According to Intel IoT is expected to be a multi-trillion-dollar market, with 50 billion devices creating 44 zettabytes (or 44 trillion gigabytes) of data annually by 2020. But that widely cited 50 billion IoT devices in 2020 number is clearly not correct! Forecast of 50 Billion Devices by 2020 Is Outdated. In 2017 we should be talking about about some sensible numbers. The current count is somewhere between Gartner’s estimate of 6.4 billion (which doesn’t include smartphones, tablets, and computers), International Data Corporation’s estimate of 9 billion (which also excludes those devices), and IHS’s estimate of 17.6 billion (with all such devices included). Both Ericsson and Evans have lowered their expectations from 50 billion for 2020: Evans, who is now CTO of Stringify, says he expects to see 30 billion connected devices by then, while Ericsson figures on 28 billion by 2021.
Connectivity and security will be key features for Internet of Things processors in 2017. Microcontroller (MCU) makers will continue to target their products at the Internet of Things (IoT) in 2017 by giving more focus on battery life, more connectivity of various types, and greater security. The new architectures are almost sure to spawn a multitude of IoT MCUs in 2017 from manufacturers who adopt ARM’s core designs.
ARM will be big. Last year, ARM’s partners shipped 15 billion chips based on its architectures. The trend toward IoT processors will go well beyond ARM licensees. Intel rolled out the Intel Atom E3900 Series for IoT applications. And do not forget MIPS an RISC-V.
FPGA manufacturers are pushing their products to IoT market. They promise that FPGAs solve challenges at the core of IoT implementation: making IoT devices power efficient, handling incompatible interfaces, and providing a processing growth path to handle the inevitable increase in device performance requirement.
Energy harvesting field will become interesting in 2017 as it is more broadly adopted. Energy harvesting is becoming the way forward to help supplement battery power or lose the need for it altogether. Generally researchers are eyeing energy-harvesting to power ultra-low-power devices, wearable technology, and other things that don’t need a lot of power or don’t come in a battery-friendly form factor.
Low power wide area networks (LPWA) networks (also known as NarrowBand IoT) will be hot in 2017. There is hope that f LPWA nets will act as a catalyst, changing the nature of the embedded and machine-to-machine markets as NB-IoT focuses specifically on indoor coverage, low cost, long battery life, and enabling a large number of connected devices. The markets will become a kind of do-it-yourselfers paradise of modules and services, blurring the lines between vendors, users and partners. At the same time for years to come, the market for low power wide area networks (LPWA) will be as fragmented and is already in a race to the bottom (Sigfox, said to be promising costs approaching $1 per node per year). Competing technologies include Sigfox, LoRa Alliance, LTE Cat 1, LTE Cat M1 (eMTC), LTE Cat NB1 (NB-IoT) and other sub-gigahertz options almost too numerous to enumerate.
We are starting to see a battle between different IoT technologies, and in few years to come we will see which are winners and which technologies will be lost in the fight. Sigfox and Lora are currently starting well, but telecom operators with mobile networks NB-IoT will try hit the race heavily in 2017. Vendors prep Cat M1, NB1 for 2017: The Cat M1 standard delivers up to 380 Kbits/second over a 1.4 MHz channel. NB-1 handles up to 40 Kbits/s over 200 kHz channels. Vendors hope the 7-billion-unit installed base of cellular M2M modules expands. It’s too early to tell which technologies will be mainstream and which niche. It could be that cellular NB-IOT was too late, it will fail in the short term, it can win in the long term, and the industry will struggle to make any money from it. At $2 a year, 20 billion devices will contribute around 4% of current global mobile subscription revenues.
New versions of communication standards will be taken into use in 2017. For example Bluetooth 5 that adds more speed and IoT functionality. In 2017, we will see an increase in the number of devices with the new Bluetooth 5 standard.
Industrial IoT to gain traction in 2017. Industrial applications ultimately have the greater transformative potential than consumer products, offering users real returns on investment (ROI) rather than just enhanced convenience or “cool factor”. But the industrial sector is conservative and has been slow to embrace an industrial IoT (IIoT), but is seems that they are getting interested now. During the past year there has been considerable progress in removing many of the barriers to IIoT adoption. A global wide implementation of an IIoT is many years away, of course. The issues of standards and interoperability will most likely remain unresolved for several years to come, but progress is being made. The Industrial Internet Consortium released a framework to support development of standards and best practices for IIoT security.
The IIoT market is certainly poised to grow. A Genpact research study, for instance, indicates that more than 80% of large companies believe that the IIoT will be essential to their future success. In a recent market analysis by Industry ARC, for instance, the projected value of the IIoT market will reach more than $120 billion by 2021. Research firm Markets and Markets is even more optimistic, pegging IIoT growth at a CAGR of 8% to more than $150 billion by 2020. And the benefits will follow. By GE’s estimate, the IIoT will stimulate an increase in the global GDP of $10 to $15 trillion over the next 20 years.
Systems integrators are seeking a quick way to enter the industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) market. So expect to see many plug and play IoT sensor systems unveiled. There were many releses in 2016, and expect to see more in 2017. Expect to see device, connectivity and cloud service to be marketed as one packet.
IoT analytics will be talked a lot in 2017. Many companies will promise to turn Big Data insights into bigger solutions. For industrial customers Big Data analytics is promised to drive operational efficiencies, cut costs, boosting production, and improving worker productivity. There are many IIoT analytic solution and platform suppliers already on the market and a growing number of companies are now addressing industrial analytics use.
In 2016 it was all bout getting the IoT devices connected to cloud. In 2017 we will see increased talk about fog computing. Fog computing is new IoT trend pushed by Cisco and many other companies. As the Internet of Things (IoT) evolves, decentralized, distributed-intelligence concepts such as “fog computing” are taking hold to address the need for lower latencies, improved security, lower power consumption, and higher reliability. The basic premise of fog computing is classic decentralization whereby some processing and storage functions are better performed locally instead of sending data all the way from the sensor, to the cloud, and back again to an actuator. This demands smarter sensors and new wireless sensor network architectures. Groups such as the Open Fog Consortium have formed to define how it should best be done. You might start to want to be able to run the same code in cloud and your IoT device.
The situation in IoT security in 2016 was already Hacking the IoT: As Bad As I Feared It’d Be and there is nothing that would indicate that the situation will not get any better in 2017. A veritable army of Internet-connected equipment has been circumvented of late, due to vulnerabilities in its hardware, software or both … “smart” TVs, set-top boxes and PVRs, along with IP cameras, routers, DSL, fiber and cable modems, printers and standalone print servers, NASs, cellular hot spots, and probably plenty of other gear. IoT world at the moment is full of vulnerable devices, and it will take years to get then replaces with more secure devices. Those vulnerable devices can be used to make huge DDoS attacks against Internet services. The 2016 October 21 cyberattacks on Dyn brought to light how easily many IoT devices can be compromised. I expect that kind of incidents will happen more in 2017 as DDoS botnets are pretty easy to build with tools available on-line. There’s no question that everyone in the chain – manufacturers, retailers and consumers – have to do a better job securing connected devices.When it comes to IoT, more security is needed.
2,275 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nest Targets Home Security Market
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1332327&
Nest Labs launched the next phase of its strategy to supply technology for the smart home, rolling out a suite of new products that propels the maker of the Nest Learning Thermostat into the home security market with multiple connectivity technolocies, facial recognition capabilites, combo sensors and a smartphone app user interface.
The products, backed by the Nest and Google brands, are likely to pique consumer interest. However, it remains to be seen if Nest can carve out a niche in what is already a crowded space or if technology and ease-of-use will breath new life into a largely stagnant industry.
Products introduced by Nest Wednesday include a home security system that retails starting at $499, a video doorbell system and a smart outdoor security camera with facial recognition technology similar to the indoor Nest Cam IQ it rolled out in June.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Arm’s James De Vile looks at IoT adoption in the retail and consumer goods sector and finds more companies are actively planning customer-facing implementations.
The Economist IoT Business Index 2017 – Transformation in store
https://community.arm.com/iot/b/blog/posts/economist-iot-business-index-2017_2d00_transformation-in-store
More than any other industry, the retail and consumer goods sector sees the IoT as being central to its digital transformation strategies
Today’s demanding consumers expect more from their shopping experiences than ever before. More specifically, they expect competitive pricing, a wealth of product information and extensive choice across every channel, be it a physical bricks-andmortar store, an e-commerce site or a mobile app.
In response, consumer goods and retail companies seeking to win customers over—and ensure their repeat business—are on a mission to revolutionise the shopping experience for them. For many, Internet of Things (IoT) technologies hold the key to success.
In the IoT Business Index 2017, compiled by The Economist Intelligence Unit and sponsored by Arm and IBM, respondents from the consumer goods and retail industry are the most likely to agree that the IoT is one of the most important parts of their organisation’s digital transformation strategy. Fifty-six percent of respondents from this sector say this is a case, putting them ahead of those in IT and technology (54%), infrastructure (53%) and financial services (52%).
And when asked about the impact that the IoT has had so far on business in general, 64% of respondents say that it has had a major impact or is expected to do so in the future.
At the same time, many in the industry acknowledge that IoT adoption has not kept pace with earlier expectations: nearly two-thirds (65%) agree “strongly” or “somewhat” that progress has not happened as fast as expected.
The pace of progress is faster when it comes to customer-facing implementation: according to the index, the external IoT score for the consumer goods and retail industry has grown from 3.68 in 2013 to 5.02 in 2016. This means that the average retailer has moved confidently from “research” to “planning” with respect to external IoT. This score is bettered by only two other sectors in the study: IT and technology (6.04) and financial services (5.44).
