The idea of a smarter world where systems with sensors and local processing are connected to share information is taking hold across all industries. These systems will be connected on a global scale, with users and with each other, to help the user make more informed decisions. Many labels have been attached to this powerful idea, but the most widespread is the Internet of Things (IoT). The IoT includes everything from smart homes, mobile health devices, and connected toys to the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) with smart agriculture, smart cities, smart factories, and the smart grid.
IIoT can be characterized as a vast number of connected industrial systems that communicate and coordinate their data analysis and actions to improve industrial performance and benefit society as a whole. Industrial systems that connect the digital world with the physical one through sensors and actuators that solve complex control problems are commonly known as physical-cybernetic systems. These systems are being combined with Big Analog Data solutions to gain a deeper look at data and analytics. Imagine industrial systems that can adjust to their own environments or even their own health.
Instead of continuing to run until failure, machines schedule their own maintenance or, even better, dynamically adjust their control algorithms to compensate for a worn part and then communicate that data to other machines and the people who depend on them. By making machines smarter through local processing and communication, the IIoT can solve problems in ways that were previously inconceivable. But, as the saying goes, "If it was easy, everyone would be doing it." As innovation grows, so does complexity. This makes the IIoT a huge challenge that no company can tackle alone.
The IIoT challenge
This challenge becomes even more daunting and complex when you compare the requirements of the industrial Internet with those of the consumer Internet. Both involve connecting devices and systems across the globe, but the IIoT adds more stringent requirements to your local networks for latency, determinism, and bandwidth. When working with precision machines that can fail if the timing differs by a millisecond, meeting strict requirements becomes crucial for the health and safety of not only the machine operators, but also the machines themselves and the business. .
Adaptability and scalability
As the IIoT thrives, there will be a big change in historical industrial systems. Traditional design and augmentation of industrial systems is characterized by either (1) designing an end-to-end proprietary or custom solution or (2) adding functionality by repeatedly adding vendor-defined black boxes. The solution of adding closed systems may be quick to implement, but at what cost? One of the biggest advantages of the IIoT is that data is easily shared and analyzed to make a better decision. For example, in a vendor-defined condition monitoring solution, it is not easy to make the data acquired and analyzed readily available; the system is limited to sending simple alarms to prevent catastrophic failure.
The data may be available after an event for analysis to determine what happened; but by then, time and money, among other things, may have been lost.
If condition monitoring data is not continuously analyzed and made available through an open and standardized interface, there is no possibility of adjusting control algorithms based on the collected data or of correlating the collected data to handle events and improve efficiency or avoid system downtime.
The opposite happens in the case of integral solutions. All the components and the comprehensive solution may work in harmony, but the underlying issue still remains. When an end-to-end solution is built, communication protocols are consistent and data can be easily shared.
But at that point, the solution itself essentially becomes the black box due to private communication protocols. As soon as an update is required, the engineer is faced with the dilemma of adding a solution that may not communicate well with the system as a whole, or starting the process over and creating a new comprehensive solution. IIoT systems need to be adaptable and scalable through software or added functionality that is easily integrated into the overall solution. When the entire system is a black box, this cannot happen. There must be a better way to integrate disparate systems and reduce system complexity without sacrificing innovation.
Security
Adaptability and scalability are just the first of many challenges presented by the IIoT. System administration and security are also paramount. As massive networks of systems come online, these systems need to communicate with each other and with the business, often over great distances. Both systems and communications need to be secure; otherwise, millions of dollars in assets are put at risk.
One of the most prevalent examples of the need for security is the smart grid, which is on the leading edge of the IIoT. As power grid information becomes more accessible, so does the damage that a security breach can cause.
Maintenance and updates
In addition to being secure, these systems need to be continually modified and maintained to meet ever-changing functionality and system maintenance requirements. As more capabilities are added, software upgrades are needed or more systems need to be added.
Soon a tangled web of interconnected components will begin to form. The new system has to integrate not only with the original system but also with all other systems. Imagine modifying and upgrading thousands or millions of systems located throughout the world, some in remote locations.
Investment in IIoT
Developing and deploying the systems that will make up the IIoT represents a huge investment over the next few decades. The only way to meet the needs of today and tomorrow is not by predicting the future, but by implementing a network of systems that is flexible enough to evolve and adapt.
The way forward involves a platform-based approach; a single, flexible hardware architecture implemented in many applications substantially reduces hardware complexity and makes each new problem primarily a software challenge.
The same principle should be applied to software tools to form a powerful hardware and software platform that creates a unified solution. An effective platform-based approach focuses not on hardware or software, but on innovation within the application itself.
The platforms to develop the IIoT currently exist. The platforms that system designers choose need to be based on an IT-friendly operating system so that they can be securely provisioned and configured to properly authenticate and authorize users to maintain system integrity and maximize system availability.
These platforms can achieve this through an open operating system that helps security experts from around the world come together and develop the latest technology in embedded security.
These platforms also need to build on standard Ethernet technologies and incorporate evolving standards to enable a more open and deterministic network that meets IIoT requirements for latency, determinism, and bandwidth, while maximizing interoperability between industrial system vendors. and the consumer IoT. Organizations such as the Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC) document use cases and ensure interoperability, and the IEEE formed the Time Sensitive Network working group to evolve the IEEE 802.1 standard to meet these requirements.
The continued design of the IIoT represents a huge technological and business opportunity for all of us. Organizations such as IIC, IEEE, and AVnu are working hard to define the IIoT. They are actively gathering use cases to better understand how best to drive more innovation.
Engineers and scientists are already deploying systems on the leading edge of the IIoT, but many issues remain to be defined and much work to be done. Start by focusing on a platform-based approach and be part of the IIoT generation by engaging with these bodies to define the future and ensure businesses focus on innovation, not just integration.
