Here are some IoT trends for year 2019 to watch:
More device: There are four times as many devices connected to the Internet as there are people in the world, and the number of devices is increasing rapidly. There are computers, smart phones and many different kind of connected devices. Gartner forecasts that 14.2 billion connected things will be in use in 2019, and that the total will reach 25 billion by 2021,
Voice: The integration of voice into IoT devices creates an user experience that many consumers seem to enjoy. The next few years will see voice automation take over many aspects of our lives. The current major players in the IoT voice world are Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri, and Google Assistant. Microsoft’s Cortana seems to have already lost in the game as Satya Nadella says Cortana won’t challenge Alexa and Google Assistant directly; Microsoft will focus on making it a skill on other voice platforms instead. Voice won’t change everything but it will be one part of a movement that heralds a new way to think about our relationship with devices and data. Consider voice as a type of user interface to be added to the existing list of UI technologies. Voice will not kill brands, it won’t hurt keyboard sales or touchscreen devices — it will become an additional way to do stuff; it is incremental. We need to learn to design around it.Deloitte expects the sales of 164 million smart speakers at an average price of $43 in 2019. The smart speaker market will be worth more than $7 billion next year, increasing 63% from 2018’s $4.3 billion.
Automobiles: Automobiles are leading the way in IoT adoption. Gartner predicts that one in five cars will be connected by 2020. Both Google and Apple have tools that allow drivers to control calls, listen to messages and control apps using voice.
IoT clouds: Developing for the Internet of Things is a complex endeavor, and nobody wants to do it from scratch. IoT data platforms offer a jumping-off point by combining many of the tools needed to manage a deployment from device management to data prediction and insights into one service. There are many IoT cloud platforms to choose from. All cloud platforms have their own distinctive areas of pros and cons. Ultimately the project needs and cost-effectiveness determine whom to choose. Utilizing cloud services also brings new potential risks that are good to understand already at the beginning of the project. I wrote on article to Uusiteknologia.fi magazine issue 2/2018 on IoT cloud platforms.
Digital Twins: Digital twin tech, or a virtual representation of a product, is a critical concept in IoT that’s still being sorted out. Digital twin refers to a digital replica of physical assets (physical twin), processes, people, places, systems and devices that can be used for various purposes. Definitions of digital twin technology emphasize two important characteristics: connection from the physical model to the corresponding virtual model and this connection is established by generating real time data using sensors. Physical objects and twin models interact. Digital twins applications typically integrate internet of things, artificial intelligence, machine learning and software analytics with spatial network graphs to create living digital simulation models that update and change as their physical counterparts change. In various industrial sectors, twins are being used to optimize the operation and maintenance of physical assets, systems and manufacturing processes.
Edge computing: The shift from centralized and cloud to edge architectures is well under way in the IoT space. In the future, computing the edge of the network will become an increasingly important way of processing data from networked devices and sensor networks. Compared to traditional centralized cloud computing, the new edge computing brings computing servers closer to the edge of the communications network. Compared to cloud centered IoT solutions, edge computing allow for lower delays and more reliable operation with respect to cloud services. At the same time, it promises improved security as not all potentially sensitive information needs to be transferred from the site to cloud. However, this is not the end point because the neat set of layers associated with edge architecture will evolve to a more unstructured architecture comprising of a wide range of “things” and services connected in a dynamic mesh. In thins kind of system data processing can be done on almost all network devices from IoT modules to gateways and in the future to 5G base stations. Relevant standardizing organizations on this field are Edge Computing Consortium Europe, OpenFog Consortium and Industrial Internet Consortium.
5G: 5G networks start to arrive. The standards for 5G will be defined in large part by the direct integration of Internet of Things (IoT) and Industrial IoT (IIoT) devices into global networks and devices. 5G networks are expected to be 10 to 100 times faster than current LTE technology. If you are in need for very high speed, your application resides inside the small 5G test networks coverage areas and your IoT device is allowed to consume considerable amount of power (more than 4G solutions), then you might be able to consider 5G. For all other cases I don’t see 5G would offer much for IoT applications in 2019. There is not yet ready 5G standards specifically designed for IoT applications. So for 2019 IoT and IIoT will need to be pretty much stick to 4G technologies like NB-IoT and LTE-M. For 5G to shape industrial computing application in larger scale than just some small tests we will have to wait till 2020. Addressing the issues behind Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) devices and 5G is important in next few years. Qualcomm, the largest supplier of modem chips used in smartphones, has introduced the X50 modem to give IIoT devices the ability to communicate over 5G networks. Beware of “fake 5G” marketing in 2019. The promise is that 5G will enable the future enterprise technologies everyone is predicting and waiting for: fleets of self-driving delivery trucks, virtual (VR) and augmented reality (AR), and a world of enterprise Internet of Things (IoT) deployments — systems that will define an era that the World Economic Forum termed the “Fourth Industrial Revolution.” Those promises will take years to realize, you will not see most of them in real use in 2019.
AI: Number one in Gartner’s predictions, no surprise, is artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence and machine learning will be talked a lot with bold claims that AI goes from expert-only to everywhere. I would not expect it to be everywhere in 2019. Gartner, said in a statement, “AI will be applied to a wide range of IoT information, including video, still images, speech, network traffic activity, and sensor data.” At the moment many neural network systems are power hungry when implemented with traditional computer hardware. “For example, the performance of deep neural networks (DNNs) is often limited by memory bandwidth, rather than processing power.” By 2023, it’s expected that new special-purpose chips will reduce the power consumption required to run a DNN, enabling new edge architectures and embedded DNN functions in low-power IoT endpoints.
