IIoT — Industrial Internet of Things
In the last post we were talking about what is IoT and why to choose IoT.
We found out that one of the biggest subtopics of IoT is called IIoT - Industrial Internet of Things or IoT for Enterprises, since they are the most mature segment of IoT.
First lets talk about the beginnings of Industrial IoT.
The history of IIoT begins with the invention of PLC — Programmable Logic Controller in 1968, which was used by General Motors in their automatic transmission manufactoring.
In the same year, Machine-to-Machine (M2M) devices that combined telephony and computing were conceptualised.
With the integration of PLCs in factory devices, manufacturing became smarter and much easier, since production could be changed in days instead of months just by reprogramming the PLCs that controlled the devices.
Until the 1983 came, the progress in the industrial segment stagnated.
In that year the progress exploded with Ethernet standardisation.
Later in 1986 PLCs were connected to PCs via Ethernet and not soon after, with the invention of World Wide Web, first concepts of networks of smart devices began to emerge.
First actual concepts of IoT for Enterprises began with MIT project of equipping objects and people in manufacturing with RFID identifiers that computers could manage and inventor.
Besides the RFID, the tagging of things was also achieved through technologies such as barcodes, QR codes and digital watermarking.
The current conception of Industrial IoT arose with the emerge of cloud technology, which allowed remote configuration and monitoring of devices and therefore of the whole manufacturing process.
With the current achievements of internet speeds achieving real time data from almost any location on the planet, one of the benefits of implementing IIoT devices in manufacturing is to create instant and ceaseless inventory control.
Another benefit of implementing an IIoT system is the ability to create a digital twin of the manufacturing process.
Using the digital twin for the optimisation of the manufacturing process by testing with new data, without having to halt production or safety, as the new processes can be refined virtually until they are ready to be implemented.
A digital twin can also serve as a training ground for new employees who won’t have to worry about impacts on the live system.
Difference between IoT and IIoT
Although many of the IoT devices may have the same functions as their industrial counterparts, not all IoT devices will also belong to the Industrial Internet of Things.
Take, for example, a camera with face recognition. Implemented in the phone, it is designed to unlock the screen only when the device is held by its owner. Although it works as a safety measure, it may use less accurate algorithms and have a more limited comparative base compared to its industrial counterpart used at factory security gates.
The most important factors that differ IoT and IIoT are:
- Scale of operations — IIoT networks consist of hundreds of sensors, robots, and other devices. This requires synchronisation and continuous analysis of much more data than a single IoT device would be able to generate at all. Data flow and decision making based on it, must take place on a much larger scale.
- Security — Lack of trust in specific solutions slows the pace at which the market adopts new technologies.
Downtime in a not working system of a factory or a bank can cause million-dollar losses, break into a hospital network may even result in loss of human life.
In practice, various types of security measures are used, from authorization systems to data encryption to advanced threat detection systems. - Service life — Personal devices resistant to various weather conditions are gaining popularity. Telephones with high classes of resistance to dust or water have long left the construction sites and are used, for example, on family trips outside the city. The durability of such devices is, of course, much higher than standard models, but the service life cannot compete with industrial units.
Factory robots are manufactured with a really long service life in mind. Their service life sometimes exceeds 30 years. It should be remembered that the manufacturing devices work in conditions of extreme humidity, temperature or dust. - Mobility — It is directly linked to the previous point. Devices operating in extreme conditions must be better protected to maintain their service life. Most often, many protective layers are added at the design stage to protect sensitive electronics from breaking down. This, of course, results in reduced machine mobility.
- Precision — In branches of the economy, where the highest quality and precision of operation are important, IIoT devices have to meet much higher requirements than IoT devices for home use. Especially in areas, where the slightest mistake can result in a threat to human life or high losses.
- Service options — Anyone who had their phone or a computer serviced knows that repairing electronic devices can be problematic and can take quite some time. Replacement of parts outside an authorized service center is rarely possible, and the cost of post-warranty repair sometimes exceeds the cost of changing to a newer model.
The situation with industrial devices is completely different. The possibility of self-repair and low costs of professional service significantly extending the life of the device are one of the most important factors determining the purchase of a specific model. - Flexibility and scalability — The lack of compatibility of the connectors or data formats used is one of the ways in which manufacturers of personal IoT devices enforce fidelity to a particular device brand.
Meanwhile, the creation of an IIoT network covering the entire workplace requires the synchronisation of many machines from different vendors. Each device included in the IIoT network must cooperate with its other elements, regardless of the hardware or firmware used in them. When choosing IIoT devices, one should always have in mind that the company’s network should remain flexible for many years and offer development opportunities.
Industry 4.0
While discussing IIoT, you can’t forget about the new industrial revolution called Industry 4.0.
It arises directly from the concept of the Industrial Internet of Things. The name comes from the German government program promoting the digitalisation of industrial manufacturing.
The main points of Industry 4.0 are various aspects of digital transformation, such as:
- automatic optimisation,
- self-diagnose of devices,
- intelligent support of employees and their tasks,
- analysis of data collected from intelligent devices working in the field.
Progress in selected aspects is achieved thanks to the IIoT devices.
In this approach, the Industrial Internet of Things provides a technological foundation for industrial change. Thanks to the data collected by devices directly from the factories, companies can compete with each other with the utility of manufactured goods. It is the customer who decides which products or services meet his requirements. As a result, this leads to a shift in the direction based on results.
Benefits of IIoT
One of the biggest benefits of Industrial Internet of Things is seen in the reduction of human errors and manual labor, the increase in overall efficiency and the reduction of costs, both in terms of time and money. We also cannot forget the possible underpinnings of IIoT in quality control and maintenance.
The Industrial Internet of Things is part of the Internet of Things. Internet of Things is data-rich: large amounts of data get collected, aggregated and shared in a meaningful way. The goal is to increase the automation level in manufacturing processes. In the Industrial Internet of Things, data is crucial as well and this causes a change in the human tasks in an Industry 4.0 context where automation leads to a decrease of specific types of work but at the same time requires new skillsets.
The goal of the IIoT is not to fully replace human work, its goal is to enhance it and for example, create new revenue streams and business models.
Tune in next week when we are going to talk about the work that HiGroup has done in the Industry 4.0 segment.
About HiGroup d.o.o.
HiGroup is a full web and mobile product development agency with a team of tech enthusiasts that help businesses create, develop and deploy business ideas or develop existing into reality that delights their users.
Contact us at info@higroup.si and let’s start a wonderful project together.
Sources:
https://www.i-scoop.eu/internet-of-things-guide/industrial-internet-things-iiot-saving-costs-innovation/industrial-internet-things-iiot/
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/timeline-industrial-internet-things/
http://theplctutor.com/history.html
https://www.controleng.com/articles/inside-the-competition-for-the-first-plc/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166361517307285
https://idoelectronics.eu/en/iiot-or-iot-at-ido-electronics-we-know-the-answer/
https://ifworlddesignguide.com/entry/307791-alibaba-cloud-industrial-digital-twin
https://www.alibabacloud.com/product/iot?spm=a3c0i.14009172.6791778070.dnavproductiot1.744e45e6IK6CIO
https://www.alibabacloud.com/blog/creating-real-time-digital-twins-for-manufacturers_595675
