IIoT Apps are Brewing
General Electric recently published a piece with three important reasons software developers should focus on the industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). It cited the fact that IIoT apps can solve real-life problems in our cities, provide the opportunity for more than 18.5 million developers to advance digital infrastructure, and justify the big investments in IoT. FreeWave on App Development In our 2017 prediction series, we also highlighted the emerging opportunity for IIoT app development. We believe that IIoT app development will start to outpace consumer app development in 2017. IoT app development can play a significant role in driving Smart Data over Big Data for mission critical use cases. Organizations need to get the data they need when they need it, and new applications at the Edge can help send the right data to the right people. We also see a huge business opportunity for developers: the opportunity to leverage cybersecurity applications and the need for business apps that will coincide with IIoT apps to meet standards and interoperability challenges. Although it is early in the year, we’ve already begun to align with our prediction through our R&D efforts here at FreeWave. Recently we partnered with an app development company to offer something new to our customers. New Apps at the Edge FreeWave’s new partnership with Systech offers an industrial Tank Level Control application that resides on and executes from FreeWave’s ZumLink Industrial IoT (IIoT) Programmable Radio for edge networks. The new application was developed by Systech for FreeWave and features an easy-to-use “ITTT (If This Then That)” process control programming interface that will control analog, digital and RS485 sensors linked to the ZumLink programmable radio. The FreeWave ITTT App is designed for a user-friendly experience and requires no previous programming knowledge or practice. It is ideal for M2M and IIoT use cases at the access layer and will perform automated Sensor-2-Server (S2S) functions to streamline operations. We are watching IIoT app development closely and will certainly have more advancements and announcements in relation to our own journey with bringing apps to the ZumLink IIoT Programmable Radio. What kinds of IIoT apps would you like to see?
IoT News Roundup Topics of the Week: Big Headlines in Early 2017
The Internet of Things (IoT) continues to drive headlines in early 2017. It seems like every day we are seeing a flow of news stories about a more connected world. We’ve been watching some of the IoT and Industrial IoT (IIoT) headlines across the trades and have compiled some of our recent favorites. IoT News Headlines Forbes: HR can use big data to drive engagement, predict success By Valerie Bolden-Barrett| Published on @hrdive “Forbes Human Resource Council says HR can use big data in the same manner as key performance indicators and retention metrics to carry out organizational goals. The council offers six ways HR can leverage data.” “With all the big data and technological advances at HR’s disposal, over reliance on metrics can ignore employees’ human needs. Engaging employees sometimes can be a simple as acknowledging them for a job well done or asking for their input in a major decision affecting their work.” Lady Gaga’s Halftime Show Drones Have a Bright Future By @brbarrett | Published on @WIRED “Each drone communicates wirelessly with a central computer to execute its dance routine, oblivious to what the hundreds of machines around it are doing. The system can adapt on the, er, fly, too. Just before showtime, the computer checks the battery level and GPS signal strength of each drone, and assigns roles accordingly. Should a drone falter during the show, a reserve unit takes over within seconds. All of which is pretty cool in its own right. But making it work for the biggest television event of the year takes a whole different level of planning.” How Service Relationship Management and the IIoT Are Keeping Transportation on the Right Road By Michael Riemer | Published on @IoTJournal “In 2016, the Internet of Things went mainstream, but in 2017 we expect the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) to transform operations across numerous industries. Also known as the Industrial Internet, the IIoT enables machine-to-machine (M2M) communication of usage, performance and health metrics. There is quite a buzz around using this data, along with machine learning and other predictive algorithms, to help anticipate and eliminate potential causes of downtime. Nowhere is this more evident than in the commercial asset service ecosystem. Trucking fleets, construction assets, agriculture and power-generation equipment are all susceptible to costly unscheduled downtime and generally long repair cycles.” China is Now the World’s Largest Solar Power Producer By @luchanglu| Published on @DigitalTrends “As it stands, solar energy represents only one percent of the country’s energy output. But this may soon change as China devotes more and more of its attention towards clean energy. The NEA says that China will seek to add more than 110 gigawatts within the next three years, which could help the nation up the proportion of its renewable energy use to 20 percent by 2030. Today, it stands at 11 percent.” We predicted that 2017 would be a transformative year with a lot of innovation and smarter data, especially within the IIoT realm. These recent headlines are certainly tracking along with those insights. It will be interesting to see how IIoT continues to shape markets and change the way we do things.
