Here is a list f IoT predictions for year 2018. With the number of connected devices set to top 11 billion – and that’s not including computers and phones – in 2018, Internet of Things will clearly continue to be a hot topic. Here is my prediction list:
1. Artifical Intelligence – it will be talked a lot
2. Blockchain – blockchain will be hyped to be a solution for many IoT problems, and it will turn out that it is not the best solution for most of problems it is hyped for – and maybe it will find few sensible uses for it in IoT. Blockchain can add immutability and integrity to some IoT transactions.
3. 4G mobile for IoT: NB-IoT and LTE-M are ready to be tested or used in many markets
4. 5G will be hyped a lot for IoT applications but it is nowhere near for any real big IoT use cases
6. Security issues will be talked a lot. IoT security is far from solved issue.
7. Privacy issues of IoT will be talked a lot when our homes and pockets are starting to be filled with ever listening digital assistants.
8. Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) will be massive
9. More CPU power will be added or used in the edge. Pushing processing power to the “edge” brings a number of benefits and opportunities.
10. Hardware based security: Hardware based security on microprocessors will be talked a lot after “Meltdown” and “Spectre” disaster
Links to more predictions:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/danielnewman/2017/12/19/the-top-8-iot-trends-for-2018/#17a9943267f7
https://www.ibm.com/blogs/internet-of-things/top-5-iot-trends-in-2018/
https://www.inc.com/james-paine/3-internet-of-things-trends-to-watch-in-2018.html
https://www.i-scoop.eu/iot-2018-1/
https://dzone.com/articles/iot-trends-for-2018
1,393 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
Using IIoT to simplify automation and control
https://www.controleng.com/articles/using-iiot-to-simplify-automation-and-control/
Integrating information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) organizations is difficult but critical to IIoT success. Five best practices for overcoming these cultural barriers are highlighted.
Crucial IT-OT convergence
Bringing IT and OT organizations together is critical to IIoT success, but it is one of the most difficult changes to make. Companies will often approach IT and OT convergence with an eye towards reducing duplication of similar systems and job functions for cost savings. This is a short-sighted strategy, and is likely to fail for numerous reasons such as:
Firmly entrenched ways of doing work
A lack of understanding about IT and OT’s roles
Different executive leadership, and
Different marching orders from executives.
According to a 2017 report from the IoT Institute, 57% of IIoT professionals identify overcoming cultural barriers and organizational silos as their biggest obstacle in achieving IT-OT alignment. Five tips to overcome these challenges are highlighted.
1. Change must be driven from the top: Management must actively lead the charge for digital transformation and IIoT initiatives.
2. Plan for security at the outset: Companies also need to think about how to manage their newly created asset—the vast repository of operational data produced by connected equipment. Important details like what data to share and how to handle privacy concerns must be top of mind at the outset and require the intimate involvement of security teams.
3. Learn from subject matter experts (SMEs): The cross-functional cooperation brought about by IT-OT alignment fosters key relationships that should take advantage of the deep knowledge held by senior, experienced SMEs.
4. Lean on technology partners: Identifying internal knowledge and expertise gaps is critical at the outset of any initiative, but taking steps to fill those gaps efficiently can mean the difference between success and failure.
5. Start small with an eye towards scalability: Identify one project with clear metrics for success and a reasonable timeline. Often, this means focusing on real-time and historical data for a single piece of equipment and incorporating sophisticated analytics to accurately predict potential failures in order to avoid expensive unplanned downtime.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Industrial IoT
https://bootcamp.electronicdesign.com/industrial-iot/?partnerref=TIIoTWk2Em1B&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=21928&utm_medium=email&elq2=af5dd11a76ed4e989b41881d4af71663
Increased efficiency and machine, reduced power consumption , and lower costs are key goals of industrial IoT devise and deployments today. Learn how new approaches such as surge and power-fail connection and load disconnect circuits and communication protocols such as IO-Link can make your designs better.
Tomi Engdahl says:
FORUM VIRIUM HELSINKI’S COLLABORATION MODELS WITH OTHER SMART CITIES CAUGHT INTEREST IN AUSTRALIA
https://forumvirium.fi/en/smartcitiesweekaustralia/
To raise the Nordic profile as smart and sustainable cities, Nordic countries arranged an expert program in Australia, taking place in Sydney and Canberra from 29 October to 2 November. Forum Virium’s Director of IoT, Hanna Niemi-Hugaerts, represented Finland in Australia as part of the Nordic Smart city delegation.
Hanna Niemi-Hugaerts presented Helsinki’s advancements on data-enabled smart city, new means for data collection and the international collaboration Helsinki does through projects like SynchroniCity, Select for Cities and MySMARTLife.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.edn.com/5G/4461282/Teardown–Zigbee-controlled-LED-light-bulb?utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=link&utm_medium=EDNPCBDesign-20181210
Tomi Engdahl says:
Teollisella internetillä vauhtia MRO-prosesseihin
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/8843-teollisella-internetilla-vauhtia-mro-prosesseihin
Teollista internetiä (IIoT) käyttämällä voidaan parantaa ei-tuotannollisiin hankintoihin liittyviä MRO-prosesseja (Maintenance, Repair, Operating) eurooppalaisen Teollisuus 4.0 -ohjelman määrittämissä raameissa.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How recent IIoT developments are shaping 5G wireless
Addressing the issues behind Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) devices to help with mobile industrial computing applications.
https://www.controleng.com/articles/how-recent-iiot-developments-are-shaping-5g-wireless/
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. Researchers seeking to impact 5G technologies are focused on how to properly introduce this
new species of computing into the mobile networking ecosystem.
