An Industrial IoT Anniversary
Wow, what a year! This post marks the one year anniversary of publishing Industrial IoT top news, trends and highlights, and we wanted to dedicate a recap post to our favorite articles throughout the past year. In particular, a lot of attention has been paid to the happenings in precision agriculture, oil and gas, unmanned systems, the smart grid, public utilities, manufacturing, machines and machine learning, fog computing, big data, sensor technology, wireless technology and cybersecurity, to name a few. Read on for the top 10 articles we’ve posted since last August and make sure to see the special bonus at the end! Precision Ag: Big data is precision agriculture’s best tool to feed the world By @LuxResearch | Published on @AgProfessionalhttp://www.agprofessional.com/news/big-data-precision-agriculture%E2%80%99s-best-tool-feed-world“Big data can be the most flexible tool for increasing the efficiency of food production through precision agriculture – a quantified approach to cultivation that uses sensing, input modulation, and data analytics to enhance the efficiency of agriculture.” Oil and Gas: In the digital oil field, “no wires” is a no-brainerBy Zach Wertenberger @WPXEnergy | Published on @WorldOilhttp://www.worldoil.com/magazine/2015/september-2015/features/in-the-digital-oil-field-no-wires-is-a-no-brainer“Wireless technology plays an integral part in the day-to-day operations of virtually every industry on the planet. However, if you spent your time visiting most of the world’s oil fields, you wouldn’t believe that.Despite being a rather obvious fit with the inherent nature of the oilfield services sector (OFS), wireless I/O has been adopted by producers at a slow pace, with most continuing to rely upon miles and miles of fault-prone wire to connect onsite control centers with wellsite instrumentation.” Smart Grid: Wireless Lifts Focus on Grid Resiliency By Brad Gilbert @freewavetech | Published on @POWERGRIDmaghttp://www.elp.com/articles/powergrid_international/print/volume-21/issue-6/features/wireless-lifts-focus-on-grid-resiliency.html“Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) networking technology and wireless Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications solutions are critical to the daily operations of an increasingly connected and industrial world. With a greater dependence on providing reliable and secure high-speed connectivity to personnel, smart devices, machinery and many other geographically dispersed assets, electric utility operators require powerful, yet flexible, communications solutions for their business demands.” Utilities: Wastewater Treatment: Out of Sight, Out of Mind (Thanks to IIoT)By Scott Allen @S_Allen_IIoT | Published on @Ulitzerhttp://scottallen.ulitzer.com/node/3527211“Water is a crucial piece of any city’s – or country’s – infrastructure. The United States is fortunate to have some of safest drinking water in the world, for a number of reasons, one of which is its many water and wastewater treatment facilities.” Manufacturing: Bringing Smart Technology to Old Factories Can Be Industrial-Size ChallengeBy @mcoc | Published on @wsjhttp://www.wsj.com/articles/bringing-smart-technology-to-old-factories-can-be-industrial-size-challenge-1465351322“It’s a tantalizing vision: Bright and shiny factories where robotic arms and conveyors never break down and production goals are never missed—all thanks to internet-connected sensors that monitor machine health and respond to the slightest supply or logistics hiccup.” Machine Learning: 10 Ways Machine Learning is Revolutionizing ManufacturingBy @LouisColumbus | Published on @Forbeshttp://www.forbes.com/sites/louiscolumbus/2016/06/26/10-ways-machine-learning-is-revolutionizing-manufacturing/#3f10cd992d7f“Machine learning’s core technologies align well with the complex problems manufacturers face daily. From striving to keep supply chains operating efficiently to producing customized, built- to-order products on time, machine learning algorithms have the potential to bring greater predictive accuracy to every phase of production.” Fog Computing: Why IoT Needs Fog ComputingBy @BanafaAhmed | Published on @bbvaOpenMindhttps://www.bbvaopenmind.com/en/why-iot-needs-fog-computing/“The Internet of Things (IoT) is one of the hottest mega-trends in technology – and for good reason , IoT deals with all the components of what we consider web 3.0 including Big Data Analytics, Cloud Computing and Mobile Computing.” Sensors: The Army Wants to Implant Body Sensors into Combat SoldiersBy @tjenningsbrown | Published on @vocativehttp://www.vocativ.com/342014/army-body-sensors/“In the near future, American soldiers might all be implanted with a sensor before going to battle.The United States Department of Defense is interested in monitoring the health of