Tomi Engdahl says:
Say Hello to my little friend: Nest blasts IoT world with doorbell, home security gear
Hope it doesn’t freeze out folks like its thermostat
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/09/20/nest_doorbell_and_security_system/
Smart home poster child Nest on Wednesday launched two new products: a video doorbell and a security system.
The hardware maker hopes the Hello (doorbell) and the Secure (security system) will put to rest criticism of the biz that it only produces iterations of its smart thermostat and camera.
The bigger goal, however, is that by offering products in each of the smart-home’s most popular areas it can sweep the growing market for internet-connected, intelligent home devices.
Tomi Engdahl says:
IoT Isn’t Just for the Tech-Savvy Anymore
https://blog.hackster.io/iot-doesnt-isn-t-just-for-the-tech-saavy-anymore-d4ed96292d2
The benefits of Internet of Things (IoT) systems are pretty great: you can monitor your home when you’re away, unlock your doors with an app, feed your pets at the touch of a button, and so much more.
But, the technology involved is still fairly complex, and even with an ever increasing number of IoT ecosystems on the market, most are still just for the tech-saavy. Almost all of these systems are advertised as being “easy to use,” but that’s a relative term — they’re easy to use for people who understand the technology involved.
That may finally be changing with a new Kickstarter campaign for qBiq: an IoT system designed to be easy to use, specifically for seniors.
Each of the sensors in the qBiq system is a simple (and very attractive) cube which has a QR code. Users can scan those codes with the qBiq app to add the sensor to their data streams, and each cube even lights up to be color-coded to match the stream in the app.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/qbiq/social-sensing-shareable-smart-sensor-for-seniors
Tomi Engdahl says:
Help managing IoT ranges from full-stack offerings to platform services
https://www.networkworld.com/article/3225347/internet-of-things/help-managing-iot-ranges-from-full-stack-offerings-to-platform-services.html
IoT services from the likes of AT&T, Amazon Web services and others creates a patchwork of possibilities
The tech industry’s approach to becoming a part of the IoT landscape is reminiscent of a quilting bee – a large number of participants approaching a central problem from a wide array of different angles and taking on different areas of responsibility.
And that’s a good fit for the IoT market – companies have wildly diverse sets of needs, requiring a commensurately diverse set of technological capabilities. A factory might need a sophisticated, integrated system that can both manage complicated manufacturing equipment and track products, while a nearby hospital might need to bring expensive medical equipment onto the network.
“IoT has a set of potential requirements that’s so broad that you can’t generalize,” said Farpoint Group principal Craig Mathias.
Almost every major technology company has some form of IoT services offering, generally related in some way to its core competency. Amazon’s is centered around AWS cloud for example, handling machine-to-machine messaging and operational tech integration as a service, while Verizon’s leverages existing network infrastructure to create offerings around smart-city tech.
Project-based v. managed services
Different experts make sense of the complex IoT services market in different ways.
divide the market into two different groups – project-based services, meaning things like consulting, integration and implementation help, aimed at the up-front activities involved in a new IoT deployment, and outsourced or managed services, designed for companies thinking about implementing IoT but who may not have either the budget to hire experts or the ability to handle the task in-house.
“We’re very early on in the adoption cycle, and you can imagine that something like consulting services is where a lot of the spend is taking place for IoT services,” he said. “That share will shift as we move out, but today, it’s mostly around project-based services involving implementation.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
IT powerhouses try to come from behind in enterprise IoT
There’s a big market for IoT platforms, but no leaders have emerged yet
https://www.networkworld.com/article/3219688/internet-of-things/it-powerhouses-try-to-come-from-behind-in-enterprise-iot.html
It’s unusual for technology vendors of sufficient size not to be the most powerful companies in any market space they enter – the mere fact that they’re there arranges other players into a “Google/Microsoft/Amazon against everybody else” formation.
That’s why, according to experts, the heterodox, wide-open IoT platform marketplace is so strange – it’s an area in which all the traditional powerhouses of IT are playing, but they’re not dominating market share the way they usually do.
Cisco, Microsoft chase GE
“There’s a lot of variety both in the size of the vendors and of where they come from,” said Gartner research vice president Mark Hung. “The market is still fairly fragmented. So there’s not a clear leader, or even leaders.”
Moreover, IoT is a technology that touches the operational side of the business far more heavily than traditional IT. That means the megavendors have to play in the same market as companies that might have entrenched advantages over them – industrial giants like GE have existing relationships with their customers that can make it difficult for a traditional tech company to expand its presence in industrial IoT.
“Cisco’s not going to come in with a better predictive maintenance solution for GE wind turbines than GE is,” said Christian Renaud, IoT research director for 451 Research. “
Tomi Engdahl says:
3 ways system integrators can reap rewards from IoT
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/pt/2017/08/3-ways-system-integrators-reap-the-rewards-of-iot.html?cmpid=enl_cim_cim_data_center_newsletter_2017-09-21
Both IoT and open communications platforms present challenges for integrators, no doubt. Namely, the need to protect clients from vulnerabilities like hacking and communications snafus. According to Bob Dolan, director of technology, Network & Security Solutions, at Anixter, “Fifteen years ago, systems were installed and system integrators didn’t need to worry that their customers would fall prey to cyber risks or hiccups in the communications chain.”
Those times have changed, and with those new issues also come new revenue-boosting opportunities for integrators.
effective ways to leverage IoT and interoperability in order to stay “sticky” with residential and commercial clients:
Solid Maintenance Contracts: Customers need to feel protected from the increased risks that new technologies present, and that means having a maintenance program in place that provides them with valuable peace of mind.
Leverage the IP: Use the data collected (with their permission, of course) from customers’ IP devices to develop new business strategies.
Introduce an Upgrade Path: Your customers recognize obsolescence as a natural part of a technology lifecycle. They’ll feel better about investing in your products and services if you present them with a logical upgrade path
How Integrators Can Reap Rewards of IoT
Anixter execs offer integrators advice on how to capitalize from IoT trend through maintenance contracts and understanding product life cycles.
https://www.cepro.com/article/anixter_iot_lab
Examples of product lifecycles include:
Cable infrastructure: 15 years
Indoor fixed camera: 7 years
Storage devices: 5 years
Interoperability Is Key
With so much at risk yet so much to gain, IoT adds an often complex wrinkle to systems integration. Bandwidth, interoperability, and security are all integral facets to the reliability of a system.
Integrators can do the following at the Lab:
Demonstrate the image quality of dozens of analog and IP surveillance cameras. Cameras can be tested in various lighting conditions to determine the best product for a particular application.
Evaluate a network infrastructure to be sure it will successfully handle bandwidth demands.
Determine optimal cabling solutions to support high-speed data applications.
Test solutions that integrate the logical and physical elements of a building’s data, voice, video and automation systems.
Conduct proof of concepts.
Tomi Engdahl says:
IoT developers working on addressing potential cybersecurity issues
http://www.controleng.com/single-article/iot-developers-working-on-addressing-potential-cybersecurity-issues/e9906ee04950bce6af325c0226dbd64a.html?OCVALIDATE&[email protected]&ocid=101781
As governments start to contemplate legal responses to Internet of Things (IoT) security flaws, companies are beginning to contemplate changing the way they handle cybersecurity.
In recent months, the Internet of Things (IoT) industry has seen a significant escalation in the threat of legal action over the supply of insecure systems. Various governments and agencies have made it clear that the status quo of lax security cannot continue—and they are taking steps to combat it.
The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC’s) lawsuit earlier this year against a perceived lack of security in a range of D-Link router products, which are said to have contributed to the global Mirai distributed denial of service attack last year, is still ongoing. While D-Link strongly disputes the claim and is strenuously defending the action, other government and consumer action against weak IoT security is widely expected.
In July, the FBI issued public guidance encouraging parents to report weak security in children’s toys connected to the internet, after a number of incidents that had left data relating to individual children potentially vulnerable to criminals. The FBI said that if manufacturers were found to be wanting around data security, they faced legal action from the FTC.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Planning for the evolution of the IoT
http://www.controleng.com/single-article/planning-for-the-evolution-of-the-iot/67a639eeff72f5e4133989a55258ec86.html
Companies looking to take the next step in the Internet of Things (IoT) need to evolve from a company that uses IoT-enabled products, to becoming an IoT-enabled organization, and become a system of systems for gathering all relevant information from their sensors to better manage data.
My experience working with customers indicates that the most advanced are currently between stage three (smart connected product) and stage four (product system). In extended supply chains today, manufacturers own the data.
Some monetize the data by granting limited access to it or selling it as a service in the form of embedded analytics further downstream (closer to the customer) in the supply chain. This model is well-established and should remain in place for the foreseeable future.
Fulfilling the “system of systems” model
The risk, however, is reaching a plateau at stage four because the leap to stage five is huge—both in terms of the transformation required and the potential payoff. In order to arrive at and fully benefit from the system of systems model, organizations will need to change their architectures and approaches to data ownership.
The big disruption involves transitioning from closed-loop systems, where manufacturers own all the data, to open data systems where businesses closer to the customer own and manage data.
This change is why Porter and Heppelmann posed the question in their article: “How does the company manage ownership and access rights to its product data?” as a key strategic decision to be made when seeking competitive advantage from IoT. The challenge becomes evolving from a company that used IoT-enabled products, to becoming an IoT-enabled organization. This difference means everything in the context of gaining maximum leverage from data.