IIoT: The concept of a Smart Factory is composed of many different physical and informational subsystems, such as actuators and sensors, control systems, product management systems and manufacturing systems that all work together. This is a very complex system. It is critical to understand differing operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT) priorities to achieve collaboration and integration. Without this, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and control projects will fail. Also finding the right Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) vendor partner is crucial to success. OPC Foundation has on initiative to extend OPC UA out to field devices to provide vendor-neutral, end-to-end interoperability beyond the plant. Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) network works well for OPC UA applications.
Value chain: IoT as an umbrella term will diminish. There are strong views that “Internet of things is not valuable in and of itself” so the conversation is going to shift away from an ambiguous buzzword to the actual use of technology. For product designers this means that when we design our connected world, we need to pull ourselves away from the cool technology that we are building and look at the system through our customers’ eyes. The sales pitch will be more like “It’s about the use cases, it’s about the solutions, it’s about the applications, managing and monitoring assets, performance management solutions, different kinds of solutions coming together to solve a problem—that’s really what the value proposition is.”
IoT platforms: IoT vendors will compete to be the destination for IoT platforms. The IoT supply chain has been moving toward more collaboration to provide development and design kits designed for specific use cases and industries. IoT development kits are sold more and more with bundled IoT could service offer. IoT cloud service providers offer and recommend hardware that is tested to work well with their platforms. IoT platform vendors will be narrowing their scope in 2019, honing in on specific use cases. Business professionals aren’t looking for one industrial IoT platform to manage every process going on at their company, they are instead looking for platforms that specialize in specific tasks.
New development kits: A new breed of development kits is incorporating the three tenets of IoT design — ease of use, security, and business value. The promise is that the design engineers don’t need to have specialized expertise in several areas like networking protocols or security-related tasks, enabling a much faster development time. One way to simplifying design work is by intelligently reusing the fundamental building blocks.
Security: Wireless IoT devices are considered a major threat to the security of industrial networks. A growing number of embedded systems are open to security threats as a result of increasing connectivity and IoT device adoption. And it’s costing OEMs a lot in terms of money and reputation. A 2018 Gartner Inc. survey found that nearly 20% of organizations surveyed experienced at least one IoT-based attack in the past three years. IoT security is already a 1.5 billion dollar market. The market research firm Garnet expects that global spending on IoT security will rise to $3.1 billion in 2021, up from $1.5 billion in 2018. It is not about the spending on IoT security products. Already “a significant portion of OEMs’ existing in-house labor cost is already dedicated to addressing security” and is rising faster than development costs. VDC pegs the worldwide embedded engineering labor spend related to security at $11.6 billion in 2017, representing nearly 8% of the overall cost of embedded engineering labor. There will be different kind of certification marks for IoT product cyber security – some mandated with laws on some countries and some voluntary. 5G is going to increase security risks. Do we understand the 5G security threats to come? Most probably not because we don’t seem to understand well even that 5G really is.
eSIM: The embedded SIM card has been spoken for a long time, and even the first smartphones in which the SIM card has been implemented with an integrated circuit have already been introduced to the market. Infineon has presented the world’s first industrially qualified eSIM. Of course, eSIM shares opinions. Many operators do not like it.
Infonomics and Data Broking: Last year’s Gartner survey of IoT projects showed 35 percent of respondents were selling or planning to sell data collected by their products and services.“Data is the fuel that powers the IoT and the organization’s ability to derive meaning from it will define their long term success,” This brings us to Social, Legal and Ethical IoT because“ Successful deployment of an IoT solution demands that it’s not just technically effective but also socially acceptable,” It is possible tha tIoT Firms Face a ‘Tidal Wave’ of Lawsuits.
IoT Governance: As the IoT continues to expand, the need for a governance framework that ensures appropriate behavior in the creation, storage, use and deletion of information related to IoT projects will become increasingly important. We also need to manage IoT devices to keep them secure and make sure that they do what they are supposed to do. A market for IoT managed services will develop to help manage and operate fragmented IoT assets. “The idea of managing the ongoing end-to-end life cycle of a connected product is becoming more important, and ultimately this managed service opportunity is going to need momentum in the coming year,”
New Wireless Technologies: IoT networking involves balancing a set of competing requirements, such as endpoint cost, power consumption, bandwidth, latency, connection density, operating cost, quality of service, and range. No single networking technology optimizes all of these.
Trusted Hardware and Operating System: Gartner surveys invariably show that security is the most significant area of technical concern for organizations deploying IoT systems. Today organizations often don’t have control over the source and nature of the software and hardware being utilised in IoT initiatives. “However, by 2023, we expect to see the deployment of hardware and software combinations that together create more trustworthy and secure IoT systems.
Home automation: Arm predicts that the intelligent home goes mainstream. In survey results they published two-thirds of respondents said technology became “more a part of my life” during 2018. Cisco Systems is saying connected homes will be a big driver for the Internet of Things. “Connected home applications, such as home automation, home security and video surveillance, connected white goods, and tracking applications, will represent 48%, or nearly half, of the total M2M connections by 2022, showing the pervasiveness of M2M in our lives,” Cisco states in its new white paper, Visual Networking Index: Forecast and Trends, 2017-2022. The market is starting slowly. Bundled IoT services will try to motivate a slow consumer market.
Smart cities: Cities are becoming smarter and smarter in an effort to improve efficiency in operations. Smart cities bring in both benefits and risks. Between smart lighting, traffic controls, and public transportation, smart cities are bringing in a whole new family of threat vectors. Cybercriminals will target smart cities with ransomware attacks. Smart cities need to take precautions.
Silicon Chip Innovation: “Currently, most IoT endpoint devices use conventional processor chips, with low-power ARM architectures being particularly popular. However, traditional instruction sets and memory architectures aren’t well-suited to all the tasks that endpoints need to perform,” New special-purpose chips will reduce the power consumption required to run a DNN. Very low power circuit designs are important in many applications. Battery-powered designs require complex optimizations for power in the context of area, performance and functionality. Devices that work without battery and gather operating power from environment are maybe even more challenging. Clearly, sensors are a big part of any connected device, and there is a lot of innovation occurring in this market that delivers new features — think AI — all housed in smaller packaging.