Network Management Solutions for IIoT
The shift towards digital technology solutions and the rise of the industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) have transformed operations for many organizations. Currently, there are a number of wireless communication solutions available that are specifically designed for IIoT, M2M and SCADA networks. These technologies monitor, collect and transfer critical data in challenging environments to support mission critical use cases. As technology continues to advance, Sensor-to-Server (S2S) technologies have emerged to support advanced data practices, such as predictive analytics. IIoT has not only increased the number of devices in the field, but has also brought the OT and IT departments closer together. This convergence is challenging for many businesses as they look to find technology that will meet evolving demands. IT, for example, needs better field visibility as industrial networks become more connected every day. This need has driven a strong demand for detailed, real-time information solutions that will support IT network operations. Having a network management system (NMS) at the access layer helps meet those needs and companies like E2E have begun to offer NMS solutions specifically for IIoT, M2M and SCADA networks. These networking solutions help overcome some of the major visibility issues from an IT perspective and are suitable for operation in challenging environments . FreeWave’s NMS Partnership FreeWave recently announced a new technology partnership with E2E Technologies. E2E’s Stingray Network Management System (NMS) will support FreeWave’s WavePro™ wireless communication solutions. Stingray is optimizable for IT professionals looking to manage individual components of a limited IoT or M2M communications system within a larger IT network management framework. Companies in energy, utilities, municipalities, government, oil and gas, and more will benefit from this solution as they now have a technology solution designed to help bridge the IT/OT convergence gap.
Energy and Excitement at DistribuTECH 2017
This week we attended DistribuTECH 2017 with several thousand of the leading minds in technology, education and innovation for utilities, Smart Grid and municipalities. We had many great conversations about the direction of Industrial IoT (IIoT) and the all-encompassing digital technology shift. At the FreeWave booth we led many demonstrations of our latest technology. We also shared how our fellow attendees can achieve smart data at the Edge. Here is a small snapshot of the excitement and action from the show: FreeWave at DistribuTECH We had a lot to share at DistribuTECH this year. In addition to providing product demos at our booth, we just launched several important company, product and partnership announcements. Here’s the run-down on what we launched this week: New IIoT Products & Two New Partnerships Introduced at DistribuTECH Zumlink Z9-C and Z9-T Radios: FreeWave introduced the Zumlink-Z9-PE last Fall, but now it brings the next generation, high performance platform to market. ZumLink is the underpinning of the company’s go-forward IIoT strategy for IIoT and embedded radio applications. The Z9-C and Z9-T deliver high speed Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS) functionality in a radio module that is half the size of a credit card. FreeWave and Systech application partnership: Together with Systech, we announced an industrial Tank Level Control application that resides on and executes from FreeWave’s ZumLink IIoT Programmable Radio for edge networks. The new application features an easy-to-use “ITTT (If This Then That)” process control programming interface that will control analog, digital and RS485 sensors linked to the ZumLink programmable radio. The FreeWave ITTT App is designed for a user-friendly experience and requires no previous programming knowledge or practice. Technology partnership with E2E Technologies: E2E is a comprehensive solutions provider specializing in communication architecture design, implementation and network management. E2E’s Stingray Network Management System (NMS), supports the full array of FreeWave’s industry-leading wireless communication solutions and is optimizable for IT professionals looking to manage individual components of a limited IIoT or M2M communications system within a larger IT network management framework. The New FreeWave We officially unveiled a new look and website that reflects our move to the next generation of the industrial IoT: The Programmable Edge and Fog Computing. The new FreeWave visually projects our future-focused mission to help organizations around the world connect and gain valuable intelligence from devices – even in the most challenging of locations and conditions – anytime, anywhere in a secure, reliable fashion. This week has represented several major milestones for FreeWave, and launching it all at DistribuTECH was the perfect platform for sharing both our news and the future direction of FreeWave. What do you think about the new FreeWave website?