A software-defined network with attribute-based encryption
Energy-efficient caching
Smartphone-powered biosensing dongle
Tomi Engdahl says:
Create a buddy system for the IIoT
Finding the right Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) vendor partner is crucial to success.
https://www.controleng.com/articles/create-a-buddy-system-for-the-iiot/
The problem with legacy IIoT
Chances are your company already is considering the IIoT as a solution—one recent study found that more than 60% of companies were engaged in or planning an IIoT project for the next year. Corporate discussions for exploring the IIoT are common—but they don’t loop in the valuable facility level personnel.
From installing sensors on turbine engines, to connecting hospitals for remote monitoring, cloud-based IIoT projects are proliferating across industries. It’s important to stay up-to-date on the evolution of the IIoT.
Companies that were ahead of the curve in taking advantage of the previous wave of industrial automation are finding that these pre-existing solutions are simply not scalable. Legacy solutions can be constrained by on-premise technology which cannot scale comparably to newer cloud-based solutions and integrate with other data sources. Traditional predictive maintenance solutions reflect an IIoT approach that uses real-time monitoring of assets to prevent breakdowns and provide highly efficient operations. However, local solutions silo machine data, which could benefit an organization as a whole instead of a single asset.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Bring IIoT capabilities to refineries and process plants
https://www.controleng.com/articles/bring-iiot-capabilities-to-refineries-and-process-plants/
The first step to bringing fieldbus networking and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) into process manufacturing plants and refineries may be changing device-level networking practices.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Why hybrid OT is needed for successful IIoT and control projects
https://cfemedia1.wpengine.com/articles/why-hybrid-ot-is-needed-for-successful-iiot-and-control-projects/
Integrating controls: 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.
Differing IT and OT priorities
At the core, IT and OT have similar concerns and different ways of prioritizing them.
Priorities for IT:
1. Security: The first priority is security (and cybersecurity). They want to constantly monitor and scan machines to make sure everything is secure, which can sometimes interrupt processes.
2. Data integrity: Next is data integrity and making sure only those who need data can access it.
3. Downtime is also something they want to avoid, but if IT systems like email are down, while irritating, they will not bring operations or production to a halt.
Priorities for OT: For OT, the first and last priorities are swapped.
1. Downtime is enemy number one for operations. Downtime can cost a large amount of money and potentially create dangerous situations for employees or impact company reputation.
2. Maintaining data integrity and ensuring those who need the data can access it.
3. While security ranks high on OT’s list of concerns, it comes in third compared to avoiding downtime and maintaining data integrity.
It is critical to understand the differing priorities to achieve collaboration and integration between these two teams. Without this, IIoT and control projects will fail.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://bootcamp.electronicdesign.com/industrial-iot/?partnerref=TIIoTWk3Em1A&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=22048&utm_medium=email&elq2=121a323c25314b439570a9b7098f5f1d
Tomi Engdahl says:
When It Comes to the IIoT, Smart Small and Choose Wisely
https://www.designnews.com/electronics-test/when-it-comes-iiot-start-small-and-choose-wisely/117219267759927?ADTRK=UBM&elq_mid=6788&elq_cid=876648
The IIoT can be a powerful tool, but only if you understand who’s going to consume the data and how it’s going to help them.
Tomi Engdahl says:
7 things to think about voice
https://techcrunch.com/2018/12/06/7-things-to-think-about-voice/?utm_source=tcfbpage&sr_share=facebook
The next few years will see voice automation take over many aspects of our lives. Although voice won’t change everything, it will be part of a movement that heralds a new way to think about our relationship with devices, screens, our data and interactions.
We will become more task-specific and less program-oriented. We will think less about items and more about the collective experience of the device ecosystem they are part of. We will enjoy the experiences they make possible, not the specifications they celebrate.
In the new world I hope we relinquish our role from the slaves we are today to be being back in control.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Trending on IoT: Our Most Popular Developer Stories November
https://software.intel.com/blogs/2018/11/16/trending-on-iot-our-most-popular-developer-stories-november
Tomi Engdahl says:
Scientists Outfit Bees With Wireless Sensors to Create a “Living IoT Platform”
https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/semiconductors/devices/bee-drones
Now, a research team at the University of Washington has found a way to make bumblebees act like tiny drones. The group has developed a platform for sensing, computing, and wireless communication devices that’s small enough to piggyback on the insects.
The scientists experimented with three species of bumblebees and found that healthy worker bees could fly and hover while carrying up to roughly 105 milligrams. Knowing this, the researchers developed an electronic platform that weighs only 102 milligrams and measures just 6.1 by 6.4 millimeters in size. It includes a 70-milligram rechargeable lithium-ion battery that can last up to seven hours, as well as a microcontroller, antenna, and sensors that could analyze humidity, temperature, and light intensity once every four seconds. Then, the research team glued these platforms onto the backs of bees. “All the electronics we used were off-the-shelf components,” Gollakota says.
wirelessly offloading data at rates of roughly 1,000 bits per second after the bees return to their hives.
The researchers noted they currently have no way of controlling the movements of the bees. Still, they could pinpoint the insects’ positions.
