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Network Infrastructure Magazine | Friday, February 10, 2023
The future of IIoT involves AI or machine learning analyzing data in real time to make decisions and take action several days or weeks in advance.
FREMONT, CA: Market size predictions in the trillions of dollars are compelling businesses to invest in the Industrial IoT (IIoT). For many, however, it is still unclear how factories should implement IIoT to begin realizing the future hyper-efficient and agile factory.
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As the Fourth Industrial Revolution affects manufacturing and material handling, businesses continue to search for opportunities to create value from converging technologies.
But what actions must businesses take to develop an effective action plan?
The concept for the future factory in IIoT
Future factory refers to the industry's implementation of intelligent technologies connecting machines, people, and products to boost production.
The adoption of the industrial internet must be incorporated into the company's strategy and business development. In other words, chief executives must be willing to adapt. CEOs must be involved from the beginning as significant sponsors of initiatives. IT officers cannot truly drive digital transformation on their own.
The industrial IoT transformation requires creating a set of objectives that will be evaluated and verified on a pilot project before installing a full-scale Industrial IoT solution. The next step is to implement an industrial internet pilot at one facility or on a single manufacturing line, which will serve as a case study for understanding how IoT functions in this specific industrial setting. The pilot facility is then revised and developed according to observations. After the test phase, it is straightforward for a business to adapt the same concepts to other facilities with the necessary modifications.
The Prospects for IIoT
By shifting immediately to automated, advanced IIoT environments, it is easier to justify significant investments in the future industrial internet in production environments where the industrial internet is already integrated. While the existing infrastructure is simple, the transition phase is simplified because there are fewer factors to consider when implementing new solutions.
A prime example is Romania, whose internet infrastructure is presently the best in Europe. The Romanian infrastructure was developed relatively recently compared to wealthier European nations; hence, the entire web is more modern than Finland's.
Developing future value using IIoT
Without advanced machine-learning techniques, there is no value in data, and putting data to work can produce value in surprisingly straightforward ways. Peloton Tech's truck platooning system is a case study that highlights how IIoT is already delivering value. Vehicle-to-vehicle communication is used to link the braking and acceleration of two trucks. The lead truck controls the acceleration and deceleration of the entire fleet, reacting faster than a person or sensor system could—the subsequent reduction in aerodynamic drag results in fuel savings of around seven percent. In terms of annual savings, this is an impressive figure.
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