Open source: 2019 Will Be the Year of Open Source in IoT and embedded systems applications. From software and even hardware, we saw more activity in open source than ever before in 2018. And the momentum isn’t likely to slow down in 2019. Arduino is pushing strongly to IoT markets with MKR1000 series of IoT boards. Raspberry Pi is very widely used in IoT systems, especially on prototyping and small scale deployments
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Links to other articles for IoT trends for 2019:
Internet of Things in 2019: Five predictions
Kymmenen tulevaisuuden kuluttajatrendiä ja ilmiötä
Deloitte’s 9 tech predictions for 2019
New Chip Architectures, Sensors and Trust in Top 10 IoT Trends (Gartner presented its top 10 strategic IoT technology trends)
Week In Review: IoT, Security, Auto (predictions from Arm, Deloitte and Juniper Research)
Predictions 2019: The Internet Of Things
Gartner Identifies Top 10 Strategic IoT Technologies and Trends
1,309 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
Implantable Ultra-Thin Fuel Cell Runs on the Body’s Own Glucose
Engineers from MIT and the Technical University of Munich developed a glucose power source that could fuel miniature implants and sensors.
https://www.hackster.io/news/implantable-ultra-thin-fuel-cell-runs-on-the-body-s-own-glucose-6bc65a708f6a
Tomi Engdahl says:
LPWAN for All: What’s the Future of Low-Power, Long-Range Connectivity?
May 25, 2022
Semtech’s Marc Pégulu shares predictions for LPWAN’s future amid the shifting IoT tech landscape.
https://www.electronicdesign.com/technologies/communications/article/21242695/semtech-lpwan-for-all-whats-the-future-of-lowpower-longrange-connectivity?utm_source=EG+ED+Connected+Solutions&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CPS220526056&o_eid=7211D2691390C9R&rdx.ident%5Bpull%5D=omeda%7C7211D2691390C9R&oly_enc_id=7211D2691390C9R
Tomi Engdahl says:
LPWAN for All: What’s the Future of Low-Power, Long-Range Connectivity?
May 25, 2022
Semtech’s Marc Pégulu shares predictions for LPWAN’s future amid the shifting IoT tech landscape.
https://www.mwrf.com/technologies/systems/article/21242717/semtech-lpwan-for-all-whats-the-future-of-lowpower-longrange-connectivity?utm_source=RF+MWRF+Today&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CPS220527032&o_eid=7211D2691390C9R&rdx.ident%5Bpull%5D=omeda%7C7211D2691390C9R&oly_enc_id=7211D2691390C9R
Tomi Engdahl says:
NRF52 Bluetooth (BLE) Tutorial. Does it consume less than the ESP32? (Feather, XIAO, ItsyBitsy)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrcPGeYinVQ
The NRF52 chips from Nordic should be much better for Bluetooth Low Energy projects than the ESP32. Is this true? Can we use them with the Arduino IDE? And which boards are available? Let’s have a closer look.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tekoäly kertoo huoltotarpeen
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/13699-tekoaely-kertoo-huoltotarpeen
Teollisuuden kilpailukykyä kasvatetaan tekoälyn ja huippunopeiden langattomien tietoliikenneyhteyksien avulla. Kehitystyötä tehdään parhaillaan Nokian vetämään Veturi-hankkeeseen kuuluvassa AISA-projektissa (AI based Situational Awareness). Valmetin koelaitoksella testataan tekoälyä hyödyntävää sovellusta, joka määrittää laitteen huoltotarpeen.
Tekoäly ja 5G-teknologia aukaisevat merkittäviä uusia mahdollisuuksia Valmetin automaatioliiketoiminnan päätoimialoilla. Uudet tuoteominaisuudet ovat elintärkeitä kasvusta ja markkinaosuuksista kilpailtaessa.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Kodinkoneita voi pian komentaa äänellään
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/13721-kodinkoneita-voi-pian-komentaa-aeaenellaeaen
Ääniohjausta on yritetty tuoda autoihin jo pitkään, mutta tekniikka ei ole vieläkään lähtenyt vetämään. Nyt STMicroelectronics haluaa ohjata äänellä kodinkoneita. Yhtiön suosittujen 32-bittisen ohjainten työkalupakettiin on lisätty puheohjauksen koodaaminen.
ST ja Sensory tekevät yhteistyötä mahdollistaakseen sulautetun puheohjauksen käyttöönoton massamarkkinoilla STM32Cube-ohjelmistoekosysteemin kautta. Sensory tunnetaan yhtenä johtavista sulautetun puheentunnistustekniikan kehittäjistä.
ST:n uusi äänikäyttöliittymille omistettu ohjelmistopaketti on saatavilla yhtiön sivuilta.
https://www.st.com/en/embedded-software/x-cube-localvui
Tomi Engdahl says:
2021 oli läpimurtovuosi mobiiliverkon IoT:lle
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/13722-2021-oli-laepimurtovuosi-mobiiliverkon-iot-lle
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2022/06/14/verkon-aly-ja-reunalaskenta-tuovat-uusia-uhkia/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/13736-tiesitkoe-amazonilla-on-oma-iot-verkkonsa
Tomi Engdahl says:
Take the Narrowband Path to IoT Communications
June 7, 2022
With the Internet of Things (IoT) seeing phenomenal growth, connectivity becomes a challenge. That’s where narrowband communications technologies can come into play to address the IoT’s LPWAN requirements.