2017 IIoT Prediction Series, Part 5: Major Public Utility Company Closes Doors
As 2017 kicks into full gear and a particularly interesting 2016 fades into the rearview mirror, we took a look around the IIoT landscape to see what this year might potentially have in store. Today, we wrap up the 2017 series – let us know what you think! On Tuesday, we started our predictions by looking at the potential development of Fog Computing at the Edge and its impact on cybersecurity. Wednesday, we predicted that the rise of IIoT applications will outpace consumer IoT apps. Thursday, we wrote about the challenge facing IIoT businesses as the workforce ages and new skills are needed for the ongoing IT/OT Convergence factor. On Friday, we predicted that the growth of smart cities infrastructure would force a connectivity standard for the IIoT industry. A Public Utility Closure in 2017 The maturation of interoperability standards and evolution of remote data collection technologies are forcing critical infrastructure and utility organizations to adapt at a new pace, in light of aging infrastructure and high percentages of the workforce that are nearing retirement. Existing management continues to struggle to match the IT and operations resources needed to build a comprehensive, integrated portfolio of applications that must work together to support the organization’s goals. The prediction A public utility company will close its doors in 2017 due to challenges surrounding the adoption and implementation of modern IoT technologies. There are numerous forces that support the prediction. Here’s our take on the big ones: Are you Taking Advantage of Fog Computing at the Edge? According to analysts, utility organizations are becoming more comfortable hosting critical infrastructure data and applications in the Cloud. But, in an effort to further optimize processes and shorten response times, utilities need to explore ways to host applications at the device/sensor level (i.e., the Edge otherwise known as Fog Computing). A decentralized network architecture that brings computing power closer to where data is generated and acted upon enables utilities to analyze, control and automate closer to the “Things” in the Industrial Internet of Things. In electric power, for example, where even milliseconds are vital, certain processes can move away from the Cloud and closer to the Edge. In an industry where cloud computing presents its own sets of challenges, can utilities go one step farther to look at new ways to optimize the “things” at the edge? IT-OT Convergence Presents Plenty of Challenges With identifiable business benefits and rapidly developing technologies that are closing the IT/OT divide, there are functional and operational differences between IT and OT groups that exist and complicate integration or convergence. IT and OT groups typically have fundamentally different charters, focus and personnel within their respective organizations. The challenges to IT/OT convergence are not the sensors, hardware, software or technology, but how each group perceives each project or opportunity and in turn, the solutions, which are skewed by their respective domains. In order for IT/OT convergence to be successful, communication is essential and in turn, there needs to be a clear understanding of each group’s roles – something we see utility organizations struggle with mightily, especially as an aging workforce butts heads with the next generation of digital-centric employees. However, the careful selection of technology for IIoT or industrial applications can help drive the convergence of IT/OT systems. For example, in electric utilities, the rollout of Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) and Distribution Automation (DA) networks is truly an OT application. The source of the data will fuel IT/OT convergence because it is the data analytics applications such as outage detection, fault management, prepay and others that bring value to the Smart Grid. If utilities can proactively take a systems level view of its infrastructure and integrate legacy systems with modern IT systems, the convergence of IT/OT groups may prove less strenuous. Cyber-threats to the Utility Utilities are at the forefront of the Industrial IoT with complex and comprehensive networks for advanced metering infrastructure, energy management, distribution management and substation automation. The estimated growth in IIoT applications for utilities and energy industries will increase to more than 1.5 billion devices by 2020. This explosive growth in networks, smart sensors and devices, and automated systems requires utilities to address, implement and monitor the security of their data networks because these are the networks providing command and control of critical infrastructure that is the Smart Gird. As technology has evolved, so has the intelligence and sophistication of cyber terrorists and their tactics. If utilities do not build a comprehensive security layer, especially across its internet-connected systems, there is little faith they’d be able to combat against such tactics as Denial of Service and Intrusion – the two top threats according to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). If utilities don’t invest in hardened/proven networking and communications equipment, network access control programs, data encryption strategies, advanced monitoring technology and explore various other tactics for limiting exposure to harmful cybersecurity threats, they may be forced out of business anyways. Today, it is not a matter of “if” a cyber-attack is going to take place, but when. We hope you are ready. All in All We hope this prediction is one that doesn’t come to light in 2017, especially with all the direct investments being made in our critical infrastructure projects across the nation. However, a competitive organization is both agile and proactive in meeting market demands – something utilities need to learn from as business continues. That does it for our list of 2017 IIoT predictions – hope you enjoyed and please be sure to send your questions and comments below!