Potential applications for what the researchers call “living Internet of Things platforms” might include smart farming to measure plant health.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Marrian Zhou / CNET:
Amazon rolls out preview of Alexa Guard and announces Alexa security panel that lets users control home security systems from ADT, Ring, Abode, and Scout Alarm — Amazon says Alexa wants to keep your home safe. — On Thursday the company rolled out a preview of Alexa Guard …
Amazon’s Alexa Guard can alert you if an Echo detects smoke alarm, breaking glass
https://www.cnet.com/news/amazons-alexa-guard-can-alert-you-if-an-echo-detects-smoke-alarm-breaking-glass/
You’ll get a heads-up on your phone if an Echo device in your home detects a worrisome sound.
Amazon says Alexa wants to keep your home safe.
On Thursday the company rolled out a preview of Alexa Guard, which was first unveiled in September, as well as other new home-security features.
When you set Alexa Guard to Away mode, you’ll get notifications on your phone if an Echo device in your home detects the sound of a smoke or carbon monoxide alarm going off or hears glass breaking.
If you connect Alexa Guard with lighting in your home, it can automatically turn your lights on while you’re gone to make it look like someone’s home. The feature is also compatible with security systems from Ring and ADT.
Alexa Guard identifies sounds that indicate danger by “detecting acoustic patterns that match the sounds you have chosen,” an Amazon spokesperson said.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2018/12/14/oululaista-koodia-rohmin-langattomiin-iot-moduuleihin/
Tomi Engdahl says:
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/8849-lisatty-todellisuus-tuo-valtavasti-mahdollisuuksia
Tomi Engdahl says:
Wi-Fi Will Soon Provide Position Accuracy of One Meter
https://iconsofinfrastructure.com/wi-fi-will-soon-provide-position-accuracy-of-one-meter/
IEEE 802.11mc (better known as Wi-Fi round-trip time, or RTT), which can increase accuracy to 1m while providing vertical (Z-axis) location information that has been long awaiting a solution. It is making its debut later this year in the Android P operating system and probably in an update to iOS 11 as well.
Wi-Fi RTT operates according to the Fine Timing Measurement (FTM) protocol within the IEEE 802.11-2016 standard that uses a variety of techniques to pinpoint the location of someone’s smartphone or tablet. Although 802.11mc has been in the works for years, it was formally announced early in 2017 by the Wi-Fi Alliance®, who calls the capability a “Wi-Fi Certified Location,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
To Combat a $3B Pothole Problem, Cities Turn to High-Tech Solutions
https://iconsofinfrastructure.com/to-combat-a-3b-pothole-problem-cities-turn-to-high-tech-solutions/
From data tracking to AI and robotic pothole repair arms, cities look for ways to speed and improve pothole repair, and also reduce the cost of dealing with this transportation headache.
American drivers pay approximately $3 billion a year to fix car damage caused by potholes.
Can the pothole problem be better solved? Some believe so, with increasing numbers of local councils looking to apps and data tracking to hack their way to smoother roads.
The City of Houston, for example, implemented a pothole repair initiative in 2016 with the goal of addressing and filling citizen-reported potholes in 24 hours. The initiative, which encourages citizens to report a suspected pothole through a 311-Helpline or app, has resulted in over 6,000 potholes reported by citizens. As of year-to-date 2018, 99.73% of citizen-reported potholes were filled by next business day.
Tech Behemoths like Microsoft and Google are also getting in on the game, adding reporting functions to their mapping software, and notifications on their driving apps to alert commuters before they inadvertently drive into one.
Tomi Engdahl says:
IIC Develops a Testbed for Brownfield Operations
https://www.designnews.com/automation-motion-control/iic-develops-testbed-brownfield-operations/62985212959938?ADTRK=UBM&elq_mid=6818&elq_cid=876648
The brownfield testbed is designed to bring the efficiencies of IoT connectivity to equipment that wasn’t originally designed to be connected
The Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC) has created the Smart Manufacturing Connectivity for Brown-field Sensors Testbed. IIC-members TE Connectivity and SAP, with supporting participants OPC Foundation and ifm, have developed the solution, which enables operators of decades-old manufacturing facilities (brownfield operations) to connect sensors and create an IoT system using existing infrastructure without affecting the plant’s real-time operations.
The testbed was partly an outgrowth of IIC members hearing from customers who wanted to gain the benefits from IoT connectivity without investing in pricey new equipment. “We really noticed the pull from customers. They maintain brownfield facilities and they don’t want to replace their existing PLCs,”
https://www.iiconsortium.org/smart-connectivity.htm
Tomi Engdahl says:
Week in Review: IoT, Security, Auto
Arm predictions; Marriott hack; Waymo truck.
https://semiengineering.com/week-in-review-iot-security-auto-23/
Arm made five 2019 predictions for the Internet of Things. They are: The intelligent home goes mainstream; personalized delivery options; improved health-care service; smart cities seek to improve revenue streams and citizen engagement; and smart buildings use more technology for efficiencies.
Deloitte outdid Arm, offering nine predictions for 2019. Among them: Smart speakers grow at discounted prices; AI goes from expert-only to everywhere; 5G networks arrive; 3D printing breaks through; and evaluating quantum computing. By the end of 2018, there will be more than 250 million smart speakers in homes, the firm estimates.
Apple overtook Fitbit as the world wearables leader during the fourth quarter of 2017, according to IDC. Apple retained that crown during the first half of 2018, only to be dethroned in the third quarter by Xiaomi.
General Electric plans to spin off a new Industrial IoT company from its GE Digital software teams, creating a company with about $1.2 billion in annual revenue. The new company will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of GE with a new brand and identity.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Analyze data quality for process control systems
https://www.controleng.com/articles/analyze-data-quality-for-process-control-systems/
Data obtained from process analyzers need to be trusted and verified to help the user make an informed decision. Considerations include communications reliability, analyzer status, and logic platform.