soldiers in real-time. But wearable health trackers have faults and limitations. That’s why the Army Research Office and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency have awarded $7.5 million to San Francisco-based Profusa to develop tissue-integrated health-monitoring sensors for service members.” Wireless Tech: Industrial Wireless RevolutionBy Soliman A. Al-Walaie @Saudi_Aramco | Published on @ISA_Interchangehttps://www.isa.org/intech/20151001/“Wireless technology is an essential business enabler for the automation world. It has gained rapid acceptance in many industrial sectors because of its cost effectiveness, reliability, fast deployment, and flexibility. Over the past four decades, ultrahigh frequency (UHF) radios have been widely used for long-range supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) connectivity in the oil and gas and power and utility sectors.” Cybersecurity: Navigating Industrial IoT risk and complexityBy @EStarkloff | Published on @AMDMaghttp://www.aerospacemanufacturinganddesign.com/article/amd1015-industrial-iot-complex-systems/“As massive networks of systems come online, they will need to communicate with each other and with the enterprise, often over vast distances. Both the systems and the communications need to be secure or millions of dollars in assets will be put at risk. One example of the need for security is on the smart utility grid, which is on the leading edge of the IIoT.” Bonus! Eliminate the cost of your next IIoT deployment Now is the time to brave the digital transformation in your industry while you continue to future-proof your systems. All you need to do is submit a use case for your radio network for a chance to win a next generation industrial wireless IoT solution. All entries must be received by August 19th. FreeWave will announce the winner on August 31st chosen based on submission (US and Canada only). The winning network must be deployed by October 31st. In return for the free radio network, the winning candidate will be able to gain additional promotion of their installation and network implementation! Submit here for your chance to win: http://bit.ly/2awdmkC. Learn more about ZumLink.
Smart Grid: IoT’s Next Frontier
If smart grids across the world are headed towards an IoT frontier, what come’s next? According to a recent report, Ericsson estimated there will be 1.5 billion IoT devices adopted by the utility and energy industries as early as 2020. The rise of the smart grid seeks to tackle energy producers’ needs to direct power and resources as efficiently as possible. It’s not enough to know where all the utility lines are located, the modern digital age requires monitoring and sensors placed across all assets in the field, so that providers can relay actionable intelligence across the enterprise as quickly as possible. In the event of a power outage, for example, sensors can inform the field technicians where along the line the fault has happened, thus saving time on troubleshooting and enabling faster restoration of power to the customer base affected. An example would be Florida Power & Lighting (FPL), who is in the process of installing 20,000 smart grid devices across their state. Already these devices are saving an estimated 100,000 visits from technicians, since these smart grid devices can automatically fix small outages automatically. Computer Business Review reports that, “The world’s traditional electrical network – simple and linear, with centralized energy production and passive consumption – is undergoing a transformation to a much more complex, interconnected, and interactive model: the Smart Grid. However, for this network to become intelligent, users will require connectivity, simplicity, and security. They will also need access to a reliable and safe energy source that guarantees optimal operation of their installations, infrastructures, and equipment.” Perhaps more advanced smart grid solutions comes with a price, as many early IoT adopters are finding out. Storing, transferring and relying mission-critical commands across an IP address does expose potential cybersecurity risks as information and remote controls move from Sensor-2-Server. Experts are saying it’s not if a cyber attack will happen, but when the smart grid will be hit. Despite the need to adopt new technologies within the evolving digital landscape, utilities must establish a holistic security plan to not only address physical security measures, but also the data transmission paradigm from each individual end point on the network and back to the corporate IT office. Security through obscurity is not a solution. There are many common attack vectors for industrial devices that become even more relevant when considering that smart grid infrastructures are becoming fully networked, geographically dispersed projects.