https://www.mwrf.com/technologies/systems/media-gallery/21243642/microwaves-rf-take-the-narrowband-path-to-iot-communications?utm_source=RF+MWRF+Today&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CPS220610082&o_eid=7211D2691390C9R&rdx.ident%5Bpull%5D=omeda%7C7211D2691390C9R&oly_enc_id=7211D2691390C9R
Tomi Engdahl says:
Connaxio’s Espoir Is a Compact, Dual-Core IoT Development Board with mikroBUS and Full PoE+ Support
Offering up to 15W of power to your hardware, this handy board makes for a quick and easy way to wire up an IoT project.
https://www.hackster.io/news/connaxio-s-espoir-is-a-compact-dual-core-iot-development-board-with-mikrobus-and-full-poe-support-1c22b118d485
Tomi Engdahl says:
Eric Nam Demonstrates OpenHaystack’s ESP32-Powered AirTag Compatibles — But Raises Privacy Warnings
Despite using only Bluetooth Low Energy, the ESP32Tag offers accurate location tracking to within 10 feet — and that can be a problem.
https://www.hackster.io/news/eric-nam-demonstrates-openhaystack-s-esp32-powered-airtag-compatibles-but-raises-privacy-warnings-fa65045568b4
Tomi Engdahl says:
Researchers Find Side-Channel Vulnerabilities in Analog to Digital Converters — So Design Their Own
Designed to thwart power and electromagnetic domain side-channel attacks, these new ADCs could help secure future IoT sensors.
https://www.hackster.io/news/researchers-find-side-channel-vulnerabilities-in-analog-to-digital-converters-so-design-their-own-e84996a53f56
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://staceyoniot.com/podcast-arduino-gets-32-million-for-enterprise-iot/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Researchers Control an IIoT “Smart Factory” From Korea and Finland — at the Same Time
https://www.hackster.io/news/researchers-control-an-iiot-smart-factory-from-korea-and-finland-at-the-same-time-2891d04ecb1c
Communicating via 5G networks, teams in Korea and Finland have controlled factory facilities simultaneously — including via VR.
Researchers at Korea’s Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) have announced a successful experiment ,which saw an industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) “smart factory” controlled in real-time both locally and remotely — with the remote operators located all the way over in Finland.
“As it became possible to remotely control smart factories even from abroad as well as in Korea,” says Il-gyu Kim, head of ETRI’s mobile communications research arm, “we now can meet the demand for non-face-to-face activities in the industry caused by the COVID-19 pandemics. Therefore, it is expected to revitalize the stagnant industry.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sugar isn’t so Bad: Fuel-Cell Patch Harvests Body’s Glucose
June 15, 2022
Researchers combined an ultra-thin ceramic substrate and glucose solution to create a flexible, high-capacity biocompatible battery.
https://www.electronicdesign.com/power-management/whitepaper/21244315/electronic-design-sugar-isnt-so-bad-fuelcell-patch-harvests-bodys-glucose?utm_source=EG+ED+Analog+%26+Power+Source&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CPS220608008&o_eid=7211D2691390C9R&rdx.ident%5Bpull%5D=omeda%7C7211D2691390C9R&oly_enc_id=7211D2691390C9R
What You’ll Learn:
How a unique ceramic substrate and glucose were combined to create a flexible biocompatible battery.
The sophisticated fixturing built for single-unit and “volume” testing.
Typical and peak results across the multiple devices.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Digital Threads and Business Processes
https://blogs.sw.siemens.com/xcelerator/2021/08/20/digital-threads-and-business-processes/?utm_source=endeavor&utm_medium=native&utm_campaign=personifai&utm_term=digital+transformation&_ref=dXRtX3NvdXJjZT1lbmRlYXZvciZ1dG1fbWVkaXVtPW5hdGl2ZSZ1dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249cGVyc29uaWZhaSZ1dG1fdGVybT1kaWdpdGFsK3RyYW5zZm9ybWF0aW9u
Manufacturers of all stripes are pursuing digital transformation efforts to meet the evolving needs of product development. The digital thread is a vital part of such initiatives. As manufacturers look for better ways to manage more complex products and processes through digital transformation, many are formalizing and improving their digital threads.
The Comprehensive Digital Twin, Explained
The digital twin of a product consists of the definitions, documentation, and simulations that detail the form, fit, and function of every aspect of a product: every system, every assembly, and every item in a product. The same holds true of the digital twin of a plant, except that it encompasses everything in manufacturing production, spanning every operation, every cell, every line or system, and even entire facilities. For more clarity, let’s review what comprises the digital twin at a more granular level. The digital twin consists of:
system architectures, bills of materials (BOMs), and other things that represent the structure of the product or plant;
3D models, sketches, top-down-design space claims, concept models, schematics, diagrams, layouts, etc.; all of which are logical, functional, or physical representations of the product or plant;
simulations and analyses, from one-dimensional ones all the way to complex 3D ones across many engineering physics and design domains such as structures, fluids, signal integrity, human operators executing a procedure in a cell, and much more;
deliverables needed to execute operations or that describe intent, such as operator instructions, numerically controlled instructions such as toolpaths, design or configuration rules that drive sizing;
requirements, specifications, standards, test cases and plans, and other text-based documentation that don’t necessarily have a one-to-one equivalent in the physical world but still describe the product; and
data coming from simulations, physical tests, or even post-delivery product and production operation.
Overall, it is key to recognize that the digital twin is a composite representation. No single definition, documentation, or simulation alone describes even a fraction of the whole product. It is only when these aspects are understood collectively that an organization can grasp the form, fit, and function of the product or the plant.
Digital Threads, Explained
A digital thread is a discrete, linked, traceable sequence of activities in the product or production lifecycle, that is digitized and automated.
Digital threads range widely in scope and provide means to navigate fast and flexibly through all systems of record. Some are executed completely in engineering. Others run only in manufacturing. Yet others span both engineering and manufacturing. Likewise, some focus exclusively on the product. Others on the plant. Some span both. And still others connect products in operation/service with key areas of product development.