Understanding the data quality starts with the communication between the analyzer and the process control system. The process should be viewed as a hierarchy all the way down to the component.
Other facets of data quality include asking:
What should happen to the component values during a maintenance cycle?
Should the process control system hold the last value while an analyzer validation cycle is performed?
Calibration cycle
A calibration cycle could introduce a step change in the analytical results from a gas chromatograph. One option is to set the values to not-a-number (NaN) during calibration and re-initialize the control algorithms once they return to normal operation. The data quality logic should also check for a timeout.
An end-of-cycle event is used to notify external systems that the analysis is complete, and a consistent set of data has been stored in the registers.
Checking analyzer data quality can be performed in two steps. The first step verifies that communications and all the analytical equipment required to generate the results are operating normally. A clear understanding of the analyzer modes, fault signals, and error conditions is essential.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Three phases of industrial digital transformation
https://www.controleng.com/articles/three-phases-of-industrial-digital-transformation/
Manufacturing, packaging, and logistics companies are unlocking new potential through digital transformation with the power of the Internet of Things (IoT) and advanced analytics.
Transformation is the right term. While it won’t be easy, digital transformation has the potential to unlock formerly unattainable benefits for all aspects of manufacturing from a machine builder to factory floor to end customers. There are three areas of potential to unlock full digital transformation, many of which are already well within reach.
1. Visualizing: factory connectivity and data integration
Today, the information flow at many plants is still manual or semi-manual. Machine operators or engineers collect data on paper or mobile devices—about things such as how long it takes to prepare a machine for production, to change from status A to status B, or to transfer part X to part Z. That information is then loaded into a computer program that can assess the data.
2. Forecasting: predictive production modeling and responsive machine design
Capturing and understanding the existing behavior of a machine, machine line, or a site is only a small sliver of what is possible. However, it is the foundation on which more advanced analytics are built that provide visibility into part, machine, and system trends. These trends include predictive models to reduce or eliminate unexpected downtime or unforeseen problems
3. Self-regulating: data-driven manufacturing and ongoing transformation
One step beyond predictive lies total automation, in which systems adjust themselves based on forecasting models without manual interventions. Such systems rely on innovative and ultra-efficient methodologies such as statistical process control to optimize production on the fly by tweaking various aspects that, to date, have been onerous, manual adjustments. For example, changing the setpoint values or even the whole process sequence of a machine could be done without any human involvement.
Additionally, the ability to gain an abundance of critical information quickly through Cloud computing will change how everyone within the industry functions, from suppliers to end users. The more machines and systems that are analyzed, the more collective data that can be used to identify which changes to a system or a machine, or even a particular industry, might have the most impact.
Tomi Engdahl says:
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/8875-nokian-bridge-ohjelmasta-ponnistanut-haltian-sai-lisarahaa
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Importance of Edge Computing in Industrial Transformation
https://event.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1220188&tp_key=33891d1eda&oc_slh=fd9accd7223eb5a40eb5f40cba7a63049b37aac56719e4269ce2d3f710e08cfa
Based on a recent LNS Research survey, over 60% of participating companies have now instituted an Industrial Transformation initiative. To support these initiatives, many industrial companies are rethinking operational architectures and taking a hybrid approach to compute infrastructure; with a combination of traditional on-premise, cloud, and edge.
However, many companies aren’t necessarily realizing the anticipated benefits from Industrial Transformation and there is still confusion regarding how to prioritize these investments.
Provide a use-case centric operational architecture – based on data speed, location, type, and supported analytics – to determine infrastructure priorities
Make specific people, process, and technology recommendations to accelerate the realization of benefits from Industrial Transformation.
Tomi Engdahl says:
11 Myths About the DDS Standard
https://www.electronicdesign.com/embedded-revolution/11-myths-about-dds-standard
A number of myths have emerged regarding the Data Distribution Service standard, the leading connectivity standard for the industrial IoT. RTI’s Bert Farabaugh sets the record straight.
The Data Distribution Service (DDS) standard has been around for many years (over 15 years actually) as a solution for connecting real-time distributed applications. While DDS first gained widespread acceptance in aerospace and defense, DDS has now emerged as a standout technology for the industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). With DDS now entering this “new” market, there’s a tendency for various opinions and misconceptions to arise regarding any new technology. Let’s take a look at some of these myths that have formed since DDS has come into play for IIoT applications.
1. DDS is just another IoT connectivity transport.
Several IoT connectivity solutions are available today, and DDS tends to get mixed into the collection of solutions for IoT.
One popular IoT connectivity solution used today is Message Queue Telemetry Transport (MQTT). This solution is well-suited to connecting many remote devices to a single server, delivering status at a relatively low rate (1 GB of RAM on a simple embedded device. However, in the meantime, we still need to be able to address devices with <256 kB of RAM.
Several DDS implementations do support these levels of memory resources. The key here is the part of the standard for DDS that supports interoperability. The Interoperability specification for DDS details an on-the-wire protocol called RTPS (Real Time Publish Subscribe). By adhering to this protocol, implementations of smaller versions of DDS can also easily communicate with larger, more fully featured versions of DDS.
6. DDS is inefficient because it publishes data everywhere.
The publish/subscribe design pattern describes the availability of data everywhere within your network. The workflow within DDS is that, as a developer or software architect, you define individual data flows that are called topics. Through the discovery mechanism built into DDS, each application learns about the existence of topics within their selected DDS domain.