IoT Top News: A Sensor Driven World
Much of the world around us is becoming driven by sensors, where we are able to track and map numerous possibilities with countless M2M and IoT solutions. So, we wanted to highlight some of the trending use applications of sensors today. The Army is looking at installing sensors to their combat soldiers The Army is looking for a way to better track the health and well-being of their soldiers in combat, and current health fitness sensors have too many irregular findings. Jennings Brown with Vocativ informs us that “The United States Department of Defense is interested in monitoring the health of soldiers in real-time.” Although it is interesting to see Army uses of sensors. One must ask how sensors impact the industry at large? IoT is responsible for propelling sensors further into our world. Recent findings from ABI Research show that you can’t have one without the other — meaning, as we continue to explore the numerous IoT and M2M solutions it is only natural that we also see a dramatic increase in sensors used across the board. Peter Clarke with EET Asia reports, “ABI Research reckons sensors and peripherals will be 65 percent of an installed base of 47 billion units by 2021, double the 2016 level.” The latest IoT Sensors Market Report for 2015-2023 sheds light on the global growth of sensors. An increased demand for sensors is expected to impact the industrial and automotive IoT sectors according the the recent ReportBuyer’s IoT Sensors Market research. Electronic News has shared the latest findings from the ReportBuyer’s IoT Sensors Market 2015-2023 report which states, ” There will be a number of opportunities for the global IoT sensors market. One such opportunity is the increasing development of ‘smart cities’ around the world. IoT sensors will need to be used in aspects such as smart meters, smart grids, intelligent traffic management systems and smart packing, among others.” Sensors are being used in both industrial and consumer IoT applications across the board. As technology improves, it is now easier to create higher quality sensors for a fraction of the cost, opening the doors for more industrial and consumer IoT applications. Mary Catherine O’Connor with IoT Journal believes that with the growth of IoT sensor applications, That means there is a big opportunity for systems integrators in this market. There may also be an opportunity for companies that develop their own sensor-integration capabilities. It will be fascinating to watch the market develop.” With that said, we can’t forget to realize that implementation of any IoT sensors will require a sensor-2-server plan, that will ensure the data makes it safely in real-time to the intended end-user.
Data Drought: Rural Australian Wi-Fi
Data drought in the rural Australian outback has illuminated the myriad problems stemming from a lack of Wi-Fi connectivity. Precision agriculture today requires broadband and high-speed connectivity to compete in the innovative global marketplace. Yet, many rural areas lack the sufficient infrastructure needed, offering only spotty or basic wireless internet solutions. In fact, there are a total of 135,000 Austrian farms over 400 million hectares, that create enough food to feed 80 million people, representing 13 percent of the country’s total export revenue. With that in mind, Australia can no long afford to ignore the demand to increase farming innovation, and so it has begun to look at possible solutions for the geographically complicated continent. A recent FaceBook survey conducted by the Better Internet for Rural, Regional and Remote Australia (BIRRR) found that 88 percent of Australians feel they don’t have services to meet all of their needs. Many living in the rural areas have voiced concerns over the noticeable “data drought,” but these concerns were often thought as a one-off individual problem. The BIRRR results have helped to bring to light just how massive this data drought issue is to farmers and others living in the rural areas of the country. Living in the bush has proven hard to find reliable ways to connect even basic Wi-Fi long enough for remote education, banking and innovative agriculture tools. It’s not for a lack of trying, as nearly every farmer has at least one smartphone. Many have been forced back to the city, even just to rent office space, so they are able to conduct business and digital transactions without interruptions. Is there a solution? The National Broadband Network (NBN) launched satellite Sky Muster, earlier this year with an expected customer capacity of 240,000. Farmers lucky enough to live in range of this satellite are starting to see the benefits of real broadband connectivity. A second satellite is expected to launch later this year with the hope of reducing the data drought across the remote areas of the nation. Another possible solution has been presented by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who believes mobile technology is key to improving the agriculture and living conditions in the outback. Turnbull has promised to spend 60 million to improve mobile black spots in regional, rural and remote Australia. The AgForce vice-president and committee chair, Georgie Somerset recently said that the “increased investment in fixed wireless roll-out would also enable local Wi-Fi platforms, that can then support businesses and education in rural Queensland with high-speed reliable and affordable data.” It is important to note that, today’s IIoT technology marketplace has begun to produce exciting new solutions to address remote wi-fi needs similar to the challenges being faced in Australia today. The steps Australia takes to find a suitable solution to its connectivity problems can set the stage for solving similar challengs in remote areas across the globe.