Examples of digital threads include:
the system engineering flow that defines requirements or specifications and breaks them down into sub-requirements, builds out functional architectures, creates physical architectures, and connects all of them together;
planning and designing a production facility where engineers shift manufacturing lines and systems while simulating material flow;
the prototype and test process where engineers assemble and integrate the first, physical version of a product to run hybrid physical-digital test cases; or
the virtual commissioning sequence where engineers digitally validate the logic of manufacturing equipment controllers for production processes.
Digital Threads Build a Comprehensive Digital Twin
Digital threads and the comprehensive digital twin directly affect one another. Individual digital threads—or a series of digital threads—expand comprehensive digital twins over time.
Initially, at the start of development, the digital twin starts as nothing. Product ideas and production concepts exist only in people’s thoughts.
After the start of development, initial aspects of the digital twin are defined. This most often starts as requirements, but quickly turns to concepts, architectures, and system definitions such as functions, logic definitions, and more.
Once detailed design hits, each design domain builds out in-depth digital definitions, documentation, and simulations specific to that engineering discipline. This results in an explosion of digital content including diagrams, models, simulations, drawings, and so much more.
The comprehensive digital twin has two intersecting lifecycles: product and production. The product is the asset that is being created and the production is how it will be produced.
The digital twin of the product and the digital twin of production intersect. They influence and impact each other over time.
When production starts, digital definitions and documentation are used to make the physical instantiation of the product or plant. The virtual and real worlds now merge to create a digital twin.
Once delivered, the physical product, plant, system, line, cell, or piece of equipment can stream data back to its virtual sibling, the digital twin, so that the digital twin can mimic or even predict real-world behavior. These simulations enable real-time product and production optimization via continuous closed-loop feedback from the physical world.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Role of the Digital Thread and Digital Twin in Digital Transformation
https://blogs.sw.siemens.com/xcelerator/2021/04/29/the-role-of-the-digital-thread-and-digital-twin-in-digital-transformation/?utm_source=endeavor&utm_medium=native&utm_campaign=personifai&utm_term=digital+transformation&_ref=dXRtX3NvdXJjZT1lbmRlYXZvciZ1dG1fbWVkaXVtPW5hdGl2ZSZ1dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249cGVyc29uaWZhaSZ1dG1fdGVybT1kaWdpdGFsK3RyYW5zZm9ybWF0aW9u
Manufacturing organizations across the globe are sinking significant investments into digital transformation to improve development of products and manufacturing plants. Companies that take a holistic view of the digital twin will find increased success as they pursue these initiatives at every step of the product lifecycle.
An Enhanced Definition of Digital Twin and the Digital Thread
Manufacturing organizations know that keeping up with the competition requires constant evaluation and improvement of the product development process. As reported in the 2020 Lifecycle Insights Engineering Executive’s Strategic Agenda, 25% of survey respondents invested in improvement efforts last year. And an additional 38% of those surveyed stated they were planning to invest in improvements next year. Improvements are necessary to maintain a competitive edge in the face of increasingly complex requirements and condensed timelines.
While the concepts of the digital twin and the digital thread are relatively new to the industry, they have quickly gained traction. Many companies’ improvement initiatives focus on the digital twin, a comprehensive virtual model that defines a product or plant. Other organizations are prioritizing the digital thread, or the sequence of virtual activities across business processes that can enhance and expand the digital twin. With many companies investigating or pursuing digital transformation (DX) initiatives, many wonder what role digital twins and digital threads play in those efforts.
In this post, we will discuss the roles of both the digital twin and the digital thread in greater digital transformation initiatives.
The Role of the Digital Twin in Digital Transformation
A few years ago, if you had asked a member of the manufacturing community to define the term “digital twin,” you might have gotten a variety of different answers. Since then, the definition of the digital twin has solidified across the industry.
The digital twin is a virtual representation of a product or plant that exists before anything is physically built. Organizations collaborate around this unambiguous definition of the product or plant. Members of all functional departments can work from the same digital blueprint. This virtual “single source of truth” makes it easier for manufacturers to develop an optimized design and predict the design’s performance, long before they put any parts together.
Traditionally, the digital twin of a smart, connected product would likely include the mechanical hardware, electronics, electrical distribution systems, and onboard software. Similarly, a comprehensive digital twin of a plant would cover tool design and programming for computer numerical control (CNC) equipment and robotics, as well as cell, line, and facility planning, and more. These definitions form a strong foundation for engineering and other functional departments.
Deepening the digital twin by incorporating higher fidelity and more detailed definitions from the get-go puts organizations in an even better position to support improvements.
For example, an enhanced digital twin might include a highly detailed and accurate simulation of how a smart, connected product would perform. It could send sensor data to an internet-of-things (IoT) platform for analysis and more informed decision-making. In the case of a plant’s digital twin, a more enhanced definition could simulate a worker executing a process with robotic assistance and assess the resulting strain on the worker.
More detailed digital twins can help manufacturing organizations realize more tangible benefits from their digital transformation investments. Those benefits include:
tighter collaboration across functional departments,
improved troubleshooting capabilities,
a reduction in unnecessary errors and delays, and
more informed decision-making abilities across the entire development lifecycle.
The Role of the Digital Thread in Digital Transformation
The concept of a digital thread is newer than that of the digital twin, and because of its novelty, its definition is still evolving somewhat. The definition approaching consensus is that the digital thread is the digital form of individual business processes—activities, tasks, and decisions—that enhance and expand the digital twin. These processes also support automation, traceability, and standardization efforts.
Some organizations are converting manual, paper-based, or email-based processes to digital, automated ones that can then take their place in the digital thread. This makes the digital thread more robust. Processes that could be converted include supporting digital activities in some sort of system of record, or automating or routing tasks based on defined logic and constraints. In these examples, one tangible benefit is that project stakeholders can be automatically notified of key decisions or any activities that may be off-schedule.