7. DDS isn’t widely used in critical infrastructure.
Released as a standard by the OMG in 2003, DDS was quickly adopted by the aerospace and defense industry. During this time, implementations of DDS became fully featured and battle-tested. With the advent of the IIoT, DDS has now taken off in the commercial industrial world, too.
8. DDS does not interface with web services.
In today’s world, a system must have some way of interfacing with web services.
To address this requirement, the OMG created and adopted a specification for web-enabled DDS. Through this interface, a web application can be built that directly interacts with a running DDS system using a gateway. The gateway provides the ability to create participants, topics, writers, and readers such that any web application can basically act just like a live DDS application.
9. DDS doesn’t scale outside of the local-area network.
Most developers that look at DDS can quickly see that it’s really well-suited for real-time device-to-device communications within an autonomous car, a microgrid, a ship, a surgical robot, etc. However, after investigating all of the use cases for DDS, they then realize that it’s actually the layered databus approach where DDS also shines
10. DDS won’t run on my platform.
DDS implementations are available for over 100 different platforms. A “platform” is defined as a combination of CPU architecture, operating system, and compiler. DDS transparently mediates between different platforms, relieving your application code of having to handle differences in CPU widths, endianness, and programming language.
Formal language bindings exist for Java and C/C++ (including modern C++). And vendor-specific implementations include the ability to access DDS networks from modern scripting languages like JavaScript, Lua, and Python, plus non-traditional programming environments like LabVIEW and Simulink.
11. DDS systems aren’t evolvable.
The last myth that we will take a look at here relates to how a system evolves over time. As mentioned above, the standard workflow within DDS is to define your data topics that will be used to communicate between your applications. These topics are strongly typed, which provides several key attributes, such as application communication integrity, bandwidth usage efficiency, data availability discovery, and filtering efficiency. So, if you strongly define your data topics, then how can you evolve their datatype in future releases?
To address this need, the OMG added a standard called Extensible and Dynamic Topic Types (X-Types) for DDS. This standard not only enables a developer to add/change/delete individual data fields within a datatype, it also provides a mechanism to define some fields as optional fields that don’t require inclusion with each data publication.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Designing For Ultra-Low-Power IoT Devices
https://semiengineering.com/designing-for-ultra-low-power-iot-devices/
Battery-powered designs require complex optimizations for power in the context of area, performance and functionality.
Optimizing designs for power is becoming the top design challenge in battery-driven IoT devices, boxed in by a combination of requirements such as low cost, minimum performance and functionality, as well as the need for at least some of the circuits to be always on.
Power optimization is growing even more complicated as AI inferencing moves from the data center to the edge. Even simple sensors or sensor hubs are now required to pre-process large quantities of data quickly to extract the valuable data and send it to the cloud or other processors. The upshot is an increasing emphasis on power optimization and reduction techniques and complex design tradeoffs that even a year ago never would have been considered in an IoT device.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How the IoT will change the engineering industry
Advancements in technology and the Internet of Things (IoT) is transforming the engineering industry.
https://www.csemag.com/articles/how-the-iot-will-change-the-engineering-industry/
Those of us with experience in mechanical system design are very much aware that most HVAC equipment and systems are available with embedded controls that can be monitored with an internet connection. So, when folks hype the benefits coming from The Internet of Things (IoT), it causes a yawn for most of us. Remote monitoring is an old technology-25 or 30 years old.
However, these capabilities have never been inexpensive. At last, after many years, the internet infrastructure needed to support vast data transfer and storage is becoming ubiquitous. There is now an expectation of connectivity between certain devices even among consumers with lower costs for higher internet speeds.
Still, monitoring mechanical equipment is not as easy as one might imagine. It has always required (and still does) world-class delivery of three basic technologies at prices that folks will embrace.
Data has to be gathered. This requires low-cost sensors to be embedded in equipment and a microcomputer that pulls data, maintains a database, and accesses higher-level communication.
Communication via wireless or wired connection to an intelligent system has to be reliable. In the old days, system data would stay at the jobsite, exploited by a smart operator. Today, the onsite network hub may be a simple internet bridge. There are many ways to move data from the equipment to an internet node, with wireless having clear advantages in terms of installed cost. But wireless technology is highly susceptible to communication failures. Wireless is easy to describe but hard to implement reliably.
Analysis has to turn data into useful guidance for the equipment or system operator. Every application is different-analysis needs to be customized for each application to get the most from these systems. And, of course, conclusions that come from analysis must be communicated to operators or maintenance companies.
What does that mean to the engineering profession?
Clients will expect more. They will expect to be informed of pending failures long before they occur. They will assume they will be told when to grease bearings, change oil, clean tubes, change filters, etc. They will anticipate that if their system needs a tuneup, monitoring will inform them, along with the reasons why, the savings that will result, and the cost to proceed. In other words, they will require their professional support team to optimize their system and keep them out of trouble.
The idea of “continuous commissioning” will shift from a talking point to an expectation. It means recurring-revenue business models need to be understood, packaged for easy sales, and delivered reliably.
Equipment specifications will be updated to require the delivery of key data. To use a commercial HVAC fan as an illustration, clients will expect to know air temperature, airflow, pressure rise, energy used, power quality, vibration, sound levels, motor winding, and bearing temperatures-and that’s just for one fan.