Industry 4.0 Top News Roundup
Industry 4.0, another term being batted around for the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) to explain the next-generation of industrial manufacturing and a new data exchange paradigm, is bleeding into multiple industry dialogues to describe the new landscape of how things are being made. With all the hype surrounding the idea of a “smart factory,” it seemed fitting to turn our attention towards highlighting our top news being reported on Industry 4.0. Industry 4.0: the urgency of data standardization By @Antoine_Rizk1 | Published on @ManufacturingGL “Sometimes presented as the new industrial revolution, Industry 4.0, primarily represents an advance in production means and practices. Characterized by interconnected machines and systems, it involves making production and supply chains smarter in order to improve efficiency in resource allocation and increase agility in production processes.” Industrial Analytics Based On Internet Of Things Will Revolutionize Manufacturing By @LouisColumbus | Published on @Forbes “Industrial Analytics (IA) describes the collection, analysis and usage of data generated in industrial operations and throughout the entire product lifecycle, applicable to any company that is manufacturing and selling physical products. It involves traditional methods of data capture and statistical modeling. However, most of its future value will be enabled by advancements in connectivity (IoT) and improved methods for analyzing and interpreting data (Machine Learning).” Drones will transform the way food is grown next year By @Harri8t | Published on @CNBC “Drones are transforming agriculture — giving farmers new tools to supervise crops and check on fields from the air — and 2017 will be be a pivotal year for adoption, say industry experts.” US Manufacturers Too Slow to Adopt Industry 4.0: BCG Study By IW Staff | Published on @IndustryWeek “Nearly 90% of manufacturing leaders surveyed by BCG regarded adopting Industry 4.0 technologies as a way to improve productivity, but only about one in four see opportunities to use these advances to build new revenue streams. Many are pursuing isolated initiatives scattered throughout the company, BCG found in its new report, “Sprinting to Value in Industry 4.0,” without a clear vision and coordination from the top.” Embracing ‘Industry 4.0’ By @alansmurray | Published on @FortuneMagazine “There’s a interesting new report out from BCG this morning on “Industry 4.0” – the German’s preferred term for how big data, cloud computing, sensors, advanced analytics, augmented reality and improved robotics are dramatically changing the world of manufacturing (known in GE-land as the “Industrial Internet”).” As we conclude another round of top news, we hope you were inspired and informed about the latest in Industry 4.0. It’s clear that business digitalization will only continue to add more technology, whether that be IoT, sensors, cloud computing and other solutions. Our job is to be ready and informed about how tomorrow’s technology could help enterprise digital transformation today.
Data that Drives Electric Vehicles
There was a lot of hype surrounding electric vehicles when they first hit the market for consumers. Supporters saw electric vehicles as a key solution for battling gas prices and making a positive impact on the environment. Over the years, several countries throughout the world have incentivized the purchase of electric vehicles through subsidies available to both the car makers and the buyers. However, as we roll into 2017, sales are short of expectations in the U.S. Currently, we’re seeing only about 400,000 electric vehicles on the road. In President Obama’s First term, he said that he believed the U.S. could have one million electric vehicles on the road by 2015. When January 2016 hit, the estimate was looking like it could take up to another four years to accomplish the goal – especially with continuing low gas prices and troubled electric vehicle battery technology. To help further the push towards electric vehicles, the White House recently hosted an electric vehicle datathon to find and discuss what data would drive the deployment of more electric vehicles on U.S. roads. The event was co-hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy and four National Laboratories. The White House announced that electric vehicle experts, automakers, charging-station providers, cities and states collaborated with software-development and data-analysis communities as the group looked for answers to the electric vehicle challenges. Together, they worked to better understand how plug-in (electric) vehicles contribute to and help the environment and economy. They also worked to find out find out what it will take to make U.S. consumers more interested in purchasing electric vehicles. Electric Vehicles and the Right Data Electric vehicle manufacturers, well aware of the challenges and slow adoption, have also worked to provide U.S. citizens with appealing electric vehicle options. During the R&D process, these manufacturers are challenged with improving vehicles to increase purchases and usage in the U.S. Battery challenges aside, careful selection of communication technology is essential to improving data and performance of these vehicles. Without proper data collection and transport, vehicle performance cannot be analyzed and improved. One of the leading electric car companies uses Sensor-to-Server (S2S) solutions for RTK base station communications to improve data and correlation. As the Internet of Things (IoT) infiltrates more areas of our everyday life, S2S solutions designed to be robust and reliable in heavily industrial environments work as a communication solution for many industries across the board. From typical industrial environments like oil/gas and water/wastewater, to smart cities and the automotive industry and more specifically, electric vehicles. S2S solutions offer high-speed, long range connectivity with 900 MHz RF technology and they can support third party applications. As the electric vehicle industry looks to data for overcoming challenges, these solutions are designed to collect, protect, transport and control critical data from network end points all the way back to the server. Electric car manufacturers have a ways to go in terms of driving more adoption from consumers, but they have a nice selection of IoT and sensor-based technologies to help improve data and communications.