A second way manufacturers are harnessing the digital thread for improvement is by automating processes and exposing more information in other business systems, including those used by supplier partners. Such efforts can span multiple system types, including product lifecycle management (PLM) platforms and manufacturing execution systems (MES). By sharing critical data across different business systems, organizations can improve communication and collaboration, support key decisions, and initiate triggers to activate contingency procedures.
Adopting the digital thread allows an organization to connect disparate sources of information—data that, traditionally, has been siloed and challenging to access. When this data flows freely, it can support automation and improvement efforts at every step of the product development lifecycle.
Starting and Expanding at Your Own Pace
When it comes to adopting the digital twin or the digital thread, there is no one-size-fits-all approach.
Tomi Engdahl says:
10 Brilliant IoT project ideas you must try in 2022!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfdCm4V0fO8
This video contains 10 New IoT projects/project ideas that you can try.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The TerraSmart team successfully developed an affordable, low maintenance crop monitoring system using Arduino Pro devices. Find out how they did it in our case study: https://www.arduino.cc/pro/case-studies/terrasmart
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2022/06/27/mittausantureita-lasten-potkupukuihin/
Tomi Engdahl says:
A Water Leak Detector That Listens Carefully
https://hackaday.com/2022/06/24/a-water-leak-detector-that-listens-carefully/
Water leaks can be pernicious things. Even just a few drips per minute happening undetected inside a wall can cause major damage if left unrepaired for long enough. AquaPing is a new device that hopes to detect difficult-to-find water leaks with the aid of acoustic methods.
The AquaPing is a so-called “stand-off” sensor that is intended to detect leaks at a distance, even if they are inside a wall. No contact is needed with the plumbing itself. Instead, the device detects the broadband high-frequency noise created when water leaks from a pipe under pressure.
https://www.crowdsupply.com/microphonon/aquaping
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2022/06/25/hacker-diary-embedded-world-2022/
Tomi Engdahl says:
The 64-antenna prototype transceiver produced 1 milliwatt, enough to power some IoT applications.
New Transceiver Receives Power and Data Simultaneously The beam-steering approach aims to make 5G relays and IoT devices battery-less
https://spectrum.ieee.org/wireless-power-transfer?utm_campaign=RebelMouse&socialux=facebook&share_id=7111441&utm_medium=social&utm_content=IEEE+Spectrum&utm_source=facebook
Now, with the advent of 5G and its ability to transmit at high frequencies in the millimeter wave band range, new opportunities and approaches are opening up for WPT. Researchers at the Tokyo Institute of Technology have developed a prototype 64-element millimeter-waveband phased-array transceiver that can send and receive data while simultaneously receiving power. The aim is to employ the transceiver initially as a 5G relay, and later to integrate into Internet of Things (IoT) devices. This would enable such devices to shed their batteries, plugs, and cables, says lead researcher Atsushi Shirane. The result would be devices that are smaller, more practical, and capable of speedier communications, with potentially reduced maintenance costs.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Powercast, InPlay Partner on Battery-Free BLE Sensor Beacon with a 120-Foot Power Transmission Range
https://www.hackster.io/news/powercast-inplay-partner-on-battery-free-ble-sensor-beacon-with-a-120-foot-power-transmission-range-d2a8625d819b
A combination of high-efficiency BLE SoC and a long-range power transmitter means the future of the IoT could be truly wireless.
Wireless power specialist Powercast and Bluetooth sensor expert InPlay have announced a team-up to create a battery-free Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) sensor beacon that can operate on power transmitted over the air alone — at a range of over 120 feet.
“Powercast’s and InPlay’s technologies combine to make every microwatt of power count in efficient and green IoT [Internet of Things] networks powered over the air, now at unprecedented distances, without batteries,” claims Powercast chief executive Charles Goetz. “Together we are advancing the IoT, creating the opportunity for new battery-free sensor types, low-power intelligent endpoints, and smart tracking tags used in retail, asset tracking and industrial sensing.”
The live demonstration at the Sensors Converge expo in San Jose this week saw an InPlay IN100 sensor, built around the company’s NanoBeacon technology and designed for real-time location monitoring or as a gateway to additional hardware for environmental sensing and more, powered entirely wirelessly from a Powercast PowerSpot transmitter over 120 feet away — half again as far as the company’s previously-tested 80 feet transmissions.
According to Powercast, the breakthrough comes courtesy of the company’s PCC110 Powerharvester chip and PCC210 boost converter, which work together to harvest energy from radio-frequency transmissions with a claimed 75 per cent efficiency. The extreme range is aided by the IN100′s ability to tailor its transmission rate according to available power — reducing the frequency of transmissions when far away from the power transmitter and increasing it as it comes closer, if the payload requires it.
Tomi Engdahl says:
First Look: The All New Arduino Portenta X8
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uYIUjGDSZbc
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sub-$1 Wireless MCU Brings Bluetooth LE to More Devices
June 23, 2022
TI’s latest Bluetooth LE MCUs, which sip less than 1 µA of standby power, have a starting price of less than a dollar.
https://www.electronicdesign.com/technologies/embedded-revolution/article/21244912/electronic-design-sub1-wireless-mcu-brings-bluetooth-le-to-more-devices?utm_source=EG+ED+Connected+Solutions&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CPS220622017&o_eid=7211D2691390C9R&rdx.ident%5Bpull%5D=omeda%7C7211D2691390C9R&oly_enc_id=7211D2691390C9R
The semiconductor giant said the CC2340 family of wireless MCUs come in a compact package that sips less than 1 µA of standby power, with prices starting at less than $1. That translates to a 40% reduction in power at around 50% of the cost of similar MCUs, according to TI, making it easier than ever to add BLE to virtually any device. It is promising several other areas of improvement, including more on-chip flash memory.
