Technology buzzwords develop almost as quickly as the products themselves. 2016 was the year of the Internet of Things (IoT), and we’ve now added an extra “I” to form the IIoT: the Industrial Internet of Things.
What is IIoT?
IIoT focuses on using internet-capable devices to help with factory maintenance, as well as slightly less critical tasks, like making sure we don’t use unlicensed printer cartridges. IIoT has gone from bleeding edge to simply cutting edge, so it’s time to start looking toward what’s next. For a brief refresher of “yesterday’s” IIoT tech, refer back to this article on the term’s emergence.
Where is the IIoT going in the future? Many major manufacturers are heading toward a predictive maintenance model where machinery tells engineers which components need replacing. But then what? Even well-known futurists like Alvin Toffler or Ray Kurzweil rarely get future details entirely correct: I don’t remember any of the flying cars and space cities everyone predicted for the early 2000s. Even the best futurists and presidential candidates couldn’t dream of the access to information that we now take for granted — all available in the palm of our hands.
Evolution of IoT: What’s Next for IIoT?
To help steer forecast what’s coming next, we spoke with John Davis, an Ohio-based manufacturer’s representative who brings high-tech industrial hardware solutions to companies implementing IIoT technology today. He also personally developed a product called the Rhubarb openIIOT, which integrates the Raspberry Pi single-board computer into industrial environments and will soon be available for sale on Arrow.com.
Read on for our predictions on advancements in IIoT applications over the next few years.
1. More Sensors
Machinery will continue to become more “aware” over the next several years. Today’s machines can tell if a motor doesn’t work or if a pneumatic cylinder doesn’t slide into place on time. We’ll continue to see improvements in monitoring, allowing machinery to tell us if it is:
- Experiencing more vibration than normal
- Pulling more current
- Operating slightly more slowly
- Indicating some other distress
These improvements will mean that engineers can deal with the issue before it becomes critical enough to stop the machinery, and they can plan repair times around production needs.
Davis sees this type of IoT evolution advancing in the next decade, but maybe even sooner. He’s seen manufacturers’ mild interest in this technology transform to actual sales in the past 18-24 months. Likewise, he’s seen small businesses and larger companies like Allen Bradley, Siemens, and ABB make a big push into condition-monitoring software and hardware.
2. Portable Machine Control Screens and Augmented Reality
Tablet computers are both powerful and affordable, and we’re finding new ways to use them in an industrial environment. Engineers and other employees can use them as an “alternative control panel,” allowing them to manage machinery remotely. We haven’t seen widespread adoption of this technology yet, though we’ll likely see more tablet use in manufacturing settings soon.
Davis believes alternative control panel technology is headed toward Augmented Reality (AR). Microsoft is currently pushing their own AR device, the HoloLens system, and engineers could use similar augmented reality devices to:
- Control machinery
- Show operators where to place a screw or other widget during an assembly
- Help engineers access documents and remote support while solving issues
One useful and straightforward maintenance solution would be to transmit electrical information from a Bluetooth-enabled multimeter. With a Bluetooth multimeter, electricians could maintain focus while working with sensitive electrical panels.
3. Full Supply Chain Intelligence
Industry manufacturing methods have evolved over the years. Here’s a rough outline of that evolution:
- Craft manufacturing, where workers created widgets by hand.
- Mass manufacturing, where a factory created thousands of devices at a time.
- Lean manufacturing, where factories produce devices based on actual sales, retaining very little stock on hand.
This progression led to a dramatic improvement in quality and efficiency, but the evolution of IIoT technology and cloud-based intelligence may allow us to take this concept even further. Automobile production can closely match sales, so why can’t we apply this at Walmart, Amazon, or even mom-and-pop convenience stores? Here’s how it could work:
- Immediately after a sale, we push the sales data to the cloud.
- AI technology relays the message up the supply chain.
- Production begins to replace the two packs of gum and ten gallons of gasoline a customer just purchased.
The tools are there for these systems, but Davis doesn’t see this kind of technology taken down to point-of-sale transactions in the short term. What he does see, however, is a day when industrial suppliers will install IIoT sensors at a customer’s manufacturing facility to tell them when a pump, motor, or other widget is going to break down. Once they receive a notification, the supplier can ship the necessary part to the customer, allowing the customer to have their order on-site before they even know there’s a problem. We’re already seeing the groundwork for these systems being laid with real business plans, money, and personnel. Expect to see implementation in the next 12-24 months.
4. Engineers Remaining Vital
These advances should make engineers’ lives easier, and they may even make some jobs unnecessary. However, just as with the previous changes in manufacturing, engineers will be the ones implementing this new technology, working themselves into more high-tech jobs. Manufacturers need to make sure that whatever IIoT solution they choose can work across industrial machinery’s entire design lifespan. They should:
- Buy rugged, industrial-spec machinery.
- Choose a major industrial controls company.
- Implement a well-known standard.
These choices will make replacing parts much easier down the line and allow manufacturers to integrate other devices into this ecosystem. Rockwell’s Ethernet/IP protocol, for example, communicates via the same type of network non-industrial traffic uses, and you can license it inexpensively.
Running a custom mesh LoRa network inside your plant might be cutting edge and fun, but the next person that comes along might not see things the same way. Accessing your network via WiFi, wired Ethernet, or a USB port would likely be much simpler for everyone.
Industrial IoT Standards
Industry changes more slowly than consumer technology, but it does change. Manufacturers will still use machinery from the 1900s for many more years, and there will be hiccups along the path to machine nirvana. We’ll always need engineers and technicians with a deep understanding of how the machinery works, and they will be our guides to the next levels of technology we haven’t begun to imagine yet.