Introducing the “first receiver”
The answer to that question is a “first receiver”, which is a reference architecture designed to underpin the system of systems model. A key player in this is the first receiver organization; this is the customer-facing organization that acts as the host for the system of systems, and receives all sensor data first.
This first receiver organization’s role extends to storing incoming data and managing the processes of cleansing, enriching, and then distributing it to other related organizations on an as-needed basis.
Organizational challenges
However, technology architecture and governance is only one piece of the jigsaw puzzle in realizing the system of systems model. The profound transformation driven by IoT and data-driven architectures will also require new ways of working, new skills and resources, new types of contractual arrangements and significant cultural change up and down the supply chain.
Fortunately, despite many people’s fear of change and the unknown, many are beginning to realize the stakes involved in not exploring and understanding IoT. In a July 2016 survey of over 420 US enterprise decision-makers, carried out by Machina Research, 38% of respondents said their organizations were already actively using IoT technologies and 43% were planning to deploy IoT within the next two years.
Tomi Engdahl says:
An integrated network for Industrie 4.0
http://www.controleng.com/single-article/an-integrated-network-for-industrie-40/9c30f6893fdf7090d973a80aefd33958.html
System integration via the cloud makes networking at the production level easy and secure by vertically integrating management and systems as well as providing a security function for Industrie 4.0.
The implementation of smart factory technologies and platforms, such as Industrie 4.0, is attracting a great deal of attention and requires integration and optimization of the information technology (IT) systems used at the management, production, and field levels. However, integrating field networks with higher levels using IT can pose problems for the network’s speed and capacity.
Traditionally, the management level has been located at headquarters while the production and field levels are at plants. Because of globalization, however, many production and field levels are dispersed in different areas of the world, which requires systems appropriate to each region to be constructed. To achieve optimized management and IT systems, the management level often is located regionally
Global integration of manufacturing IT systems that use the cloud has many factors that need to be mitigated, such as exchange rate fluctuations. This means that information must be rapidly available to respond to these changes. In most cases, a custom-made IT system would be optimized for business operations, but this requires an enormous investment in time and money. On top of that, there is a chance that the system might become obsolete as it goes into operation.
System integration via the cloud makes networking at the production level easy and secure by vertically integrating management and systems and providing a security function.
Stefan Hoppe, OPC Foundation global VP, said, “In a connected world connectivity and interoperability have no value without security.”
Integration
Seamless message protocol (SLMP) is defined as a mechanism for integrating and seamlessly connecting different types of field networks. This protocol enables connection from a higher-level system to field devices without considering the differences.
Ethernet is adopted as the lower-level communication layer and a token passing method is its higher-level communication control method. In the token passing method, data transmission rights-tokens-are relayed around the network between stations following a designated route. Only those stations having data transmission right can transmit data.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Readying robots and the workforce for Industrie 4.0
http://www.controleng.com/single-article/readying-robots-and-the-workforce-for-industrie-40/9594b970b13bdc60a18e4bc607eb4def.html
Industrie 4.0 is not a distant vision for the factory of the future. Already networks of robots are connecting to the cloud and contributing massive amounts of insightful data to simplify asset management and maintenance, maximize equipment and process efficiency, and improve product quality.
“Industrie 4.0 is not just a dream. It’s real,” Tsai said. “It’s an exciting time for automation.”
Exciting indeed, as more robot manufacturers introduce their own IIoT solutions for embracing the level of connectivity heralded by Industrie 4.0.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Smart factory machine learning testbed launched
http://www.controleng.com/single-article/smart-factory-machine-learning-testbed-launched/7a340b5fc26a76e4b0892c996cb3f28d.html
The Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC) announced the Smart Factory Machine Learning for Predictive Maintenance Testbed, which is designed to explore machine-learning techniques and evaluates algorithmic approaches for time-critical predictive maintenance.
The Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC) announced the Smart Factory Machine Learning for Predictive Maintenance Testbed, which is being led by Plethora IIoT and Xilinx.
This testbed is designed to explore machine-learning techniques and evaluates algorithmic approaches for time-critical predictive maintenance. This knowledge leads to actionable insight enabling companies to move away from traditional preventative maintenance to predictive maintenance, which minimizes unplanned downtime and optimizes system operation. This is intended to help manufacturers increase availability, improve energy efficiency, and extend the lifespan of high-volume CNC manufacturing production systems.
“Testbeds are the major focus and activity of the IIC and its members. We provide the opportunity for both small and large companies to collaborate and help solve problems that will drive the adoption of IoT applications in many industries
“Downtime costs some manufacturers as much as $22k per minute. Therefore, unexpected failures are one of the main players in maintenance costs because of their negative impact due to reactive and unplanned maintenance action. Being able to predict system degradation before failure has a strong positive impact on machine availability: increasing productivity and decreasing downtime, breakdowns and maintenance costs,” said Plethora IIoT team leader Javier Diaz.
Additional IIC member companies participating in the testbed provide technologies to enable the Smart Factory Machine Learning testbed, including:
- Factory automation
- Operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT) security
- Edge to cloud machine learning and analytics
- Time-sensitive networking (TSN)
- Data acquisition
- Smart sensor technology
- Design implementation
- Embedded programmable SoC technology
- Secure authentication.
Tomi Engdahl says:
IIoT and the rise of the cobots
http://www.controleng.com/single-article/iiot-and-the-rise-of-the-cobots/8b42a7d2a43988a5d4f1e189433ac625.html
Though traditional robots remain relevant, collaborative robots are starting to emerge more in the industry, as they should with their small size, low cost, and adaptability to offer.
Spending on robotics among industrial companies will continue to climb over the next decade – but smaller, less costly, and highly adaptable collaborative robots are ready for their turn in the spotlight.
The differences between collaborative robots (or sometimes, “cobots”) and their predecessors couldn’t be more clear. Traditional industrial robots are bulky, expensive, and potentially dangerous beasts. In the manufacturing plants of large industrial companies, these valuable workhorses are generally kept caged, to keep human workers safe and out of harm’s way.
Human/robotic collaboration at work. Credit: Universal RobotsThese older machines are not that smart, either: they’re built to faithfully carry out specific actions repeatedly, without variation and to a high degree of accuracy, determined by programmatic routines that specify the direction, velocity and distance of coordinated movements.
Nevertheless, traditional industrial robots dominate the market. Working from figures provided by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), a recent report from Chicago-based venture capital firm Loup Ventures said: “Of all the industrial units shipped [in 2015], we believe 250,073 of industrial robots were in the form of traditional systems, while the remaining 3,675 units were collaborative machines.”
In other words, collaborative robots, designed to work side-by-side with their human colleagues, often assisting them to perform tasks, accounted for only 1.4% of shipments that year, in an industrial robotics market worth $11.1 billion in total.
Time for center stage
This doesn’t mean the end for traditional systems, however: Loup Venture’s analysts expect sales in that area to remain strong. Nor will traditional systems and collaborative systems compete, they add. The two are complementary. “However, due to advancements in computer vision, AI and motion sensing capabilities, collaborative robots are beginning to take center stage.”
All of this has important repercussions for the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) because cobots are typically equipped with more sensors and produce more data to be processed and analyzed than their assembly-line counterparts. Their mass deployment in factories is likely to force a new focus among factory owners on edge computing to support them all. And getting the most from them will demand a new focus on artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Planning for the evolution of the IoT
http://www.controleng.com/single-article/planning-for-the-evolution-of-the-iot/67a639eeff72f5e4133989a55258ec86.html
Companies looking to take the next step in the Internet of Things (IoT) need to evolve from a company that uses IoT-enabled products, to becoming an IoT-enabled organization, and become a system of systems for gathering all relevant information from their sensors to better manage data.
In 2014, Michael E. Porter and James E. Heppelmann set out their vision for IoT’s five-stage evolution in an article, which culminated in a “system of systems” model, in which diverse systems are orchestrated and optimized in the form of wider constructs, such as smart factories, smart homes and smart cities.
In the example given by Porter and Heppelmann, a traditional tractor moves from stage one to two, to become a smart tractor. From there, it moves to a third stage, to become a smart, connected tractor. In stage four, it’s part of a product system, connected with related products such as tillers, planters and combine harvesters. In the fifth and final stage, it’s part of a ‘system of systems’, integrating with a wide range of other smart farm devices and sensors, as well as related apps and information services.
My experience working with customers indicates that the most advanced are currently between stage three (smart connected product) and stage four (product system). In extended supply chains today, manufacturers own the data.
Some monetize the data by granting limited access to it or selling it as a service in the form of embedded analytics further downstream (closer to the customer) in the supply chain. This model is well-established and should remain in place for the foreseeable future.
Fulfilling the “system of systems” model
The risk, however, is reaching a plateau at stage four because the leap to stage five is huge—both in terms of the transformation required and the potential payoff. In order to arrive at and fully benefit from the system of systems model, organizations will need to change their architectures and approaches to data ownership.
The big disruption involves transitioning from closed-loop systems, where manufacturers own all the data, to open data systems where businesses closer to the customer own and manage data.
This change is why Porter and Heppelmann posed the question in their article: “How does the company manage ownership and access rights to its product data?” as a key strategic decision to be made when seeking competitive advantage from IoT. The challenge becomes evolving from a company that used IoT-enabled products, to becoming an IoT-enabled organization. This difference means everything in the context of gaining maximum leverage from data.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Doubling down on digital manufacturing
One company’s journey to IIoT started before the concept had a name.
http://www.controleng.com/single-article/doubling-down-on-digital-manufacturing/f7e0f14bc2bd1b6537bbaa5467d05e1f.html
Derek Harper didn’t know what to call the change that was coming at Faurecia. He just knew that change was needed.