Engineers will need to specify what to do with the data. The collected data will need to be sent to different parties or graphical user interfaces.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Using IIoT to simplify automation and control
https://www.controleng.com/articles/using-iiot-to-simplify-automation-and-control/
Integrating information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) organizations is difficult but critical to IIoT success. Five best practices for overcoming these cultural barriers are highlighted.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How recent IIoT developments are shaping 5G wireless
https://www.controleng.com/articles/how-recent-iiot-developments-are-shaping-5g-wireless/
Addressing the issues behind Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) devices to help with mobile industrial computing applications.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Create a buddy system for the IIoT
Finding the right Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) vendor partner is crucial to success.
https://www.controleng.com/articles/create-a-buddy-system-for-the-iiot/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Three ways location intelligence and IIoT make pipeline asset management easier
https://www.controleng.com/articles/three-ways-location-intelligence-and-iiot-make-pipeline-asset-management-easier/
If the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is integrated with location intelligence it can help midstream oil & gas operations to manage pipeline assets, mitigate potential risks, and optimize new pipeline routes.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Why hybrid OT is needed for successful IIoT and control projects
https://www.controleng.com/articles/why-hybrid-ot-is-needed-for-successful-iiot-and-control-projects/
Integrating controls: 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.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Temperature measurement with RTDs, thermocouples
https://www.controleng.com/articles/temperature-measurement-with-rtds-thermocouples/
Process sensing: The most common process sensor measurement is temperature and resistance temperature detectors (RTDs), and thermocouples are the most widely used sensors for industrial temperature measurements. See 11 summary tips for temperature sensor selection.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Top 10 tuning tips for control engineers
https://www.controleng.com/articles/top-10-tuning-tips-for-control-engineers/
Best practices to follow to increase loop tuning performance and reliability in a facility include increased efficiency, controller gain, and being aware of loop interactions.
1. Don’t waste time on flow loops. Set the tuning to 0.25/0.25/0.0—and move on. Spending more time is usually pointless because process gain will normally vary with valve position itself
2. Don’t waste time on level loops. Set the tuning to 1.0/response time/0.0 – and move on.
3. Don’t waste time on temperature, pressure, composition, etc., unless they are already cascaded to flow (or sometimes pressure). If not cascaded, implementing a cascade is the next best step to take. The cascade will linearize the process response, thereby allowing optimal reliable tuning across the full operating range.
4. Invest time on pressure, temperature and composition loops that are cascaded to flow (or sometimes pressure).
5. Set gain to roughly ½ to ¾ of the observed gain to maintain long-term stable and reliable performance due to potentially changing process conditions, which can be expected to occur in most loops for many reasons. Set the integral equal to the process response time that is determined by using a step test, process experience, or historical data—erring on the long side.
6. Do not use derivative action. Derivative is a way to reduce total error by using more aggressive gain and reset, and then relying on derivative to put on the brakes.
7. Controller gain is heavily dependent on span.
8. Be aware of loop interactions. When the action of one loop strongly impacts other loop(s), the user will need to decide which loop should be tuned normally and which one(s) reducing gain and increasing reset time.
9. Be bold with gain and cautious with reset when tight control is necessary. There is a perception that too much gain may cause cycling, and that since reset is in units of time, a shorter setting might bring faster control. In reality, proportional control action is instantaneous and too much reset, especially in combination with too little gain, is the most common cause of process oscillations.
10. Understand when to use, and when not to use, feedforward. Feedforward can be advantageous when a major disturbance is well understood, when its model (gain, response time, and deadtime) does not change significantly in time for any reason, and where it is warranted to avoid hitting a hard process limit or to capture large earnings or avoid large losses. When these criteria are not met, especially if model dynamics (response time and deadtime) are not reliably known, feedforward should be avoided.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Decision paralysis and what to do about it
https://www.plantengineering.com/articles/decision-paralysis-and-what-to-do-about-it/
Manufacturers must react swiftly to changing markets, technologies. Eight influencing factors are highlighted.
Eight influencing factors
Rapid change: Digitalization is sweeping across industries worldwide, changing the way we shop, communicate, do banking, and travel. It is a new era, driven by technology such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI). Manufacturers face their share of digital upheaval as alternative delivery systems and evolving customer demands have changed the dynamics of the operations team.
Complex processes: In addition to innovations in delivery, manufacturers must also manage back-end business processes with new heightened levels of efficiency. Old-school processes are simply not adequate for managing today’s complex issues, such as connectivity among multiple resources, real-time visibility to the network grid, and forecasting future demands.
Demanding customers: Today’s consumers also have high expectations for attentive service, high value, and timely communication. It’s no longer enough to be content with simply trusting that the process will deliver value for the customer.
Physical threats: Aging infrastructure systems, including electrical grids, pose a serious threat to reliable continuation of services.
Cyber threats: Thoroughly protecting manufacturers requires attention to both the physical assets and the digital systems. As systems become more and more dependent on connected devices, cybersecurity is an escalating priority.
Too many choices: Numerous IT solutions and deployment options are available to help manage operational processes, communication with customers, and protect from cyber threats as well as physical risks to the facilities, plants, and power lines which crisscross the country. While choices are nice, too many options—with conflicting claims—can be overwhelming. As managers become mired in endless lists of features and functionality, decision paralysis can set in.
Data overload: In recent efforts to conserve resources and predict demand, tech-savvy manufacturers launched programs to collect information from their machines. IT managers and operations teams were soon buried under mountains of information—but with no clear method to analyze the data. With lean staff and limited budgets, IT directors often find themselves wondering, “What do we do with all this data?”