2017 Analyst Predictions – Industrial IoT
Predictions can be enlightening as we round out the end of the year, and industry analysts covering the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) have begun forecasting what to expect in 2017. In the ever changing digital business landscape, companies need to keep a pulse on the technology and regulatory environments to have direction on where to focus their efforts. Over the past few years, IIoT has taken on the shared title of industry 4.0, as new ways of connecting businesses and consumers impact systems infrastructures and technology integrations across many, if not all. business lines. In honor of reigning in 2017 as a strong year for the industrial internet, we have dedicated this week’s round up to highlight some of the top IIoT analyst predictions in the coming year. Gartner Predictions: Surviving the Storm Winds of Digital Disruption By Daryl C. Plummer, Martin Reynolds, Charles S. Golvin, Allie Young, Patrick J. Sullivan, Alfonso Velosa, Benoit J. Lheureux, Andrew Frank, Gavin Tay, Manjunath Bhat, Peter Middleton, Joseph Unsworth, @rayval, @DavidFurl, Werner Goertz, @JCribbs_Gartner, Mark A. Beyer, @Alex42Linden, @noahelkin, @nheudecker, Tom Austin, @mc_angela, Fabio Chesini, Hung LeHong | Published on @Gartner_inc “Digital business innovation creates disruptive effects that have a wide-ranging impact on people and technology. However, secondary ripple effects will often prove to be more disruptive than the original disruption. Digital strategists must actively identify secondary effects when planning change.” Gartner Also Suggests That its Time to, Harness IoT Innovation to Generate Business Value By @chetster | Published on @Gartner_inc “The Internet of Things is moving beyond concepts and trials, and has begun to deliver business benefits across a range of industries. Studying innovation and how early use cases have fared will help CIOs and IT leaders capture business value.” Forrester Predictions 2017: Cybersecurity Risks Intensify By @AmyDeMartine, Jeff Pollard, @infosec_jb, @acser, @heidishey, Christopher McClean, @jz415, @merrittmaxim, @sbalaouras, Trevor Lyness, Peggy Dostie | Published on @forrester “The connected world has arrived; we live and work in it. In this new reality, the next 12 months will see battles rage that will determine the amount of control individuals have over their own data and right to privacy as well as the offensive and defensive responsibilities of our governments. This report guides security and risk (S&R) pros through five predictions for 2017 that highlight escalating ramifications of poor security hygiene and how to mitigate potential damage.” Ovum 2017 Trends: Radio Access Networks By @sonixag | Published on @OvumICT “This is part of Ovum’s 2017 Trends to Watch series. This report looks at what Ovum believes will be the major trends next year when it comes to the radio access network (RAN) market.The RAN market remains a challenging area and the need for spectrum remains a constant concern. RAN vendors are looking for new growth areas, and everybody wants 5G and they want it now. All of these factors are driving market trends.” IDC 2017 Forecast: Manufacturing Worldwide By @kimknickle, Simon Ellis, @hashtonIDC, Christopher Holmes, @jeffhojlo, @ivanoortis, @VeronesiLor, Jing Bing Zhang | Published on @IDC “This IDC study provides manufacturers with the top 10 predictions and underlying drivers that we expect to impact manufacturers’ IT investments in 2017 and beyond. Technology leaders and their counterparts in the line-of-business (LOB) operations can use this document to guide their IT strategic planning efforts. According to Kimberly Knickle, research vice president, IT Priorities and Strategies, IDC Manufacturing Insights, “Technology continues to reshape the relationship between business and IT for innovation and digital transformation. Manufacturers want to work smarter using digital technologies in their products and processes and throughout the value chain. Our predictions create a framework for IT and line-of-business executives to plan and execute technology-related initiatives in the year ahead.” As we conclude our highlights this week, we should realize these predictions are just the tip of the digital iceberg anticipated for 2017. The future could see more intelligent technologies communicating in industry 4.0 with machines processing more data. We could also expect to finally dig deeper into our IoT connected understanding. All we can do is hold tight as the next corner of digital transformation unfolds.