A $21 billion global Tier 1 automotive manufacturer, Faurecia was a lot like most manufacturers in 2015—a paper and spreadsheet based organization that experienced tremendous growth in the last 20 years. With the growth came complexity, but in general, there was a sense that things were going fine.
But fine wasn’t quite good enough.
So company management launched an effort to digitize what it called the Faurecia Excellence System, an existing manufacturing protocol that standardizes best practices around the globe. The basic concept was to connect machines to a common data management system. If that sounds a lot like the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), that’s because it is. What Faurecia focused on was not what the process was called, but what they needed it to do.
Moving toward IIoT
While Faurecia has been reinventing its operation, the concept of IIoT has exploded all around them. The challenges they face are textbook examples of IIoT deployment. But Faurecia story isn’t from a textbook; it’s from a living laboratory.
One area of improvement has been the creation a truer measurement of overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) and sharing that measurement with the manufacturing teams. “That data will be more accessible to our workforce,” Harper said. “In the past, OEE was a very manually intensive number to get. This information is very important for our teams to be able to make data-driven decisions.”
Harper said the company’s digital transformation is still gaining steam, but adds the IIoT technologies being developed offer opportunities to move their journey along.
“I think there are possibilities that we aren’t even aware of today that are extensive,” he added. “As algorithms continue to improve and cloud-based software continues to improve, the possibilities with this connectivity are endless.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Home> Community > Blogs > LED Diva
LED lighting design considerations for smart cities
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/led-diva/4458839/LED-lighting-design-considerations-for-smart-cities
“Smart City” refers to the integration of communications and physical assets into a cohesive network to facilitate a safer, more livable, and more energy-efficient environment for the people who live there.
In a Smart City, real-time information is provided to administrators from a city-wide deployment of sensors and monitors. Depending on the design, the collected data can enable any number of capabilities, such as monitoring weather and air quality, adjusting traffic signals to relieve congestion, adjusting mass-transit schedules to meet changing demand, and more rapid deployment of emergency responders.
Kansas City has realized one of the more well-known examples of the Smart City concept in a two-mile corridor.
Here are some of things to think about:
Energy Monitoring and Metering – because city administrators need data in order to evaluate the overall performance of the outdoor lighting system and identify ways to make the system more efficient, lighting should include capabilities for data collection and transfer. Relevant data includes ambient light levels, on-time, energy consumption, and status (e.g., full on, dimming level), transferred at pre-determined intervals to the network hub for collection and analysis.
Dimming and Color Tuning – to fully realize the energy savings potential of integrating outdoor street lighting into a Smart City network, luminaires should be dimmable both via scheduling and in response to changing environmental conditions.
Over-voltage protection – the over-voltage risk for outdoor products resulting from lightning and switching pulses as well as electrostatic discharge is significantly higher than for products meant for use indoors.
Reliability – temperature and temperature fluctuation, humidity, dust and water ingress, UV exposure, and vibration are all causes of outdoor luminaire performance degradation or failure.
Maintainability and upgradability – GPS location, luminaire status, sensor status, input voltage and current, and internal temperature are the types of information that a Smart City outdoor lighting product can provide to facilitate repairs or component upgrades with minimal downtime.
Interoperability – the ANSI C137 Lighting Systems Committee defines interoperability as “the ability of systems or systems components to transmit, receive, interpret, and/or react to data and/or power and function in a defined manner”. Even though the terms are not equivalent, interoperability is often confused with the term “compatibility.” Compatibility refers to whether a device adheres to a particular standard.
Security – last, but definitely not least is the consideration of network security. This aspect of Smart City design seems to be the least defined in terms of roles and responsibilities of suppliers vs. buyers, and therefore, most worrisome. While not a luminaire design consideration per se, it’s important to keep in mind that any device on a network could be susceptible to hacking.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Winner-Takes-All Strategy at Customers’ Expense?
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1332330&
Competitors, partners, and customers in our interdependent semiconductor industry often have mutual interests that could benefit from cooperation. By offering customers efficiency, we’d all win. Sadly, that’s not how things often work.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Key Considerations for Software Updates for Embedded Linux and IoT
http://www.linuxjournal.com/content/key-considerations-software-updates-embedded-linux-and-iot
The Mirai botnet attack that enslaved poorly secured connected embedded devices is yet another tangible example of the importance of security before bringing your embedded devices online. A new strain of Mirai has caused network outages to about a million Deutsche Telekom customers due to poorly secured routers. Many of these embedded devices run a variant of embedded Linux; typically, the distribution size is around 16MB today.
Unfortunately, the Linux kernel, although very widely used, is far from immune to critical security vulnerabilities as well. In fact, in a presentation at Linux Security Summit 2016, Kees Cook highlighted two examples of critical security vulnerabilities in the Linux kernel: one being present in kernel versions from 2.6.1 all the way to 3.15, the other from 3.4 to 3.14. He also showed that a myriad of high severity vulnerabilities are continuously being found and addressed—more than 30 in his data set.
Although the processes and practices of development teams clearly have a critical impact on the (in)security of software in embedded products, there is a clear correlation between the size of the software project’s code base and the number of bugs and vulnerabilities as well. Steve McConnell in Code Complete states there are 1–25 bugs and vulnerabilities per 1,000 lines of code
Seasoned software developers always seek to reduce the size of the code base through refactoring and the reuse of functionality in libraries, but with the never-ending demand for more features and intelligence in every product, it is clear that the amount of software in embedded devices will only grow. This also necessarily implies that there will be more bugs and vulnerabilities as well.
In the first question, we simply asked if software updates are being deployed to their embedded products today and, if so, which tools were used
45.5% of the respondents said that updates were never being deployed to their products. Their only way to get new software into customers’ hands was to manufacture hardware with the new software and ship the hardware to the customers.
Roughly the other half, 54.5%, said that they did have a way to update their embedded products, but the method was built in-house. This also includes local updates, where a technician would need to go to a device physically and update the software from external media, such as a USB stick. Yet another category was devices enabled for remote updates, but where you could update only one at the time, essentially precluding any mass updates. Finally, some had the capability to deploy mass updates to all devices in a highly automated fashion.
One of the key findings here was that virtually nobody reused a third-party software updater—they all re-invented the wheel!
You can broadly classify embedded updaters into image- or package-based. Image-based updaters will work on the block level and can replace an entire partition or storage device. Package-based updaters work on the file level, and some of them, like RPM/YUM, are well known in Linux desktop and server environments as well.
Image-based updaters have, in general, a clear preference in the embedded space. The main reason for this is that they typically provide atomicity during the update process. Atomicity means that 1) an update is always either fully applied or not at all, and 2) no other component except the software updater can ever see a partial update. This property is very important for embedded updaters
Package-based approaches generally suffer from not being able to implement atomic updates, but they have some advantages as well. The installation time of an update is shorter, and the amount of bandwidth used also can be smaller than for image-based updates.
The Embedded Environment
People familiar with Linux desktop and server systems might ask why we are not just using the same tools and processes that we know from these systems, including package managers (such as rpm, dpkg), VMs and containers to carry out software updates. To understand this, it is important to see in which aspects an embedded device is different with regards to applying software updates.
Unreliable Power
I already touched on this property of an embedded system, and this is a widely known issue: an embedded device can, in general, lose power at any time.
Unreliable Network
Embedded devices typically are connected using some kind of wireless technology. Although Wi-Fi is used in some devices, it is more common to use wireless standards that have longer range but lower data rates, for example 3G, LoRa, Sigfox and protocols based on IEEE 802.15.4 (low-rate wireless personal area networks).
It is tempting to assume that high-speed wireless networks will be generally adopted by embedded devices as technology evolves
Expensive Physical Access
Once a large-scale issue that cannot be fixed remotely occurs, the cost of remediating it is typically very high. The reason is that embedded devices are typically widely distributed geographically.
For example, a manufacturer of smart energy grid devices can install these devices in thousands of homes in several countries. If there is a critical issue with an update to the Linux kernel that cannot be fixed remotely, the cost of either sending a service technician to all those homes or asking customers to send devices back to the vendor can be prohibitive.
Five-to-Ten-Year Device Lifetime
Technology moves very fast, and it’s typical to replace common consumer electronics devices like smartphones and laptops every two to three years.
However, more expensive consumer devices like high-end audio systems and TVs are replaced less frequently. Industrial devices that do not directly interact with humans typically have even longer lifetimes. For example, robots used on factory floors or energy grid devices easily can reach a ten-year lifetime.
In conclusion, in the embedded environment, people need to be very wary of the risk of “bricking” devices.
Key Criteria for Embedded Software Updaters
Robust and Secure
Atomic Updates
Consistent Deployments
Authenticity Checks before Updates
Sanity Checks after Updates
Integration with Existing Development Workflow
Bandwidth
Downtime during Update
Deployment Management
Conclusion
Many design trade-offs need to be considered in order to deploy software updates to IoT devices. Although historically most teams have decided to implement their homegrown updaters, the recent appearance of several open-source software updaters for embedded Linux means that we should be able to stop re-inventing the wheel.
Resources
SWUpdate is a very flexible client-side embedded updater for full image updates, licensed GPL version 2.0+.
Mender, the project the author of this article is involved in, focuses on ease of use and consists of a client updater and management server with a UI and is licensed under Apache License 2.0.