Lean staff and tight budgets: Manufacturers today tend to operate with lean staff, with managers needing to fulfill multiple roles. A shortage of highly skilled applicants looking for jobs in the public sector can add to the challenge of recruiting and retaining the workforce needed to make difficult decisions. Limited budgets, too, forces plant managers to set priorities and invest in the solutions they believe will bring measurable, meaningful results.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Three phases of industrial digital transformation
https://www.controleng.com/articles/three-phases-of-industrial-digital-transformation/
1. Visualizing: factory connectivity and data integration
2. Forecasting: predictive production modeling and responsive machine design
3. Self-regulating: data-driven manufacturing and ongoing transformation
Tomi Engdahl says:
Machine Condition Monitoring: Predicting Mechanical Wear and Tear
https://www.sealevel.com/2018/11/15/machine-condition-monitoring-predicting-mechanical-wear-and-tear/
On Reddit, 558,000 people subscribe to r/CatastrophicFailure, a crowd-sourced display of machines and other systems failing with dramatic results. There are explosions, sometimes injuries and the ringing knowledge of some very expensive repairs.
While the videos of these events can be darkly fascinating, their consequences can be horrific. As a result, operations managers and engineers have developed high-tech IIoT machine condition monitoring systems that detect the warning signs of failure. These risk mitigating tools have been essential to asset management.
What is Machine Condition Monitoring?
Machine Condition Monitoring (MCM) is a digital oversight process for predictive maintenance that uses IIoT edge technology. It tracks specified criteria that indicate mechanical wear and tear or machine electrical issues.
Using the collected information, an MCM system alerts machine specialists about potential problems and their locations on the machine. This protocol helps prevent catastrophic failure, decreases workplace injury risks, mitigates downtime costs and reduces expensive repairs.
Manufacturing machine condition monitoring is the most common application of the system. However, energy sector enterprises or other industries with heavy machinery stand to gain the most from the technology. The remote monitoring required by oil and gas, nuclear, solar and wind energy sites is easily fulfilled by the automated nature of condition monitoring. Anywhere regular access for monitoring is inhibited could benefit from machine condition monitoring.
Predictive Maintenance
Comprised of sensors, edge devices and a cloud service, an MCM system automates supervision and turns repairs into predictive maintenance. Although catastrophic failure is the worst-case problem, it is not the primary goal for asset managers. Rather, machine condition indicates reliability and efficiency.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Digital Thread and Industry 4.0
NIST MBE Conference
https://www.nist.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2018/04/09/2p_kinard_digitalthreadi4pt0.pdf
Tomi Engdahl says:
Data, Digital Threads, and Industry 4.0
How software and technology are digitising the manufacturing industry, and the benefits to business leaders.
https://www.protolabs.co.uk/resources/white-papers/data-digital-threads-and-industry-40/
A decade before the American War of Indepence (1775 – 1783), Glasgow instrument maker James Watt was assigned with repairing a Newcomen steam engine. He quickly realised the design could be improved by adding an external condenser coil, which greatly increased thermal efficiency. The Watt steam engine soon saw widespread use in mining, textile and other industries. Mills and factories sprung up, workers moved to the cities, and the world’s agrarian society was gradually transformed into one of mechanisation. The First Industrial Revolution had begun.
Industrial growth was soon stymied, however, by a shortage of inexpensive steel. Once again, a simple invention—the introduction of compressed air into a furnace filled with molten pig iron—changed everything.
Fast forward to 1958. Jack Kilby, a new employee at Texas Instruments, is researching a way to miniaturise the electronic components produced by his employer. His notion of combining transistors, resistors and capacitors on a single piece of germanium would eventually lead to the integrated circuits that drive every appliance, automobile, computer, cell phone and television in use today. Computer numerical controlled (CNC) machine tools
The New Frontier: Industry 4.0
German economist, Klaus Schwab told an assembly of the World Economic Forum, which he founded, that the world was now entering a Fourth Industrial Revolution1, one that “has the potential to raise global income levels and improve the quality of life for populations around the world.” Schwab was referring to a digital shake up that stands to turn the past several decades of growth in electronics and computer technology on its head with unprecedented levels of low-cost data storage, artificial intelligence, mobile computing, Software as a Service (SaaS) and Cloud-based computer systems. Behind everything? The internet of things (IoT), which promises to tie it all together with smart devices that will collect data, make decisions, and keep humans informed of potential problems.
Schwab also warned of dangers. As manufacturing technology continues to evolve, labour markets will almost certainly be disrupted. Legislative processes and governmental regulations may fail to adapt quickly enough for the exponential growth of digital innovation, leading to conflict between the businesses embracing such technology and the policymakers trying to understand it.
Two of Schwab’s contemporaries, Siegfried Dais, deputy chairman of the board of management at Robert Bosch GmbH, and Henning Kagermann, president of the German Academy of Science and Engineering, first introduced the term Industrie 4.0 at the Hannover Fair in 2011. Two years later, their Working Group on Industry 4.0 presented recommendations2 to the German government on how the country’s manufacturing industry should leverage the internet of things and services to increase national competitiveness, and that smart factories using “universal direct networking of smart objects via the internet,” something that most refer to as the industrial internet of things, or IIoT, is the next phase of the Industrial Revolution.