Top News: Unmanned Aircrafts Taking Flight
As we near the end of 2016, it’s hard to ignore the current and potential impact that Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) technology has on society. News reports from around the world continue to highlight many instances of unmanned aircrafts taking to the skies. As the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and other international airspace regulatory bodies continue opening up the airways for new technology deployments, businesses look to be in a prime position to leverage numerous unmanned flights around the globe. Despite the continued pressures on government agencies to make UAS deployable in commercial airspace, regulators and safety officials still tend to err on the side on caution. Numerous testing sites and operations have already begun in hopes of helping to define and implement the safety protocols UAS operators need to follow. However, will regulators allow UAS to fly “out of sight” missions one day? Will retailers finally get approval for the chance to deliver packages via drones? How will airport officials help coalesce flight patterns from both manned and unmanned systems? Only time will tell, but as the excitement around UAS grows, we’ll keep a keen eye on the developments and use cases. Take a moment to enjoy this week’s highlights of the top UAS coverage throughout the past week. FAA to Conduct Unique Drone Testing at DIA By @CBS4Jeff | Published on @CBSDenver “Unique drone testing is going on at Denver International Airport. The only other testing like it has been done at JFK Airport in New York and at Atlantic City Airport. Now testing is looking at how to identify and control drones near airliners in Denver.” NASA Proves Out of Sight UAS Operations By @NASAAmes | Published on @UASMagazine “During the test, two of the drones flew beyond their commanders’ lines of sight. As many as two drones were operated in the same test airspace, separated by altitude and within sight of their operators. The pilots used the NASA-developed UTM research platform to gain information about all the drones’ locations and proximity to other air traffic and hazards. UTM also informed other airspace users of potential hazards and conflicting operations that could affect their plans.” Flight at the Bay Shows UAS Role in Emergencies By GPS World Staff | Published on @GPSWorld “The test also helped Shore Regional Health explore new ways of providing access to medical care to rural areas, according to William Huffner, Shore’s chief medical officer. UAS technology has the potential to bring supplies not only to medical staff, but also directly to patients in isolated areas.” The future is here: UAS are delivering Domino’s pizzas to customers By @mcwm | Published @qz “To order a pizza with a drone, a customer has to opt into the service, and can then order online or through the Domino’s app to get the pie they desire. Right now, Domino’s told Quartz, the drones have a delivery radius of 1.5 km (about one mile) from the Whangaparaoa store, but the company is aiming to expand that to about 10 km (roughly six miles).” Disney Plans to Fly Over 300 UAS Every Night This Winter at Disney World by @aprilaser | Published on @Recode “In August, after the Federal Aviation Administration released the drone rules for commercial operators, Intel was granted a waiver to fly an unlimited number of its Shooting Star drones per pilot at night over any uncontrolled airspace in the country.” As we conclude this week’s unmanned aircraft edition, we hope to have inspired, informed and most of all entertained with all the possibilities of UAS taking flight. Reliable IoT connectivity and data communications are key to opening doors to what some deemed impossible to happen. It’s time to embrace these new technologies and discover what the future will unleash for the next-gen airspace.
A Very Thankful Time of Year in IIoT
Thanksgiving is the time of year where we reflect on the accomplishments of the prior year and to be thankful for all that we have