Tomi Engdahl says:
“Hey Mycroft, Turn on the Lamp”
https://www.hackster.io/gov/hey-mycroft-turn-on-the-lamp-5e2d12?ref=explore&ref_id=recent___&offset=8
The BLElectric light (and a bit more) goes WiFi with a new microcontroller and gets a voice interface courtesy of Mycroft
Voice and home automation make a natural combination. Yesterday’s dream of coming home and telling your home what to do is today’s reality.
In order to experiment with home automation, I decided to modify an older project of mine, BLElectric Light 101, and make it a voice controlled IoT device with Mycroft/Picroft.
Using the python HTTP requests library within my MyCroft skill gives us: Voice IoT!
If you can do it with python on your raspberry pi, you can control it with your voice under Mycroft!
https://mycroft.ai
Tomi Engdahl says:
A 3D-Printed, Voice-Controlled Lamp
https://blog.hackster.io/a-3d-printed-voice-controlled-lamp-b65dce6b7241
Cleverly, his setup uses an Android app to take voice commands, which passes this information over Bluetooth to an Arduino Uno-controlled lighting unit. Position is adjustable via three servo motors, and linkages are designed to hold the needed wires inside. The entire frame, consisting of the arms, rotary disk and base, are all 3D-printed.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Walmart partners with smart lock maker August to test in-home delivery of packages and groceries in Silicon Valley — Walmart announced today it will begin testing a new service that will allow customers with August smart home devices, like the August doorbell and security cameras …
Walmart partners with smart lock maker August to test in-home delivery of packages and groceries
https://techcrunch.com/2017/09/21/walmart-partners-with-smart-lock-maker-august-to-test-in-home-delivery-of-packages-and-groceries/
Walmart announced today it will begin testing a new service that will allow customers with August smart home devices, like the August doorbell and security cameras, to have their packages delivered inside their home instead of left on the doorstep. This test will also include online grocery orders, which won’t just be placed inside the house like the packages, but will be put away in the fridge and freezer, when appropriate.
The retailer says it will soon start this test in the Silicon Valley area with select customers who have opted into to try the new service.
Tomi Engdahl says:
IoT botnet Linux.ProxyM turns its grubby claws to spam rather than DDoS
I don’t know which is worse
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/09/22/iot_botnet_slinging_spam/
An IoT botnet is making a nuisance of itself online after becoming a conduit for spam distribution.
Linux.ProxyM has the capability to engage in email spam campaigns with marked difference to other IoT botnets, such as Mirai, that infamously offered a potent platform for running distributed-denial-of-service attacks (DDoSing). Other IoT botnets have been used as proxies to offer online anonymity.
Linux.ProxyM never had DDoS capabilities and was built instead to function as a giant mesh of proxy servers running on smart devices. The botnet first surfaced in February 2017, reaching a size of nearly 10,000 bots by June. The botnet has halved in size since then but this positive development is offset by the addition of new features.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Week In Review: IoT
IoT startup funding; Hot ‘Lanta; Synopsys news.
https://semiengineering.com/the-week-in-review-iot-64/
Synopsys says it worked with Brite Semiconductor and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) on developing an IoT platform. Brite provided the design services in integrating the DesignWare ARC Data Fusion Subsystem, the ARC EM9D processor, and USB, I3C, and mobile storage intellectual property from Synopsys. The team used SMIC’s 55LL process technology to create a test chip. The electronic design automation company has an ARC IoT Development Kit for coding software to run on ARC processor-based systems. Meanwhile, Synopsys unveiled the DesignWare ARC Secure IP Subsystem for such applications as smart metering, embedded SIMs, and embedded Universal Integrated Circuit Cards.
GE Transportation is using the SAS Event Streaming Process from SAS Institute with General Electric’s Predix platform to decipher and analyze IoT data from GE locomotives and to identify use patterns to keep the trains running on time.
The TechVision practice at Frost & Sullivan has a new report, Cybersecurity Innovations in the Connected World. Artificial intelligence, big data, and context-aware computing will converge with IoT to present more viable security precautions, according to the market research firm. “Despite fingerprint technology’s higher growth and significant revenue contribution in the past, new technologies such as iris, face, and vein recognition are witnessing strong adoption across industries. These new forms of biometric authentication are primarily focused toward improving the accuracy and flexibility of usage for end-users,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Convergence of IoT Applications Can Untangle Cybersecurity Challenges, says Frost & Sullivan
September 18, 2017 at 9:10 AM
https://ww2.frost.com/news/press-releases/convergence-iot-applications-can-untangle-cybersecurity-challenges-says-frost-sullivan/
The future Internet of everything includes leveraging a common secure cloud infrastructure with an unified API for all application sectors
The convergence of Internet of Things (IoT) applications with emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), Big Data, and context-aware computing could help address current security concerns around connected ecosystems. Pervasive security through context-aware access control is one of the future areas currently being explored by developers. Leveraging the converged technology capabilities could help developers accurately analyse user data at every node of the network, thereby delivering an all-in-one packaged security solution that offers user application and flexibility across any sector for optional interoperability in a connected world.
“Despite fingerprint technology’s higher growth and significant revenue contribution in the past, new technologies such as iris, face, and vein recognition are witnessing strong adoption across industries. These new forms of biometric authentication are primarily focused toward improving the accuracy and flexibility of usage for end-users,” said Frost & Sullivan TechVision Sr. Industry Analyst Swapnadeep Nayak. “In addition, advanced analytics is playing a vital role in empowering businesses to draw fast, actionable insights from connected ecosystems while delivering granular segmentation for more accurate analysis.”
Key cybersecurity findings in the connected world include:
Innovations across the various network layers for enhanced protection covering the network from specific types of attacks;
New identity and access management technologies due to growing compliance demands among organizations across industries working on IoT platforms, and
Spurt in intrusive prevention and risk analysis solutions tailored for specific sectors to identify unique issues for the ecosystem and prevent cyber-attacks at inception.
Confidentiality and integrity of data and systems can be compromised at any point of time by hacker attacking the connected ecosystem. These security breaches could lead to significant costs for enterprises by disrupting services thereby reducing satisfaction for customers and hamper brand image. Security challenges often faced by organizations include, lack of security standards, lack of comprehensive security solution to mitigate threats, and lack of cross platform security technology.
Tomi Engdahl says:
IoT gateways get a benchmark from the TPC
You’re going to run a pair of servers to tend ‘things’ and pre-analyse their data, OK?
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/09/15/tpcx_iot_benchmark/
The Transaction Processing Performance Council (TPC) has decided the world needs a benchmark for the Internet of Things, or at least for the gateways that will do initial processing of data that things generate.
The new “TPCx-IoT Benchmark” has set records before it’s been used in anger: committee chair and Cisco’s CTO for Cisco UCS Raghunath Nambiar told The Register the benchmark made it from idea to finished document in 15 months, a new low for the TPC.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Insteon and Wink home hubs appear to have a problem with encryption
Which is to say neither do it
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/09/25/home_hub_insecurity/
Security researchers have discovered that two popular home automation systems are vulnerable to attacks.
The Insteon Hub and Wink Hub 2 are designed to connect various home products and manage automation, and the flaws represent another entry in the growing catalogue of IoT security shortcomings.
Rapid7 discovered two unpatched issues related to authentication and radio transmission security of the Insteon Hub. Firstly the account login and passwords for both Insteon services and the Hub hardware are stored unencrypted. In addition the radio transmissions between the hub and connected devices are unencrypted. This means malicious actors can easily capture the radio signals at any time to manipulate any device being managed via the Insteon Hub.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Agriculture Automation: Smart Farming with IIoT Technology
http://www.sealevel.com/custom/case_studies/case/agriculture-automation:-smart-farming-with-iiot-technology~26
A major US city tasked a farming cooperative with ending a regional food desert, which is an area lacking access to groceries and fresh produce within a certain radius. Rather than trucking in more items, the company decided to build multiple “urban farms” using a hydroponic system. The city had tight regulations on water consumption, which meant they needed a smart farming system that would minimize water usage. They were also given a grant, which meant they had a tight budget compared to larger organizations.
This company approached Sealevel for help, looking for a solution that would reduce their water usage and increase crop yields without driving up costs. They requested a communication system that would remain consistent despite distance or weather and the ability to remotely coordinate their farms.
Key Application Requirements
Interfaces with reservoir fluid meter and light sensor
Monitors air pump and submersible water pump
Custom relay commands and timer
Cellular connectivity
Cloud platform
Tomi Engdahl says:
Magnetic sensors are feature-rich
https://www.edn.com/electronics-products/other/4458817/Magnetic-sensors-are-feature-rich
Comprising three families, the Si720xx Hall-effect sensor portfolio from Silicon Labs combines very low power and high sensitivity. Add such features as I2C configurability, built-in tamper detection, and temperature sensing, and these magnetic sensors outclass reed switches and conventional Hall-effect devices in a wide range of open/close and position-sensing applications.
Si72xx series sensors can be used in battery-powered systems without impacting the system’s battery life. Operating below 100 nA (sleep current) and at less than 400 nA with a 5 Hz sampling rate
Prices start at $0.45 each in lots of 10,000 units.
https://www.silabs.com/products/sensors/magnetic
Tomi Engdahl says:
Smart Composting System
A set of senors and actuators that make composting simple.
https://hackaday.io/project/24933-smart-composting-system
The 2017 Hackaday Prize
View Gallery
3.1k
1
42
25
Team (1)
Darian Johnson
Join this project’s team
ongoing project
2017HackadayPrize gardening composting
This Project Is In These Lists
2017 THP: Digi-Key Parts
Browse list
THP 2017 Semifinalists, Best Product
Browse list
Browse all lists »
This project is submitted for
The 2017 Hackaday Prize
Internet of Useful Things
Anything Goes
Best Product
This project was created on 05/26/2017 and last updated 3 hours ago.