Critical (Outdoor) IoT Applications Need Robust Connectivity
It’s safe to assume that the majority of all Internet of Things (IoT) devices operate near large populations of people. Of course, right? This is where the action happens – smart devices, smart cars, smart infrastructure, smart cities, etc. Plus, the cost of getting “internet-connected” in these areas is relatively low – public access to Wi-Fi is becoming widely available, cellular coverage is blanketed over cities, etc. But what about the devices out in the middle of nowhere? The industrial technology that integrates and communicates with heavy machinery that isn’t always “IP connected,” operating in locations not only hard to reach, but often exposed harsh weather. The fact remains, this is where IoT connectivity is potentially most challenging to enable, but also perhaps the most important to have. Why? Because these numerous assets help deliver the lifeblood for our critical infrastructures – electricity, water, energy, etc. Without these legacy and geographically dispersed machines, a smart world may never exist. But let’s back up for a second and squash any misconceptions about the “industrial” connectivity picture we’re painting above. Take this excerpt from Varun Nagaraj in a past O’Reilly Radar article: “… unlike most consumer IoT scenarios, which involve digital devices that already have IP support built in or that can be IP enabled easily, typical IIoT scenarios involve pre-IP legacy devices. And unfortunately, IP enablement isn’t free. Industrial device owners need a direct economic benefit to justify IP enabling their non-IP devices. Alternatively, they need a way to gain the benefits of IP without giving up their investments in their existing industrial devices — that is, without stranding these valuable industrial assets. Rather than seeing industrial device owners as barriers to progress, we should be looking for ways to help industrial devices become as connected as appropriate — for example, for improved peer-to-peer operation and to contribute their important small data to the larger big-data picture of the IoT.” It sounds like the opportunity ahead for the industrial IoT is to provide industrial devices and machines with an easy migration path to internet connectivity by creatively addressing its constraints (outdated protocols, legacy equipment, the need for both wired and wireless connections, etc.) and enabling new abilities for the organization. Let’s look at an example of how this industrial IoT transformation is happening. Voice, Video, Data & Sensors Imagine you are a technician from a power plant in an developing part of the world with lots of desert terrain. The company you work for provides power to an entire region of people, which is difficult considering the power plant location is in an extremely remote location facing constant sand blasts and extreme temperatures. The reliance your company places on the industrial devices being used to monitor and control all facets of the power plant itself is paramount. If they fail, the plant fails and your customers are without power. This is where reliable, outdoor IoT connectivity is a must: With a plethora of machinery and personnel onsite, you need a self-healing Wi-Fi mesh network over the entire power plant so that internet connections aren’t lost mid-operation. Because the traditional phone-line system doesn’t extend to the remote location of the power plant, and cell coverage is weak, the company requires Voice over IP (VoIP) communications. Also, because there’s no physical hardware involved, personnel never needs to worry about maintenance, repairs or upgrades. The company wants to ensure no malfeasance takes place onsite, especially due to the mission-critical nature of the power plant. Therefore, security camera control and video transport is required back to a central monitoring center. Power plants require cooling applications to ensure the integrity and safety of the power generation taking place. The company requires Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) networking for monitoring the quality of the inbound water being used to cool the equipment. The company wants to provide visibility to its customers in how much energy they are consuming. This requires Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) backhaul networking to help manage the energy consumption taking place within the smart grid. Since the power plant is in a remote location, there is only one tiny village nearby being used by the families and workers at the power plant. The company wants to provide a
IIoT Top News: Utilities Powering Tomorrow
We’re fresh off a great week at DistribuTECH 2016 where we saw a gamut of technologies, thought leaders and trends. With utilities and energy still top-of-mind, our focus this week is on the changing face of the industry. This digital age means we have come to expect that the power will always charge, operate and run our numerous IoT devices. That’s why this week’s IIoT top news is dedicated to powering our electrical future. So, it should come as no surprise that, the electric power industry has made it their mission to protect and secure this precious power at all costs. The power initiative has teamed up with federal agencies, National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation to continue to build its capabilities. Now as you hold tight to your digital devices, take a breath, relax, and enjoy this week’s top news roundup. Industry Pioneer: The Road to Electric Utility of the Future is Paved With Prosumer Technology (Forbes) Years later, after the initial big push for IoT with utilities, we are still hoping for better, cheaper and smarter utility solutions. Forbes suggests the future of utilities will be paved in prosumer technology. William Pentland writes, “In 2009, the U.S. government made the single largest investment ever in modernizing the U.S. power system. Nearly seven years and more than five billion in federal tax dollars later, the electric grid is technically a lot smarter than it used to be. So why do utility rates seem to be getting more – not less – stupid?” Utilities to Lead Surge of Electric-Car Charging in Southern California (Green Car Reports) Southern California now has the lead on electric-car charging stations as utility companies in the area task themselves with an aggressive plan to expand the number of station in the region. A recent report from Navigant Research suggests that, “The commencement of these projects marks a major transition for electric-car charging in California, as it marks the beginning of significant involvement from utilities.” Michigan Utilities Expected to Surpass Renewables Mandate (North American Wind Power) Each year the state of Michigan sets a level of renewable energy that must be met, only this year the Michigan Utilities is expected to surpass that mandate with a surprising amount of growth. According to the six-annual report from the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC), “There has been significant growth of wind generation in Michigan’s renewable energy certificate portfolio, from 7 percent in 2009 to 44 percent in 2014.” NRG Proved How Tough It Is To Change. So Who’s Poised to Become the Utility of the Future? (BreakingEnergy.com) A short time ago NRG set its sights on becoming the Google of the energy world, but as the IoT evolves it is very likely an unknown company will be the next market leader for energy worldwide. GreenTech Media argues that “the utility of the future will also have to be so much more to succeed — leveraging data, new technologies and personalization to transform the way customers consume and deliver power.” What Are Utilities Thinking Today About the Importance of Engaging with Their Customers? (Intelligent Utility) As world continues to become all things IoT, utilities need to consider how engaged they would like to be with their customers. ONZO survey results at DistribuTECH 2016 show, “Most utilities also plan to increase their investment in improving customer engagements and think that analytics are key to their ability to do so.”