The CC2340R2 (with 256 kB of flash) and CC2340R5 (with 512 kB) MCUs are the fourth generation in the SimpleLink family of wireless MCUs for industrial, automotive, and consumer markets critical to TI’s future.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Talking About Creating a Cloud-Native Ecosystem at embedded world 2022
June 27, 2022
Project Cassini is an open, collaborative, standards-based initiative for a cloud-native software environment targeting devices based on Arm Cortex-A.
https://www.electronicdesign.com/technologies/iot/video/21245252/talking-about-creating-a-cloudnative-ecosystem-at-embedded-world-2022?utm_source=EG+ED+Connected+Solutions&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CPS220622017&o_eid=7211D2691390C9R&rdx.ident%5Bpull%5D=omeda%7C7211D2691390C9R&oly_enc_id=7211D2691390C9R
Project Cassini is an open, collaborative, standards-based initiative for a cloud-native software environment for devices based on Arm Cortex-A. IoT and infrastructure edge solutions can use Cassini now, taking advantage of Arm SystemReady and PSA Certified silicon and development boards, as well as OS Linux support from the Arm ecosystem.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Järkeä älykotiin
https://www.tivi.fi/uutiset/tv/bbf54e5b-64b3-40c3-b04b-e83208f056d9
Yksi älykodin rakentajan ongelmista on ollut eri valmistajien laitteiden yhteensopivuuden puute. Kehitteillä oleva Matter-standardi lupaa tuoda järkeä sekasortoon. Sillä on hyvä mahdollisuus parantaa tilannetta, sillä kaikki isoimmat pelurit ovat mukana. Matter ei välttämättä lopulta näy käyttäjille muutoin kuin ehkä logona älyvalopaketin kyljessä merkkinä sertifioinnista. Matter on sovellustason kerros, joka rakentuu alkuvaiheessa wlanin ja ZigBeeta korvaavan Thread-verkon päälle ja määrittelee sen, miten laitteet viestivät keskenään.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Läpimurto: Tampereella demottiin 5G-verkkoa ilman tukiasemia
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/13756-laepimurto-tampereella-demottiin-5g-verkkoa-ilman-tukiasemia
Tamperelainen Wirepas on kehittänyt 5G Mesh -tekniikkansa, joka on jopa standardoitu ETSIn toimesta DECT-2020 -nimellä. Nyt Wirepas on demonnut verkkoa ensimmäisen kerran yhdessä piirisarjoja valmistavan Nordic Semiconductorin kanssa. Demo toteutettiin Tampereella ETSIn TC DECT#94 -täysistunnon yhteydessä.
DECT-2020:n avulla kuka tahansa voi ottaa käyttöön ja yhdistää laitteita lisenssivapaisiin yksityisiin 5G-verkkoihin ensimmäistä kertaa. Tämä tarjoaa valtavan mahdollisuuden yhdistää miljardeja laitteita helposti ja luotettavasti.
Vaikka IoT-markkinat ja liitettävyysongelmat ovat olleet olemassa jo jonkin aikaa, standardisoitua ratkaisua ei ole ollut. Aiemmat ratkaisut eivät ole ratkaisseet ongelmia kustannustehokkaasti ja luotettavasti vaaditussa mittakaavassa. Tästä syystä yhdistettyjen laitteiden yleistyminen on viivästynyt.
DECT-2020 NR on ensimmäinen standardi, joka on suunniteltu erityisesti IoT-yhteyksien ratkaisemiseen. DECT-2020 toimii kaikkialla vapaana olevalla 1,9 gigahertsin kaistalla ja se onkin ainoa IoT-tekniikka, jolla on käytössään sama taajuusalue kaikkialla.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2022/07/01/alypaperinaytto-musiikkifestareiden-promillemittareihin/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.electronicdesign.com/technologies/iot/article/21245578/atmosic-technologies-energy-harvesting-brings-sustainability-to-the-iot?utm_source=EG+ED+Analog+%26+Power+Source&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CPS220627003&o_eid=7211D2691390C9R&rdx.ident%5Bpull%5D=omeda%7C7211D2691390C9R&oly_enc_id=7211D2691390C9R
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://etn.fi/index.php/new-products/13766-digi-lisaesi-suorituskykyae-langattomiin-moduuleihin
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.electromaker.io/project/view/getting-started-with-the-thingy91-kit
Tomi Engdahl says:
New Research Reveals 93% of Organizations Surveyed Have Had Failed IIoT/OT Security Projects
Barracuda research finds organizations are struggling to protect operational technology and getting breached as a result.
https://www.darkreading.com/attacks-breaches/new-research-reveals-93-of-organizations-surveyed-have-had-failed-iiot-ot-security-projects
Tomi Engdahl says:
Paper batteries on the cards to power IoT and smart labels
Quest to reduce environmental impact finds pulp solution
https://www.theregister.com/2022/07/29/paper_batteries_on_the_cards/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://forumvirium.fi/en/iot-ngin-announces-open-call-2-and-invites-smes-to-implement-innovative-iot-applications/
https://iot-ngin.eu/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Energy Harvesting Brings Sustainability to the IoT
June 29, 2022
The Internet of Things is revolutionizing many industries and devices, but serious problems arise when it comes to its dependency on batteries. So, what’s the answer to the ecological and economic side effects of the IoT revolution?
https://www.electronicdesign.com/technologies/iot/article/21245578/atmosic-technologies-energy-harvesting-brings-sustainability-to-the-iot?utm_source=EG+ED+Connected+Solutions&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CPS220712122&o_eid=7211D2691390C9R&rdx.identpull=omeda|7211D2691390C9R&oly_enc_id=7211D2691390C9R
Tomi Engdahl says:
Energy-Harvesting Bluetooth SIP Links to Secure MCU
July 11, 2022
onsemi’s Steven Dean shows off the RSL15 secure Bluetooth microcontroller with the RSL10 SIP Bluetooth module run with harvested power.