Description
Per the EPA, food scraps & yard waste currently make up 20-30% of what we throw away, and should be composted instead. Making compost keeps these materials out of landfills, where they release methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
Atmospheric levels of methane are spiking. This is cause for alarm among global warming scientists because methane emissions warm the planet by more than 20X similar volumes of CO2.
Unfortunately, most do not compost – typically due to ignorance on the benefits of composting, misunderstanding of what can be added to compost, and lack of desire to manage compost.
I am building a smart system that makes it easier to compost. The system will:
- Monitor temperature, moisture, and methane output to automatically regulate the compost (add water or air)
- Make recommendation on types of products to add to compost (more “green” or “brown” items)
- Provide alerts when the compost is ready or when additional user action is needed
The Smart Compost system is made up of three components
Satellite Sensor Station – an Arduino powered device that is connected to the compost pile and measures ambient temperature, compost temperature, soil moisture, and methane gas output. Based on the sensors, the sensor station can add water to the compost or open/close air vents. Communication to the sensor station is via LoRa radio.
Base Station – a Intel Edison or Raspberry Pi device that persists the sensor data and provides a dashboard. The Base station also uses the sensor logic to make recommendations to the user on actions needed. The base station would be connected to an small kitchen “scraps” holder (like this) with an LED indicator that gives status of the compost.
“Can I Compost” home device – an Alexa or Google Home program that (a) tells the user what can be composted and (b) what should be composted (based on the user’s compost composition)
Tomi Engdahl says:
Intelligent devices are still rare in Finnish homes
Finns are waiting for the intelligence of the home to sense of security, relief for everyday life and time and money savings. Security issues are the worst concern for them. The home sim card and wireless networking equipment are still unusual, according to Moi Mobi’s inquiry.
Half of the respondents, however, feel that the use of intelligent devices saves time and facilitates everyday life. In the survey, smartphones are not intended for smart phones, tablet computers, or smartphones.
Home Security Intelligent Solutions were most interested in respondents. Every third respondent was interested in an internet-connected burglar alarm connected to the webcam. In addition to security devices and smart locks
Intelligence security issues clearly sparked the greatest concern. Nearly 60% of the respondents reported the potential security vulnerabilities to be the worst part. Also, the high price and the small perceived benefit were considered to be the worst half. On the other hand, the answers show that we want to hear more about security issues.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/6892-aelylaitteet-vielae-harvinaisia-suomalaiskodeissa
Tomi Engdahl says:
The world’s smallest Sigfox radio
ON Semiconductor has presented the radio module in Prague at the Sigfox World IoT Expo, which is praised as the world’s smallest, fully-completed Sigfox module. The circuit includes all the components required for the Sigfox connection, including the TCXO oscillator in one and the same package. The module has a size of 7 x 9 x 1 mm
ON Semi has assigned the type designation AX-SIP-SFEU to its module. For the hardware manufacturer, it will be completed by radio certification.
In standby mode, the module needs 0.5 milliamps, but in sleep mode it drops to 1.3 microamperes. In Deep Sleep mode, the need falls to as much as 100 nanoamperes.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/6891-maailman-pienin-sigfox-radio
Tomi Engdahl says:
Will Gesture Sensing Drive Home Automation?
http://www.mwrf.com/systems/will-gesture-sensing-drive-home-automation?NL=MWRF-001&Issue=MWRF-001_20170926_MWRF-001_358&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_1_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=13185&utm_medium=email&elq2=1588836ca00b41c5948d04199b2626c1
Thanks to advances that make it possible to operate in the V-band, radar-based gesture control for home automation could very well become the next big thing.
Developments in smart-home electronics and home automation are driving new generations of human-machine interfaces. Handheld universal remotes are extending their capabilities at the same time that remote-control functionality is finding its way into touchscreen devices and even smartphones. Voice-based control using the connected intelligence of smart speakers has gained a high profile, too, though this approach raises privacy concerns.
Gestures, which do not rely on cloud-based intelligence to understand and act on spoken word commands, are an exceptionally promising approach to home-automation control. They are evolving on several fronts.
Wearable (arm-band like) devices and visual/infrared systems have moved from control of entertainment to commanding other in-home systems. However, wearable solutions are limited as a home interface, since a physical device is not greatly superior to current handheld or smartphone-based controls. Vision-based systems also face limitations related to ambient lighting, precision, and the simple requirement that light sources and cameras cannot be hidden within a device. Thus, visual sensors will not be able to control the types of invisible devices envisioned for the in-home Internet of Things (IoT).
Advances in compact low-power radar, based on technology developed by Infineon for the Google Soli project, will take gesture control to a new level in addressing IoT applications in and beyond home environments. With this technology, manufacturers have an opportunity to deliver a nearly magical user experience.
Radar has already made inroads in presence detection, with applications that include automated door opening, security, and lighting control based on systems operating in the 24-GHz range. Moving to millimeter-wave frequencies, the unlicensed V-band (57-64 GHz) brings advantages of precise resolution and low likelihood of interference with nearby systems.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Casey Newton / The Verge:
Amazon unveils new Echo with smaller design, cloth surface and multiple color options, improved speakers, multi-room audio, for $99.99 or $250 for three — A smaller, more powerful voice device — Amazon introduced a second-generation version of the Echo today with a dedicated bass tweeter and a modified, shorter design.
Amazon’s new Echo is smaller and $99
A smaller, more powerful voice device
https://www.theverge.com/2017/9/27/16372578/new-amazon-echo-speaker-announced-price-release-date-2017
Amazon introduced a second-generation version of the Echo today with a dedicated bass tweeter and a modified, shorter design. The new device looks to be about half the size of the original Echo, is cloth-covered, and goes on sale today for $99. The company is also selling a three-pack for the first time, offering multi-room audio for the price of $50 per device.
Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge:
Amazon announces Echo Buttons that link with Echo for playing games like trivia, available for $20 as a two-pack — Amazon announced a new member to its Echo family, called Echo Buttons, designed to offer physical interaction with other Echo devices, specifically for use in playing family games.
https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/9/27/16374906/amazon-echo-buttons-family-games-connected-alexa
Tomi Engdahl says:
Brian Heater / TechCrunch:
Amazon debuts $149 Echo Plus, which comes with built-in smart home hub that has 100 launch partners and ships with a free Hue light bulb; preorders start today
Amazon’s Echo Plus features a built-in smart home hub for $149
https://techcrunch.com/2017/09/27/amazons-echo-plus-features-a-built-in-smart-home-hub-for-149/
Darrell Etherington / TechCrunch:
Amazon and BMW parter to offer Alexa in select cars starting mid-2018, with access to skills and other services
http://techcrunch.com/2017/09/27/bmw-to-bring-alexa-to-its-cars-starting-in-2018/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Anna Edney / Bloomberg:
Verily, Apple, Fitbit, and Samsung are among nine firms chosen for FDA pilot program for faster approval of digital health tools
Apple, Fitbit to Join FDA Program to Speed Health Tech
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-26/apple-fitbit-will-join-fda-program-meant-to-speed-health-tech
Tomi Engdahl says:
Jon Fingas / Engadget:
Amazon launches Alexa-powered Echo Spot alarm clock with videoconferencing, as a smaller and more focused alternative to Echo Show, shipping in Dec. for $129.99′
Amazon launches Echo Spot, an Alexa-powered alarm clock
It’s a tinier, more focused alternative to the Echo Show.
https://www.engadget.com/2017/09/27/amazon-echo-spot/
Amazon’s Alexa-themed event apparently includes Echo speakers for every possible use case under the Sun. The tech giant has introduced the Echo Spot, a cute circular-screened device that’s basically an Echo Show squeezed into an alarm clock. You won’t watch movies on it (not with a 2.5-inch display), but it can do many of the things its bigger sibling can — you can look at a nursery camera, watch a video briefing or hold video calls.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Eugene Kim / CNBC:
Amazon now has 5,000 people working on Alexa and Echo, up from 1,000 in May 2016; the company’s job site lists an additional 1,500 related openings
Amazon has 5,000 people working on Echo and Alexa — more than Fitbit and GoPro combined
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/27/amazon-has-5000-people-on-echo-and-alexa-more-than-fitbit-and-gopro.html
Amazon’s hardware chief said more than 5,000 employees now work on the Alexa voice technology platform.
That’s more than the number of employees at Fitbit and GoPro combined.
Jeff Bezos said last year that “more than 1,000″ people were working on Echo and Alexa.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nest Is Applying IoT Know-How to Home Security
https://www.designnews.com/iot/nest-applying-iot-know-how-home-security/194240446357533?ADTRK=UBM&elq_mid=1219&elq_cid=876648
The makers of the Smart Theromstat are taking a new approach. Will a new suite of IoT-based home security products be the smart home market breakthrough Nest has been looking for?
A year ago we wondered if Nest might become the first high-profile failure in the consumer Internet of Things (IoT) market. But now the company is aiming for a comeback with the release of a suite of new products aimed at applying Nest’s IoT know-how to home security.
Bill as being “easy on residents, tough on intruders” the new system, Nest Secure, is being touted by the company as being a home security system that is easy (and even enjoyable) to live with. The Nest Secure alarm system consists of three devices: Nest Guard, a security base that is a combination alarm, keypad, and motion sensor; Nest Detect, a motion sensor capable of detecting movement in a room and also when an object it is attached to, such as a door or window, is open or shut; and Nest Tag a keychain fob that allows homeowners to arm and disarm Nest Secure without a passcode, similar to a car’s keyless entry system.
