areas such as smart maintenance and operations management and to drive improvements in the sense of digital transformation. A handful of companies rely on Microsoft Azure, but also on solutions from other manufacturers such as Amazon, IBM, Oracle, PTC, SAP and Hitachi.
IIoT and 5G
For 5G applications in production, not only the achievable higher bandwidths are decisive, but also the minimum latency times needed for mobile applications with real-time demands. Industrial applications benefit from 5G primarily through exceptionally high reliability, real-time capability, more data throughput, low latency, much tighter media and greater mobility and IT security.
The 5G standard would therefore be suitable for mobile areas such as mobile robots and tools or autonomous transport systems. Another field of application could be Augmented Reality, which will become increasingly important for industry 4.0.