A Web of Intelligent Hardware
But what exactly is the IoT? How did it become industrialised, and when did objects become smart? These are important questions, at least some of which can be answered by your teenager or your company’s resident computer geek.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Organic Ornithopter Sensor Drone
https://hackaday.com/2018/12/20/organic-ornithopter-sensor-drone/
Bees. The punchline to the title is bees carrying sensors like little baby bee backpacks. We would run out of fingers counting the robots which emulate naturally evolved creatures, but we believe there is a lot of merit to pirating natural designs, but researchers at the University of Washington cut out the middle-man and put their sensors right on living creatures. They measured how much a bee could lift, approximately 105 milligrams, then built a sensor array lighter than that. Naturally, batteries are holding back the design, and the rechargeable lithium-ion is more than half of the weight.
Scientists Outfit Bees With Wireless Sensors to Create a “Living IoT Platform”
https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/semiconductors/devices/bee-drones
A research team tries to turn bees into living drones by gluing wireless sensor platforms to their backs
Tomi Engdahl says:
Employing IoT systems to Make Vineyards More Ecofriendly
https://innovate.ieee.org/innovation-spotlight/IoT-systems-SheepIT-vineyards-machine-learning-ecofriendly/#utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=innovation&utm_content=Animal%20Monitoring%20SheepIT?LT=CMH_WB_2018_LM_XIS_Paid_Social
The Internet of Things (IoT) has already become commonplace in cars and homes, and more recently the technology has infiltrated the agricultural space. Researchers are now exploring the use of an IoT system to manage and monitor animals in vineyards.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat:
Amazon says it is rolling out an Alexa integration with Wolfram Alpha to users in US
Alexa now taps Wolfram Alpha to answer science and math questions
https://venturebeat.com/2018/12/20/alexa-now-taps-wolfram-alpha-to-answer-science-questions/
Alexa’s getting a bit smarter, courtesy of Wolfram Alpha. Amazon today announced that its cross-platform assistant will integrate with Wolfram Research’s computational knowledge engine to answer math- and science-related questions.
“Information curated by Wolfram Alpha has rolled out to select customers and will continue to roll out over the coming weeks and months.”
you’ll be able to ask questions like “Alexa, what is the billionth prime number?” and “Alexa, how high do swans fly?”
Amazon has made a concerted effort this year to supply Alexa with new data sources, following analyses showing that it lags behind other intelligent assistants in its ability to answer questions
Tomi Engdahl says:
WiFi signals enable motion recognition throughout the entire home
https://medium.com/@radiomaze/wifi-signals-enable-motion-recognition-throughout-the-entire-home-5c4dd184627c
Home automation is on steroids. Novel technologies and techniques are enabling a plethora of new services spanning from simple lights on/off to the next generation of in house behavioural analytics.
Radiomaze computer scientists have developed motion-recognition technologies that bring this to real life using the entire WiFi ecosystem already in every house. They have shown that it is possible to leverage WiFi signals around us to detect specific movements without needing sensors on the human body or cameras.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Bees Transformed into Flying Sensors with Minuscule Backpack
https://blog.hackster.io/bees-transformed-into-flying-sensors-with-minuscule-backpack-57a49c5b519e
Drones are increasingly being used to get a view on our world from above. While exciting technology, because of power limitations, these craft are normally limited to 10–20 minutes, or maybe a half hour, of flight time. This rules out most types of long-term observation, but engineers at the University of Washington have a new take on things, equipping bumblebees with tiny sensor backpacks that collect information as they go about their day.
Researchers create first sensor package that can ride aboard bees
http://www.washington.edu/news/2018/12/11/sensor-bees/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Alexa’s advice to ‘kill your foster parents’ fuels concern over Amazon Echo
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/dec/21/alexa-amazon-echo-kill-your-foster-parents
Smart speaker’s remarks, apparently quoted from Reddit, come as Amazon tries to boost speaker’s conversational capacity
An Amazon customer got a grim message last year from Alexa, the virtual assistant in the company’s smart speaker device: “Kill your foster parents.”
The user who heard the message from his Echo device wrote a harsh review on Amazon’s website, Reuters reported – calling Alexa’s utterance “a whole new level of creepy”.
An investigation found the bot had quoted from the social media site Reddit
The odd command is one of many hiccups that have happened as Amazon tries to train its machine to act something like a human, engaging in casual conversations in response to its owner’s questions or comments.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ahmedabad Doctor Claims World’s First Telerobotic Heart Surgery on Patient 32 KM Away
https://beebom.com/ahmedabad-doctor-telerobotic-heart-surgery/
Dr Tejas Patel, an internationally renowned cardiologist, claims to have performed the world’s first cardiovascular stent surgery in a female patient, operating from a remote area, which would make history in cardiovascular surgery in the world.
Tomi Engdahl says:
9 smart gifts for a smarter home
https://techcrunch.com/2018/12/14/9-smart-gifts-for-a-smarter-home/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Week in Review: IoT, Security, Auto
Drone delivery; Instagram woes; Arm’s auto chip.
https://semiengineering.com/week-in-review-iot-security-auto-24/
Unmanned aerial vehicles are delivering vaccines to the very remote village of Cook’s Bay, on the island of Erromango, one of 83 volcanic islands in the South Pacific nation of Vanuatu. The drones can go from island to island faster than boats, which often are not a travel option during rough weather.
Each drone carries more than five pounds of vaccine, ice packs, and a temperature monitor.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Alexa crashed on Christmas Day
https://techcrunch.com/2018/12/26/alexa-crashed-on-christmas-day/?sr_share=facebook&utm_source=tcfbpage