Homeowners can control access to their home in three ways using Nest Secure: they can program Nest Tags to allow entry; grant entry through a smartphone app; or enter a passcode into the Nest Guard. Like Nest’s signature smart thermostat product the security system sends updates and notifications to your smartphone. The Nest Guard also has a battery backup and optional cellular backup service, so the system will function even if there is no power or WiFi available.
For additional security Nest also announced two other products a Video Doorbell and a Google Assistant-enabled outdoor security camera. The Nest Hello Video Doorbell can detect people at your door (before they ring the bell) and will send an alert and snapshot of your visitor to your phone. From there you can even have a FaceTime-like video chat with them through your phone.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Five Ways to Rethink Enclosures for the IoT
https://www.designnews.com/iot/five-ways-rethink-enclosures-iot/14911456357457?ADTRK=UBM&elq_mid=1219&elq_cid=876648
Even in IoT applications, the enclosure continues to be a plant floor workhorse. Here are five ways to make sure your enclosures work for the IoT.
The industrial Internet of Things (IoT) impacts the ability of companies to manage data and function efficiently. With more than 300 end-to-end IoT solutions in the marketplace, it can be overwhelming for industrial engineers trying to understand IT implementation and workflows.
With all of the challenges that the IoT brings, it is important to consider that the workhorse of infrastructure remains the enclosure. Whether production equipment and controls are communicating locally or pushing data to the cloud, the enclosure is crucial to success.
Specifying additional enclosures and networking equipment without first taking stock of your existing infrastructure can impact program efficiency and opportunities to scale your operations.
Here are five ways to evaluate your current enclosures for the world of the IoT.
1. Safety and Security
2. Protection
3. Layout of operational controls
4. Scalability
5. Future-proof design
As legacy systems are upgraded or replaced to accommodate IoT migration, modular enclosure systems offer the ability to load more equipment into current cabinets or bay them together to house additional network controls.
In addition, the ecosystem of cloud providers, mobile network companies and microprocessor companies can be overwhelming for many industrial managers trying to understand the integration of the IoT. Working with infrastructure manufacturers that have global relationships with industrial, IT and IoT companies can provide insight and direction to finding the right solutions providers for your company’s needs.
The evolution of your organization to the IoT can be winding and full of challenges, but leaning on your solutions providers, future-proofing your infrastructure and setting clear goals for adoption can lead you to success.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Does Japan Get Industrial IoT?
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1332368
When it comes to sensor data and automation technologies, Japanese companies are old hands. They know how to install and use them effectively to improve productivity — especially on the factory floor.
Unfortunately, all that knowhow doesn’t necessarily translate to the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).
Germany still holds that title. Many Japanese companies are listening to what German companies like Infineon Technologies have to say about “Industry 4.0.”
Infineon Tuesday (Sept. 26) held a press briefing on IIoT security in Tokyo. Yasuaki Mori, president of Infineon Technologies Japan, stressed, “I don’t think Japan is behind in IIoT. Japanese companies are very knowledgeable of their own ‘use cases.’”
Mori is afraid, however, that Japan might be missing the whole point of IIoT. He reported that many Japanese corporations — who prefer to stick to their own knitting — aren’t seizing the opportunity to transform their business by connecting with others on IIoT. In short, Japanese might know the mechanics, but they actually don’t get what IIoT is really for.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Former Freescale CEO Takes Helm at Cree
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1332355&
Gregg Lowe, the former leader of Freescale Semiconductor, has been appointed president and CEO of LED maker Cree Inc.
Lowe will succeed Chuck Swoboda, Cree’s top executive for the past 16 years. Cree announced in May that Swoboda would be stepping down.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Amazon’s Alexa will now sing through a talking fish
https://techcrunch.com/2017/09/27/amazons-alexa-will-live-in-a-talking-fish/?utm_source=tcfbpage&sr_share=facebook
Amazon’s virtual voice assistant Alexa can go virtually anywhere thanks to Amazon’s Gadgets API, but her next destination is still kind of surprising: It’ll (sort of) end up in Big Mouth Billy Bass, the animatronic talking fish that you may have seen adorning the walls of the homes of people you don’t like.
At a special event today at Amazon’s Seattle HQ, the company reveals that Alexa would be making its way to the fish via Bluetooth connectivity to Echo devices. Now, it’ll be able to lip sync to your music as played back by your Amazon Echo devices via voice commands.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Pitmaster BBQ dashboard monitors your meat and veggies
https://hackaday.com/2017/09/28/pitmaster-bbq-dashboard-monitors-your-meat-and-veggies/
Barbecue is all about temperature, about making sure that whatever is on the grill reaches the right temperature. At least, that is the part that makes sure you don’t poison people, because your food should get hot enough to kill any bacteria. [Chris Aquino] decided to take this a step further than simply sticking a thermometer into a hunk of meat by creating Pitmaster. This combination of hardware and software monitors the temperature of multiple chunks of food and alerts you when each is ready, all through a web interface.
Pitmaster is a project that demonstrates React, a new library for creating UIs that mashes together Javascript, HTML and various other technologies. [Chris] teaches React at DigitalCrafts.com and made Pitmaster as a demonstration of how to use it to quickly build a UI. It’s a neat build that runs on an Arduino and Raspberry Pi
How to build a dashboard for your grill using Arduino and React
https://medium.freecodecamp.org/how-to-build-a-dashboard-for-your-grill-using-arduino-and-react-425fb8d57ffe
It looks like a bizarre mix of JavaScript and HTML, while having the one-way rendering sensibilities of Express and Handlebars.
My favorite go-to answer is dashboards. React is great for creating panels that independently update information. It is the kind of UIs that is a nightmare to build using jQuery.
Then they ask, “Ok, like what?”
And then I show them…PitMaster.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Survey indicates IIoT is accepted by a majority of companies
http://www.controleng.com/single-article/survey-indicates-iiot-is-accepted-by-a-majority-of-companies/938564018c93543e2c6659fd8c6dd7d4.html
A study by Zebra Technologies and Peerless Insights found that almost two-thirds of manufacturers expect to be fully connected by 2022 and that wearable technologies will be used by over half of manufacturers by then as companies look to become safer and more technologically savvy.
A study of 1,100 executives from automotive, high-tech, food and beverage, tobacco, and pharmaceutical companies, conducted on Zebra Technologies’ behalf by Peerless Insights, sought to uncover trends emerging within the industrial manufacturing space.
Central to the findings is evidence of a concerted push towards Industrie 4.0 and the Smart Factory vision. Manufacturers are increasingly looking to achieve intelligent exchange of information between sensors, devices and machines in factories, in order to achieve more with less. Zebra’s study supports this view, suggesting that by 2022, 64% of manufacturers expect to be fully connected, compared with just 43% today.
Zebra also found that over half (55%) of manufacturers plan to adopt wearable technologies by 2022.
Likewise, there will be a boom in the adoption of voice technologies in the coming five years. Zebra believes that 51% of manufacturers are planning to expand their use of voice technology in the years between now and 2022, with the most significant growth reportedly coming from those with annual revenues in excess of $1 billion. Adoption among these manufacturers is anticipated to come in at 55 percent by 2022.
“As manufacturers seek to eliminate the need to store excessive inventory, voice technologies will play a key role in just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing and automating processes,” the company said.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Effective change management tips for the IIoT
http://www.controleng.com/single-article/effective-change-management-tips-for-the-iiot/0ee6658e3b8e8cd2f3e2f1d66d985a6d.html
The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) has made some major strides for the last few years, but making it viable and easy to use on the plant floor requires a lot of planning and some culture change for companies.
The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) has gone from being theoretical to real for some companies, but the conversation still remains: Is it viable and what can be done to make it efficient on the plant floor?
Seven IoT pitfalls
The IIoT has a lot of potential, but there are many pitfalls that companies either fail to acknowledge or don’t consider because they’re caught up in what it could do for their company.
1. Insufficient investment in project management.
2. Failure to get buy-in across the organization.
3. Not being able to update or replace IoT components. LeBeau said this is particularly prevalent due to the lack of IoT standards.
4. Underestimating vendor risk.
5. Not having a plan B or any kind of exit strategy ready in case things don’t go according to plan.
6. Downplaying security and privacy threats. This, again, goes back to the lack of standards. With everything going to the cloud, it’s a lot easier for cybersecurity threats to slip through.
7. Focusing on technology over business. Technology, LeBeau said, has to be about being efficient and improving business rather than just being about technology for technology’s sake.
Leveraging IIoT technologies to improve or expand value
Companies that want to focus on improving their company through the IIoT need to address the why, what, and how in their plan before they do anything.
The why is a broad concept and is about what it could do for the company in both the short- and long-term. The what, which feeds into the why, will mutate and change the answer as companies focus on the concept and the business strategy and case for implementing IIoT. These questions also need to answer what value it will bring to the business. The questions that need to be answered on this side include:
What is the opportunity for meaningful change or innovation?
Can the concept be a catalyst for major transformation?
Can it provide new ways to engage customers?
Will it enable new business models?
How does the evolution of the innovation support the strategy?
Taking IIoT mainstream
Tomi Engdahl says:
Using cloud solutions to leverage IIoT and keep costs low
http://www.controleng.com/single-article/using-cloud-solutions-to-leverage-iiot-and-keep-costs-low/dc15f47d07210360c404f44acddbbff9.html
Cloud computing allows companies to enjoy the benefits of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) through cloud-based solutions that can improve operational efficiency and productivity.
