The Internet of Things (IOT) has growth potential of trillions of euros. However, many companies are having difficulty digitalising. igus explains how to get started using i.Sense CF.Q.
The integration of 5G in Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) systems will accelerate the realization of Industry 4.0 with high-speed, low-latency, and large-volume data transfer. This, according to latest research from market analyst Frost & Sullivan. In its report, Frost said while the application of 5G-enabled IIoT is currently limited to quality inspections, supply chain management, and generic machine control, key system manufacturers are actively exploring other areas in industrial operations where the benefits of 5G connectivity can be leveraged for process optimization and increased automation.
“Incorporating 5G in IIoT devices will enable low latency, increase data throughput, and reduce operation time, thus leading to improved overall process productivity,” said Mogana Tashiani, Frost & Sullivan Technical Insights Research Analyst. “Apart from enhancing the automation of industrial operations and control, 5G-enabled IIoT devices can also minimize the complexity of supply chain networks and warehouse management, helping businesses to efficiently operate in dynamic business environments.
“5G will play a key role in ensuring the sustainability of businesses in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The low latency will aid in managing the high traffic to e-commerce by improving network accessibility at a faster pace, accelerating online purchases and order placements. Furthermore, 5G-integrated IIoT devices have the potential to disrupt traditional on-site job functions through remote working and virtual meetings. COVID-19 has led to a massive shift to remote working to maintain business operations on par with on-site job operations.”
The automotive manufacturing industry is one of the key sectors that can leverage the growth opportunities from 5G’s integration into IIoT. 5G facilitates data transfer among AI algorithms, sensors, and mechanical parts to navigate self-driving or autonomous vehicles.
In addition, 5G-enabled vehicles establish a connected system in which real-time data transferring and receiving can be achieved conveniently and effectively. Apart from vehicle-to-vehicle communication, interaction with traffic system is possible with 5G technology, which enables data transmission beforehand to achieve practical navigation for certain road conditions.
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Mitsubishi Electric Corporation will acquire the remaining shares of ICONICS Inc., a U.S.-based software company focused on SCADA, Internet of Things (IoT), mobile, analytics, and cloud software products for the manufacturing, industrial and building automation markets, to make the company a 100 percent subsidiary within the Mitsubishi Electric Group.
The move is in line with Mitsubishi Electric’s aim to enhance its software product line-up to realise e-F@ctory, an integrated solution based on factory automation (FA) and information technologies (IT) to reduce the total cost of developing, producing and maintaining products, including edge-computing, by combining ICONICS’ software-developing capabilities and Mitsubishi Electric’s FA technology.
The acquisition is expected to close within Mitsubishi Electric’s fiscal year ending in March 2020.
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Worldwide spending on the Internet of Things (IoT) is forecast to reach USD 745 billion in 2019, an increase of 15.4 percent over the US$646 billion spent in 2018, according to a new update to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Semiannual Internet of Things Spending Guide. Overall, IDC expects that the worldwide IoT spending will maintain a double-digit annual growth rate throughout the 2017-2022 forecast period and surpass the US$1 trillion mark in 2022.
“Adoption of IoT is happening across industries, in governments, and in consumers’ daily lives. We are increasingly observing how data generated by connected devices is helping businesses run more efficiently, gain insight into business processes, and make real-time decisions. For consumers, access to data is changing how they are informed about the status of households, vehicles, and family members as well as their own health and fitness,” said Carrie MacGillivray, Vice President, Internet of Things and Mobility at IDC. “The next chapter of IoT is just beginning as we see a shift from digitally enabling the physical to automating and augmenting the human experience with a connected world.”
The industries that are forecast to spend the most on IoT solutions in 2019 are discrete manufacturing (US$119 billion), process manufacturing (US$ 78 billion), transportation (US$71 billion), and utilities (US$61 billion). IoT spending among manufacturers will be largely focused on solutions that support manufacturing operations and production asset management. In transportation, more than half of IoT spending will go toward freight monitoring, followed by fleet management. IoT spending in the utilities industry will be dominated by smart grids for electricity, gas, and water.
