The Internet of Things has many branches in application fields, one of which is IIoT, which stands for Industrial Internet of Things. Industrial IoT is particularly focused on industrial applications, such as manufacturing or agriculture. The Industrial IoT will transform many industries, including manufacturing, oil and gas, agriculture, mining, transportation and healthcare. Collectively, these account for nearly two-thirds of the world economy.
In recent years, innovations in hardware, connectivity, big data analytics and machine learning have converged to create huge opportunities for the industry. Hardware innovation means sensors are cheaper, more powerful, and have longer battery life. Innovations in connectivity mean it’s cheaper and easier to send data from these sensors to the cloud. Innovations in big data analytics and machine learning mean that once sensor data is collected, it is possible to gain powerful insights into the manufacturing process. These innovations can lead to dramatic increases in productivity and significant cost reductions.
One example of the potential of Industrial IoT is predictive maintenance. A broken machine during the manufacturing process can mean millions of dollars in lost productivity, with the factory having to stop production to fix the problem. The solution in the past has been to schedule maintenance regularly, but this has some problems. What if the machine breaks down before maintenance? As mentioned above, this results in a huge loss of productivity.
Predictive maintenance means using more sensors to collect data on machines and then using data analytics and machine learning to determine when machines need maintenance. Repairing too late can lead to machine damage, repairing too early can lead to resource allocation errors.
Predictive maintenance is just one example of what is already happening in reality. As the adoption and development of Industrial IoT accelerates, the changes will be profound. Ultimately, we can achieve an autonomous economy in which supply fully meets demand, fully optimizing production processes and achieving zero waste.
Parole chiave: industrial grade RTU