IT Security Dynamics and the Industrial IoT
The quest to understand production and operational factors, distribute this information to business systems and people within an organization, and directly improve business processes and profitability as a result is not new. In fact, it has been embraced by companies for decades. This collection of operational information for use in information or business systems is known as IT/OT convergence. Getting IT and OT systems to work together to maximize business efficiency — while avoiding negative consequences, risks and pitfalls in the process — is a tall task. However, thanks to new technologies, this process is becoming more practical and is creating the opportunities for huge economic benefits when these two disciplines are successfully integrated. But, how does this convergence affect the security paradigm in large, geographically dispersed enterprises? Let’s Talk Security Traditionally, companies have a corporate firewall that divides the corporate IT space from OT space. With an Internet of Things (IoT) communications network, there is a need to protect the sensors and new applications on the OT side. However, even if there is a secure communication link, if the individual devices that are connected on the OT side become compromised and the threat has access to that communication link, a hacker can push malicious data, cause denial of service (DoS), or introduce malware or viruses to the entire network. There are many of ways to run into problems on the IoT front if companies are not careful in their network design security implementation. On the IT side, corporate network security typically sees many threats. Those threats require significant attention, and consequently IT organizations have numerous options and tools to use, such as intrusion detection, log monitoring, network behavior monitoring, network inspections, whitelisting, firewalls, and more. The IT space has a much different attack surface than OT because with an IT network, the company can physically secure the building and control where the data goes in and out. Data escaping the building is relatively small in comparison to the OT space. WiFi that is leaking outside the building could be a vulnerability, but there are tools and ways to lock down that type of threat, and checkpoints where the IT department can analyze the traffic going through the network. In IT, bandwidth is plentiful and the network overhead associated with security is generally not a major factor. Considering Industrial IoT Networks IIoT networks, on the other hand, can span many miles with potentially hundreds of thousands of data points. An IIoT network likely consists of small embedded devices with long lifespans, making it very efficient. However, they are generally not like the Windows operating system, which is consistently conducting massive updates. Some embedded technologies don’t allow any updates, making it essential to carefully select the best devices for a network. Having thousands of these edge devices is where organizations will begin to see IT/OT convergence – many more points in the field where threats could be coming into the IT network. Industrial organizations today are creating a connected infrastructure with IP-enabled sensors or IP/IIoT-enabled Access Gateways. The data generated by sensors at an asset location can be valuable to more than just the central control system. This might mean M2M communication with sensors talking directly to each other. It may mean that multiple systems consume the live, real-time sensor data directly from the field. It may even mean that operators connect their sensors directly to the cloud or other back office systems. If there is a way to share critical data while addressing security issues that can help provide information to key data users, then that information becomes increasingly valuable. Security Through Obscurity is Not a Solution IIoT solutions often utilize the widely deployed security technologies from the Internet to avoid the custom, one-off solutions of past industrial security, when it was used at all. IP technology makes it easier to deploy and talk to sensors, but it also makes it easier for intruders to see and snoop on valuable data streams. Security through obscurity is not a solution. There are many common attack vectors for industrial devices that become even more relevant when considering the IIoT infrastructures and fully networked, geographically dispersed projects.