The IoT use cases that will see the greatest levels of investment in 2019 are driven by the industry spending leaders: manufacturing operations (US$100 billion), production asset management (US$44.2 billion), smart home (US$44.1 billion), and freight monitoring (US$41.7 billion). The IoT use cases that are expected to deliver the fastest spending growth over the 2017-2022 forecast period provide a picture of where other industries are making their IoT investments. These include airport facility automation (transportation), electric vehicle charging (utilities), agriculture field monitoring (resource), bedside telemetry (healthcare), and in-store contextualized marketing (retail).
IoT services will be the largest technology category in 2019 with US$258 billion going toward traditional IT and installation services as well as non-traditional device and operational services. Hardware spending will be close behind at US$250 billion led by more than US$200 billion in module/sensor purchases. IoT software spending will total US$154 billion in 2019 and will see the fastest growth over the five-year forecast period with a CAGR of 16.6 percent. Services spending will also grow faster than overall IoT spending with a CAGR of 14.2 percent. IoT connectivity spending will total US$83 billion in 2019.
The United States and China will be the global leaders for IoT spending in 2019 at USD 194 billion and USD 182 billion respectively. They will be followed by Japan (US$65.4 billion), Germany (US$35.5 billion), Korea (US$25.7 billion), France (US$25.6 billion), and the United Kingdom (US$25.5 billion). The countries that will see the fastest IoT spending growth over the forecast period are all located in Latin America: Mexico (28.3 percent CAGR), Colombia (24.9 percent CAGR), and Chile (23.3 percent CAGR).
The Worldwide Semiannual Internet of Things Spending Guide forecasts IoT spending for 14 technology categories and 82 named use cases across 20 industries in nine regions and 53 countries. Unlike any other research in the industry, the comprehensive spending guide was designed to help vendors clearly understand the industry-specific opportunity for IoT technologies today.
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Industry 4.0 has transformed the way in which manufacturing is conducted and with buzzwords such as artificial intelligence (AI), analytics, cobots and cybersecurity dominating the industry. This has resulted in emerging markets such as Thailand developing innovative solutions in order to prosper. Article by Hazel Koh.
According to the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI), Thailand 4.0 is a result of the Thai government’s vision of a new economic model, aimed at pulling Thailand out of the “middle-income trap”. And through this vision, robotics and automation technology is expected to play an increasingly important role in manufacturing. This builds on Thailand’s progress in the last three decades whereby the country grew in global rankings in terms of its automotive, electronics and electrical appliance industries, which are also the main industries that drive global robotics and automation growth. Hence, as the world’s sixth-largest commercial vehicle producer, Thailand has been using robotics and automation technology at an increasing rate.
Growth In Industrial Machinery
Duangjai Asawachintachit, Secretary General of Thailand BOI, said at the end of 2017 that, “Advanced technologies are changing the business landscape, especially in the manufacturing sector.” And he further added that, “We now see many companies transitioning into Industry 4.0, making use of AI, big data management and the Internet of Things (IoT) to seamlessly work together to exponentially increase both production and productivity.”
Therefore, it can be observed that over the past few years, manufacturers in Thailand have increasingly automated manufacturing processes and adopted the use of machinery in order to remain competitive globally. In addition, 50 percent of Thai manufacturers are considering the adoption of automation systems within one to three years while medium-sized businesses will be ready in three to five years, followed by small companies in five years or more.
This has resulted in a dramatic expansion of the Thai industrial robots industry and between 2013 and 2018, Thailand’s exports of industrial robots has increased by 133 percent.
Infrastructural And Ecosystem Support
In order to facilitate the development of Thailand 4.0, Thailand has invested in numerous support networks. For example, educational institutions are playing a role in supporting research and development as well as human resource training and this can be observed in the case of the Institute of Field Robotics (FIBO) of King Mongkut’s University of Technology, Thonburi, which is currently offering undergraduate and graduate programmes in robotics and automation engineering.
To top this off, The BOI offers a consortium of tax and non-tax investment incentives for projects that meet national development objectives in automation and robotics. For example, machinery and import duty for raw materials that are meant for export production can attain up to eight years of corporate income tax exemption while for projects related to assembling robots or automation equipment and/or automation parts, investors will be exempted from corporate tax for five years. And investments relating to robotics and automation in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) will also be given another 50 percent corporate income tax reduction for an additional five years.