As the cost of sensors continues to drop and the amount of industrial data available increases exponentially, more and more companies are adopting Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) technologies to derive value from their industrial Big Data. By implementing technologies such as Big Data analysis and predictive maintenance, companies can fundamentally transform their operations, create new efficiencies and develop new business models.
However, there are some companies with concerns over the cost of adopting these new technologies. Across multiple industrial sectors, capital expenditure budgets are shrinking, which means appetites are low for large software installations. Luckily, companies do not need a heavy software deployment to leverage the IIoT. Cloud computing allows companies to enjoy the benefits of the IIoT through scalable cloud-based solutions.
Lightweight IIoT deployments in action
In one example, farmers in New Zealand implemented a cloud-based IIoT solution to control irrigation pivots directly from their mobile devices, rather than driving back and forth across the farm. This led to significant time and energy savings for the farmers. In addition, advanced analytics provided the farmers with visibility into water and energy consumption at each irrigation pivot. This increased visibility enabled smarter decision-making, enabling them to reduce costs and increase efficiency.
Another example involved a food and beverage company that implemented a very lightweight predictive maintenance deployment. Key performance metrics are captured from smart IoT sensors, which is then pushed to the cloud for reporting and analytics. The predictive maintenance solution is improving the company’s asset performance and reliability, and the cloud-based deployment model facilitated multi-site expansion.
The IIoT is available right now and companies across multiple industries are taking advantage. The cloud means implementing the IIoT doesn’t have to be complex or expensive—start with what you have and start small, perhaps with a small cloud deployment for a function such as data collection. Companies can take the first steps on why you should take data to the cloud and discover the benefits of improved connectivity across the plant.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How IoT promises to enable better product maintenance for manufacturers
http://www.controleng.com/single-article/how-iot-promises-to-enable-better-product-maintenance-for-manufacturers/da3051b7f5457c9d62617518eb7134c6.html
By staying continuously connected, manufacturers are transforming the way they support and maintain their products.
Sensors track factors like location changes, fuel levels, battery life, and conditions that cause failure. More and more businesses implement IoT technology each year to gain more consumer insight. Forbes stated that the global IoT market will be $14.4 trillion by 2020.
Some manufacturers that take advantage of IoT technology today include:
Automotive
Industrial equipment
Food and beverage
Electronics.
The IoT makes product maintenance easier in the following ways:
Reduces downtime and repair costs
Empowers field service jobs through data and technology
Improves inventory management
Improves product design
Increases worker safety
Conclusion
There is no doubt that the IoT is transforming the way OEMs and field technicians perform preventative maintenance. Systems with IoT technology are becoming more accessible and affordable, which empowers OEMs of all sizes to renovate their plants and factories. Implementing smart IoT solutions is not easy, but there is a machine analytics solution for every companies’ needs. Technology is constantly evolving, and there is no better time to start than today.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Planning for the evolution of the IoT
http://www.controleng.com/single-article/planning-for-the-evolution-of-the-iot/67a639eeff72f5e4133989a55258ec86.html
Companies looking to take the next step in the Internet of Things (IoT) need to evolve from a company that uses IoT-enabled products, to becoming an IoT-enabled organization, and become a system of systems for gathering all relevant information from their sensors to better manage data.
In 2014, Michael E. Porter and James E. Heppelmann set out their vision for IoT’s five-stage evolution in an article, which culminated in a “system of systems” model, in which diverse systems are orchestrated and optimized in the form of wider constructs, such as smart factories, smart homes and smart cities.
In the example given by Porter and Heppelmann, a traditional tractor moves from stage one to two, to become a smart tractor. From there, it moves to a third stage, to become a smart, connected tractor. In stage four, it’s part of a product system, connected with related products such as tillers, planters and combine harvesters. In the fifth and final stage, it’s part of a ‘system of systems’, integrating with a wide range of other smart farm devices and sensors, as well as related apps and information services.
My experience working with customers indicates that the most advanced are currently between stage three (smart connected product) and stage four (product system). In extended supply chains today, manufacturers own the data.
Some monetize the data by granting limited access to it or selling it as a service in the form of embedded analytics further downstream (closer to the customer) in the supply chain. This model is well-established and should remain in place for the foreseeable future.
Fulfilling the “system of systems” model
The risk, however, is reaching a plateau at stage four because the leap to stage five is huge—both in terms of the transformation required and the potential payoff. In order to arrive at and fully benefit from the system of systems model, organizations will need to change their architectures and approaches to data ownership.
The big disruption involves transitioning from closed-loop systems, where manufacturers own all the data, to open data systems where businesses closer to the customer own and manage data.
This change is why Porter and Heppelmann posed the question in their article: “How does the company manage ownership and access rights to its product data?” as a key strategic decision to be made when seeking competitive advantage from IoT. The challenge becomes evolving from a company that used IoT-enabled products, to becoming an IoT-enabled organization. This difference means everything in the context of gaining maximum leverage from data.
Introducing the “first receiver”
The answer to that question is a “first receiver”, which is a reference architecture designed to underpin the system of systems model. A key player in this is the first receiver organization; this is the customer-facing organization that acts as the host for the system of systems, and receives all sensor data first.
This first receiver organization’s role extends to storing incoming data and managing the processes of cleansing, enriching, and then distributing it to other related organizations on an as-needed basis.
Organizational challenges
However, technology architecture and governance is only one piece of the jigsaw puzzle in realizing the system of systems model. The profound transformation driven by IoT and data-driven architectures will also require new ways of working, new skills and resources, new types of contractual arrangements and significant cultural change up and down the supply chain.
Fortunately, despite many people’s fear of change and the unknown, many are beginning to realize the stakes involved in not exploring and understanding IoT. In a July 2016 survey of over 420 US enterprise decision-makers, carried out by Machina Research, 38% of respondents said their organizations were already actively using IoT technologies and 43% were planning to deploy IoT within the next two years.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Survey indicates IIoT is accepted by a majority of companies
http://www.controleng.com/single-article/survey-indicates-iiot-is-accepted-by-a-majority-of-companies/938564018c93543e2c6659fd8c6dd7d4.html
A study by Zebra Technologies and Peerless Insights found that almost two-thirds of manufacturers expect to be fully connected by 2022 and that wearable technologies will be used by over half of manufacturers by then as companies look to become safer and more technologically savvy.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How cloud computing works for industrial processes
http://www.controleng.com/single-article/how-cloud-computing-works-for-industrial-processes/40f0e7605ae1de68ab2ba6f03fd154e3.html
Cloud computing can process, filter, and analyze data using an HMI that can then be turned into actionable information for industrial facilities.
Cloud computing is just one of the components for Big Data implementations in industrial process and facilities. While it can be particularly effective for remote monitoring applications, the data must first be collected and pushed to the cloud, then stored and analyzed to create usable information.
This usually involves several steps, starting at the edge device and ending with information delivery to end users. Modern human-machine interfaces (HMIs) play a crucial role, making connections to smart edge devices and controllers, and filtering the data before pushing it to the cloud.
With little or no information technology (IT) management effort required, cloud computing provides network access to a wide variety of computing resources. Cloud computing is a little more than a decade old and includes common technology for tasks such as hosting websites and blogs, storing data, and streaming audio or video. The software applications can be a simple as email, calendar, and office tools. The cloud also can be used to deliver software on-demand, and to provide computing capability to analyze data.
Collecting and filtering data
While analytics, historian, enterprise resource planning (ERP), and other systems may be hosted in the cloud, these applications need plant floor data. This data starts at the edge, supplied by either a sensor, or a smart edge device such as a smart instrument, a power meter, a variable-frequency drive, etc. These components are connected to a controller, to a PC-based HMI, or other HMI. A new trend is embedding HMI functionality in the smart edge device, allowing data to be processed at the source.
Wherever the HMI is based, it can filter data before pushing it to the cloud or other storage area. It is not necessary to collect all the data every second, or even every minute, for some applications. The data may need to be saved only when it exceeds certain values or moves outside a defined range. Some modern HMIs can be configured, using faceplates, to filter and consolidate the data before pushing it to the cloud
Hosting the HMI
A modern HMI can be hosted on many platforms. It can be installed on a desktop PC, a flat-panel industrial PC, a thin client, an embedded computer running Linux or some other operating system, or a smart edge device. This portability from one platform to the next is vital because it allows the HMI to be deployed on the best platform for the application.
There are low-cost platforms, such as microcontrollers, for hosting an HMI used for gathering data and pushing it to the cloud. A low-cost HMI, with or without a display, can collect data from a variety of devices, filter the data, and push it to the cloud. A smart edge device running an embedded HMI can push data to the cloud without connecting through a controller or a full-featured HMI.
Once an HMI pushes data to the cloud, it can be accessed by any internet-connected device, but first it often makes sense to analyze this data and turn it into actionable information.
Cloud applications
The cloud provides reliable and secure storage of data and can be used to provide SaaS in the form of data analytics and other applications. For example, an online historian can be used to provide data analytics. Once analyzed, the data becomes information that can be accessed by web-enabled HMI software, and then displayed to users.
Data analytics can reveal patterns, and cloud computing enables artificial intelligence, robots and other Big Data tools to be used. The scalable processing power on the cloud is useful for performing these tasks, which often require considerable computing resources. By using a plant floor HMI as a gateway, access to information from the cloud is available in many forms, including bar charts, graphs, trends, tables, etc.