What is the Industrial Internet of Things or IIoT?

The Industrial Internet of Things, as IIoT is also called is beginning to dynamize and restructure modern industries in a way that hasn’t been seen since the first industrial revolution. While that momentous occasion revolutionized the way we manufactured products, this second industrial revolution, ushered in by the internet of things for industry, is more to do with efficiency, cost cutting, waste and freight management and of course the overall profitability of 21st century industry.

Table of Contents

• What is the Industrial Internet of Things
• Defining the Industrial Internet of Things
• How can the Industrial Internet of Things change the way business works
• Which are the sectors that are leading the way in adopting and utilizing internet of things industrial
• The future of the internet of things in industry
• Conclusion

What is the Industrial Internet of Things?

On why the Internet of Things in Industry is an important linchpin of global business.

In order to understand the Industrial Internet of Things, we must understand modern industrial dynamics. Modern industry has gotten more and more complex, with the evolution of manufacturing and global trade. The Internet of things in Industry is an important ecosystem. It constantly measures, creates models of economy and redundancy, enables innovators to come up with solutions for industry based on data capture, mining and insight generating abilities and of course, simplifies hitherto complex processes in the ever-evolving global industrial era.

Defining the Industrial Internet of Things

IIoT or the Industrial Internet of things, deals with the use of smart sensors, actuators, machines and other technologies, networked together by the use of high-speed internet, data storage, server farms and cloud computing. Also known as the industrial internet or Industry 4.0, IIoT leverages the power of smart machines and real time analytics to make much more efficient use of the data that machines have always generated.

The driving philosophy behind IIoT is that smart machines are not only better than humans at capturing and analyzing data in real time, they are better at communicating important information that can be used to drive business decisions faster and more accurately.

How can the Industrial Internet of Things change the way business works?

Here’s a play by play of how the Internet of Things in Industry is changing the way modern industry works

The global beast called the economy is a raging, hungry monster, that is propelled by massive demand and supply. In order for industry to keep supply up, it needed a smarter, more efficient way in which it could produce. This is where the IIoT revolution stepped in, in making work on industrial floors across the world more efficient. In creating workflow models, labor redundancies and shipping and freight models that have changed the way in which most of the world’s industries perceive any and all aspects of business.

Here are a few of the ways in which the Industrial Internet of Things is changing global paradigms:

• Digital Twins: The process by which smart machines replicate the design, development and research of a product on the shop floor, digitally, making it available to engineers, designers and workers, for further study. R&D via the cloud boosts efficiency. It also streamlines and reduces R&D costs, making more development work possible and accessible to even smaller companies.
• Supply Chain Management: IIoT devices can track and catalogue inventory systems on a global scale. Detailed intelligence regarding meaningful estimates of available resources, equipment usage, estimated time of arrival and speedier delivery are generated and can be used to make quicker, more informed decisions, all across the board.
• Workshop Mirroring: the internet of things in industry can help interlink market-ready (MR) systems and enterprise information systems, while helping industries automate the control of IoT-enabled manufacturing activities that are executed in workshops. This also enables the eradication of inefficient foreman-reliant activities on shop floors. Remote access to access, identify and execute manufacturing processes increases workshop efficiency, and also cuts costs in the long run.
• Smart pumping: This process is vital in power plants, hydroelectric, nuclear and thermal power generation industries. A series of smart linked sensors, pumps and actuators can help streamline the process of power generation, distribution and grid allocation.

Industrial Internet of things (IIoT) can transform the way industries work. It can create autonomous self-healing machines and enhance inventories using machine-learning. Industries can manage their supply chain using IoT devices and run the production cycle economically. The inter-connectivity, along with automation reduces human labor and ensures faster time to market.

Which are the industries leading the way in the adoption and utilization of the Industrial Internet of Things?

The Internet of Things in Industry is changing, leveling and disrupting (positively) the process of industrial manufacturing, supply chain and data usage and generation. Here are some of the industries that are using it in path-breaking ways. 

1. Industrial: Manufacturing sectors from automotive to technology, textiles to airplane manufacture and everything in between – industrial manufacturing is seeing an upward surge in the deployment of IIoT systems.
2. Smart car: One of the most significant uses of the internet of things in industry is in the future-ready smart car space. From traction control to cruise control, from automatic distance sensing to traffic radar and digital communications between smart cars to ensure driverless functionality and reduction in traffic accidents, IIoT is playing a massively significant role.
3. Defense: One of IIoT’s most significant contributions is to the reduction of human casualties in theaters of conflict. The introduction of drone technology in aviation, mechanized bomb disposal and IED defusing robots, as well as next generation mech battle suits and smart armor for soldiers are all the gifts of the industrial internet of things.
4. Smart Grid: From power generation to distribution and grid allocation and efficiency, smart powered devices, actuators and sensors are revolutionizing the power grids of cities all across the world. They are also decreasing humanity’s carbon footprint by recycling power.
5. Smart Cities: A smart city is made ‘smart’ by IIoT. From better traffic control, safer streets through smart cars, on-time generation of bills, tickets and tax related documents, to always-on public transportation and law enforcement, smart cities are changing the way human beings live.

The future of the Industrial Internet of Things

A quick look at the future of the internet of things in industry

A cursory glance at some research conducted by Bain & Company, IDC and Accenture, among other respected agencies and publications, shows the global bullishness on the internet of things for industry.

• Despite the global slowdown of the past 3 quarters, Bain & Company estimates that IIoT technologies will generate $300 billion in sales in the calendar year 2020, as compared to $150 billion from its consumer-centric IoT sibling.
• IDC Research estimates that the leading sectors that are investing in IIoT technologies were manufacturing ($189 billion) with a focus on asset management, transport and global freight ($85 billion) with a focus on supply chain management and tracking, and utilities ($73 billion) with a focus on smart pumping and smart grids.
• Accenture predicts that the global IIoT business will be worth nearly $14.2 trillion by 2022. This is actually an achievable number considering increased defense expenditure by NATO and allied states on smart technology including drones, armor and first response and detection technologies devoted to minimizing human casualty in theatres of conflict.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Industrial Internet of Things is a boon to the modern industrial-business complex in that it enables innovation, quicker decision making, informed choices and predicts redundancies that make modern industry the most productive, efficient and profitable it has ever been.