https://www.electronicdesign.com/technologies/iot/video/21246208/electronic-design-bluetooth-low-energy?utm_source=EG+ED+Analog+%26+Power+Source&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CPS220712086&o_eid=7211D2691390C9R&rdx.identpull=omeda|7211D2691390C9R&oly_enc_id=7211D2691390C9R
Tomi Engdahl says:
Anturille langattomasti virtaa 36 metrin päästä
https://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=13814&via=n&datum=2022-08-02_15:52:32&mottagare=30929
Moni IoT-anturi on sijoitettu hankalaan paikkaan, jolloin esimerkiksi paristonvaihdosta tulee erittäin työlätä. Tämän takia kehitetään tekniikoita, joilla anturit pärjäisivät ilman paristoa. Powercastin ja InPlayn yhteistyö vie kehitystä 120 jalan hyppäyksen verran eteenpäin.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Talking About Industrial and Commercial IoT at embedded world 2022
July 6, 2022
Leveraging the Internet of Things can increase production and efficiency, understand and improve processes, and even predict faults in processes before there’s an occurrence of downtime.
https://www.electronicdesign.com/technologies/iot/video/21245253/talking-about-industrial-and-commercial-iot-at-embedded-world-2022?utm_source=EG+ED+Connected+Solutions&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CPS220718012&o_eid=7211D2691390C9R&rdx.identpull=omeda|7211D2691390C9R&oly_enc_id=7211D2691390C9R
Tomi Engdahl says:
Security for the Atomized Network
A White Paper
https://content.netography.com/atomized-network-security-whitepaper
Tomi Engdahl says:
FloWat -> Flow Water
A smart and sustainable way to self power a water flow analyzer for agriculturists to keep track of irrigation pipe flow.
https://www.hackster.io/EliCyborg/flowat-flow-water-f423bb
Tomi Engdahl says:
Preventing legionella with IoT, automation and digital processes
https://www.iotinsider.com/industrial/preventing-legionella-with-iot-automation-and-digital-processes/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Routing BLE Sensor Data to the Cloud with Blues Wireless
How to network a whole set of Bluetooth sensors and pipe it out to the cloud with the Blues Notecard!
https://www.hackster.io/lhyb/routing-ble-sensor-data-to-the-cloud-with-blues-wireless-08802e
Tomi Engdahl says:
Raging Bits Symple Link Radio Aims to Bridge the Gap Between Wi-Fi and LoRa for Home Automation
Designed for networks where Wi-Fi is too short-range and LoRa too expensive, Symple Link aims to deliver exactly as the name implies
https://www.hackster.io/news/raging-bits-symple-link-radio-aims-to-bridge-the-gap-between-wi-fi-and-lora-for-home-automation-5bf5b96ba983
Tomi Engdahl says:
Swarm Vs. Iridium: Which Satellite IoT Service Is Right For You?
https://hackaday.com/2022/08/12/swarm-vs-iridium-which-satellite-iot-service-is-right-for-you/
In a world where it seems like everyone’s face is glued to a device screen, the idea that wireless service might be anything other than universal seems just plain silly. But it’s not, as witnessed by vast gaps in cell carrier coverage maps, not to mention the 70% of the planet covered by oceans. The lack of universal coverage can be a real pain for IoT applications, which is a gap that satellite-based IoT services aim to fill.
But which service is right for your application? To help answer that question, [Mike Krumpus] has performed the valuable work of comparing the services offered by Swarm and Iridium in a real-world IoT shootout.
Using the same Swarm development kit that [Al] used for his test, alongside an Iridium dev board of his own design, [Mike] did basic tests on uplink and downlink times for a short message on each service.
Iridium was the clear winner on uplink and downlink times, which makes sense because Swarm’s constellation is much smaller at this point and leaves large gaps in coverage. But when you consider costs, Swarm wins the day; what would cost over $1,500 with Iridium would set you back a mere $60 with Swarm.
The bottom line, as always, depends on your application and budget
Swarm vs. Iridium For Satellite IoT
https://nootropicdesign.com/projectlab/2022/07/30/swarm-vs-iridium-for-satellite-iot/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google Cloud will shutter its IoT Core service next year
https://techcrunch.com/2022/08/17/google-cloud-will-shutter-its-iot-core-service-next-year/?tpcc=tcplusfacebook
Google Cloud announced this week that it’s shutting down its IoT Core service, giving customers a year to move to a partner to manage their IoT devices.
The announcement appeared at the top of the IoT Core web page this week with little fanfare. The company also sent an email to customers announcing the change.
It believes that having partners manage the process for customers is a better way to go. “Since launching IoT Core, it has become clear that our customers’ needs could be better served by our network of partners that specialize in IoT applications and services,” a Google spokesperson explained.
Google is also keenly aware of its reputation for suddenly shutting down services
Tomi Engdahl says:
Competitors AWS and Microsoft offer similar services, which provide a way for customers to manage their IoT devices, while ingesting and making sense of all of the data coming in from those devices.
https://techcrunch.com/2022/08/17/google-cloud-will-shutter-its-iot-core-service-next-year/?tpcc=tcplusfacebook
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mueller said that the big three cloud vendors — Amazon, Microsoft and Google — haven’t had much innovation on IoT services. “All three have been kind of standing still on their offerings, which has allowed the best-of-breed and specialized vendors to catch up. Now those specialized IoT vendors run on the big three cloud infrastructure, and they get those workloads anyway without the investment and maintenance of a software platform,” he said. But so far, only Google has announced it’s deprecating its IoT core service.
https://techcrunch.com/2022/08/17/google-cloud-will-shutter-its-iot-core-service-next-year/?tpcc=tcplusfacebook