Future Outlook And Challenges
As Thailand builds on its vision of advance manufacturing, the workforce has to be trained in order to meet the changing industry requirements. And it has been estimated by the ILO that 56 percent of Thai-based jobs are at high risk of being automated during the next two decades. Therefore,as the government continues to focus on the development of robotics, mechanics, AI and automation, Thailand has to invest on its workforce in order to remain competitive.
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CHINA: Amid the economic strain that the US-China Trade War has caused, it has also resulted in unique business transformations and immense Chinese technological evolution. An example of which would be Jack Ma, co-founder and executive Chairman of Alibaba Group Holding’s vision of New Manufacturing. A novel concept that utilises the Internet Of Things (IoT), cloud computing , artificial intelligence (AI) and big data to mass create highly customised consumer products in a market that is fast leaning towards personalisation.
Additionally, through the integration of New Manufacturing and New Retail, online and offline retail experiences can be connected to and funneled towards the manufacturing pipeline to ensure that consumer feedback are quickly relayed to manufacturing operations, outputs and inventory stocking. A proposition that Ma predicts will drive the Chinese economy forward and reinforces his statement that “If we use machines and data, to integrate and digitalise, we will change the economy”.
Hence, in the face of rising tariffs from the trade war, Ma’s vision alongside the Chinese government’s “Made in China 2025” industrial master plan aims to reduce the digital gap between China and the West and ultimately, minimise China’s dependecy on imported technologies. A goal that Alibaba is striving towards through strategic partnerships, the establishment of new technology companies as well as acquisitions – as most recently seen by the company’s progress in semiconductor R&D and its production of its own CK902 series of smart chips. A “core technology” that Ma strongly believes should be made locally as China has the largest number of internet users in the world.
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SINGAPORE: Schneider Electric, the leader in digital transformation of energy management and automation, is hosting more than 1,500 customers, partners, suppliers and influencers at its latest Innovation Summit, September 20-21 at Singapore Marina Bay Sands. The event brings together Schneider Electric experts and world-leading industry thinkers to share insights and bold ideas on the challenges and opportunities of Powering and Digitizing the Economy.
Schneider Electric Innovations Unveiled for East Asia
In its second year running, this year’s Innovation Summit World Tour includes 20 events across the world, double the 2017 program. The Singapore event will be Schneider’s largest in East Asia, and the company will showcase its latest developments to EcoStruxure, its IoT-enabled, plug and play, open, interoperable, architecture and platform. EcoStruxure delivers enhanced value around safety, reliability, efficiency, sustainability, and connectivity. EcoStruxure leverages advancements in IoT, mobility, sensing, cloud, analytics and cybersecurity to deliver Innovation at every level, from Connected Products, Edge Control to Apps, Analytics & Services. EcoStruxure has been deployed in 480,000+ sites, with the support of 20,000+ system integrators and developers, connecting over 1.6 million assets under management through 40+ digital services.
Major EcoStruxure developments will be presented at the Summit:
Bold ideas for the digital economy
“The world is changing at an unprecedented rate driven by a booming digital economy. Technologies such as the Internet of things (IoT), artificial intelligence and big data analytics are making companies more efficient and innovative, boosting their competitive advantage,” said Jean-Pascal Tricoire, Chairman and CEO, Schneider Electric. “As a responsible industry leader, we need to demonstrate how our innovations help our customers and partners make a successful digital transformation in energy management and automation. Our technologies, built on EcoStruxure, harness the power of digitization, enabling our customers to become more efficient, safe, reliable, connected and sustainable – leaders in the New Digital Economy.”
During the two-day event, customers, partners and suppliers can attend Strategy Talks on topics as varied as “Redefining power distribution”, “Intuitive manufacturing, thanks to digitization” and “Reinvented buildings.” Schneider Electric is also conducting 15+ Expert Learning Sessions with its stakeholders, delivering concrete customer successes and solutions and interactive discussions between participants. Finally, a 3,700 m2 Innovation Hub will demonstrate the wealth of Schneider Electric’s software, solutions and services. The Singapore Innovation Summit will also feature the company’s growing network of Strategic Digital Alliances, Technology Partners, EcoXperts and Start-Ups. Over 20 partners are represented, including Microsoft, Accenture, Cisco, Dell EMC, Autogrid, Danfoss, Somfy, and AVEVA, that complement Schneider Electric EcoStruxure solutions.
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