Industrial Markets: Integration is at the heart of efficiency gains

Courtesy of u-blox : Industrial Markets

In industrial markets, we see such varying applications as manufacturing, processing, instrumentation, energy management, survey monitoring, asset tracking, condition monitoring, remote control and monitoring systems. The u‑blox products are designed and developed for such applications, saving both time and money for improved efficacy and operation. We enable companies just like yours to truly succeed in the digital age, where most of your operations are likely to occur “online.”

Remote monitoring & control

The ability to consistently monitor and control operations in real‑time is of significant benefit to industrial applications, allowing you to gain in speed, accuracy and efficiency. For instance, let’s say you own a remote wind turbine park. Traditionally, you would regularly have to visit the park to monitor the status of a wind turbine. Should you instead embed cellular connectivity, you can remotely monitor the status of each wind turbine and control them individually. This reduces time and money spent on maintenance and allows you to send workers to the location only when they are truly needed. You can also monitor efficiency and production rates via cloud‑based, connected analytics tools.

Asset tracking

For full operational visibility and decision making through the industrial value chain, it is crucial to be able to accurately track assets and personnel. For instance, let’s say you own a warehouse. Imagine the possibilities if you could track a pallet real‑time as it arrived by truck, proceeded on a conveyor belt, to when it was picked up by an unmanned forklift and then put in storage. The asset is tracked from arrival to storage, using indoor short range radio connectivity beacons on its path. Outdoors, the asset is tracked via GNSS technology providing location and time stamps with the data transmitted via cellular connectivity.

Connected tools

With connected tools, operators would only use the data and resources they actually need. For instance, let’s say you own an automotive assembly plant. The operator interacts with the vehicle with tools that are wirelessly connected to the network, receiving and sending data needed only for this particular vehicle. Thereby, you minimize time and resources spent, while making the operator more flexible and efficient at the same time.

Industrial IoT/ Industry 4.0

Truly unique in its ability to provide efficient, flexible, and critical control over operations and information, Industrial IoT (IIoT) allows for the full‑scale connectivity your company needs for its everyday operations. You can track and connect every step of the process, from industrial sensors to transfer of information to control systems and data analysis.
For instance, let’s say you own a plant that operates based on IIoT technology. When a truck arrives with supplies, the truck and its goods are tracked with both position and time. Data from sensors within the truck can be communicated via short range wireless links. Data is sent and received over cellular radio networks to enter goods into the local inventory system as the goods are moved onto the production line. The IIoT ecosystem described is built up by a variety of environmental sensors (temperature, pressure, humidity, etc.) that connect wirelessly to a programmable logic controller (PLC) and then via Ethernet to a SCADA system and control room. The final result is full insight into your entire operations.