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The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)has a transformative role to play in the progress of the Fourth Industrial Revolution as we know it. Industrial IoT development has already proven its mettle in use cases spanning many industries, this list will continue to grow in number and expand in scope.
What is Industrial IoT?
The term refers to sensors, machinery and instruments that are networked together within industrial setups including energy and manufacturing. In this technology, sensors are fixed to physical assets and then connected to each other to function as a network. These sensors also gather analytics and data to fulfil other functions including maintenance and performance reviews. Smart Industrial IoT is a higher-order distributed control system (DCS) which uses cloud computing to refine and automate manual processes. While ideas for industrial IoT development differ between industry use cases, IIoT, in general, is enabled by a multitude of technologies. These include cloud computing, big data, 3D printing, cyber-physical systems and edge computing.
The Use of Industrial IoT across Major Industries
Manufacturing
The use of industrial IoT in the manufacturing industry enables machinery for remote operation and servicing, reducing the manual labour needed. IIoT is used in manufacturing to conduct predictive maintenance and save millions of dollars in downtime and repairs. It is used to keep workers safe by warning about low-quality environments. It can also be used for as simple a task as identifying the right tool during operations or repair– in the long run, this saves time and efforts. In general, Industrial IoT development allows for better allocation of resources, both human and industrial, and contributes to a safer working environment. IoT in the manufacturing industry supports predictive maintenance, remote production control and better asset tracking.
Automotive
IoT development in the automobile industry involves making vehicles more intelligent in order to facilitate safer and efficient driving. Some industrial IoT development ideas that are in action now are In-vehicle information and entertainment, intelligent parking, advanced security and safety and predictive maintenance.
Oil and Gas
IoT in the O&G industry are hinged to digitising and automating processes to save time and create safer environments. It allows for efficient drilling procedures and real-time cargo and offshore monitoring. In addition, IoT can be leveraged for insights towards better health and safety and lower carbon footprints.
Logistics and Transportation
IoT fleet management solutions allow fleet managers to keep track of vehicles, remotely regulate carrier conditions and log routes. The availability of real-time trackable data enables better strategic decisions. IoT also helps create more transparent supply chains and increase regulatory compliance. An Industrial IoT development company is key to establishing functional industrial IoT solutions and keeping teams on standby for data collection.
Ideas for Industrial IoT Development
Predictive Maintenance
Preemptive and predictive maintenance can reduce downtime and potentially save millions in maintenance expenditure. Cameras, sensors and insights derived from data analytics can identify potential failures and deploy remote servicing. The continuous flow of information helps to assess current conditions and recognise warning signs quickly. These can be linked to the corresponding automated response, bringing manual labour down to the bare minimum. IoT predictive maintenance solutions can also divert production processes to functional machinery to offset delays. Over time, Industrial IoT development reduces costs and keep the machinery running for longer. In the process, a trackable log of previously serviced machines is formed, so that maintenance work can be better planned and resources correctly diverted.
Asset Tracking
Asset tracking refers to the process of tracking the location and storage of physical assets as well as logging any other critical information such as due dates, delivery timelines and more. IoT asset tracking solutions are invaluable in supply chains, where millions are lost to damage, incorrect storage and wrong temperatures. Asset tracking helps to monitor key assets, optimise logistics, regulate inventories and offset quality issues that may earn a bad rap from the consumer market. By establishing traces throughout the system, overarching companies can keep third parties and suppliers accountable and on their toes.
Smart Metering
A smart meter is an internet-enabled version of the meter that tracks the consumption of gas, water and electricity in a household or building. Traditional meters only monitor overall consumption, while smart meters report when a resource is used and how much. Smart meters are used by power providers to track energy usage and change prices according to time of day and season. IoT based smart metering solutions help reduce manual intervention, improve customer service based on demographic data, track and reduce energy theft and manage operations remotely.
Digital Twins
A digital twin is an electronic representation of a physical entity or system. The digital twin technology has grown to cover large objects such as homes, warehouses and even towns. Within the next few years, billions of objects, both living and nonliving, will have a digital twin, in a software model of a physical system. IoT digital twin solutions can be used to predict outcomes without making physical changes to a system. They will be leveraged to churn out upgrades to existing products across industries. If they’re capable of simulating past performances, the IoT digital twin can be used to offset potential hiccups and failures.
Fleet Management
IoT fleet management solutions increase fleet efficiency with business insights from real-time data. It enables fleet owners to track and monitor in-transit vehicles, detect and resolve faults without disruption progress and transform customer service with more accurate arrival times. It also benefits the seamless integration of fleets within the larger supply chain to handle supply and demand correlations and keep all parties accountable. The use of IoT for fleet management prevents losses in damages and delays in the long run.
Conclusion
Industrial IoT development ideas are transformative in nature. They seek to make processes, supply chains and teams more efficient, all the while reducing costs and increasing regulatory compliance. Adopting IoT in their respective industries gives businesses a firmer hand over the future that looks to be highly digital.
About the guest author:
Sarah Johnson is a technical content writer and she is passionate about advanced technologies and continuously works towards creating impactful content.
