Industrial Automation
Empowering Smart Manufacturing Through Industrial Automation
Industrial automation is driving the manufacturing landscape forward, supported by a rapidly evolving digital transformation. Leveraging this digital shift is essential to staying competitive and thriving in the Industry 4.0 era.
Industrial IoT solutions benefit individual workers and contribute to the overall improvement of smart factories, manufacturing plants, and construction sites. Comprehensive connectivity enhances smart, digital, and automated manufacturing processes.
Industry 4.0 encompasses a holistic approach to digitizing the entire production process, from raw material acquisition to product delivery. This approach improves resource efficiency and enables greater customization.
The integration of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) solutions with industrial automation and monitoring is transforming the future of smart manufacturing. IIoT has become central to modern manufacturing, advancing industrial robots and optimizing factory automation.
Industrial Automation & Monitoring Applications
Connected Tools
Connected tools improve site optimization and worker safety by providing transparency, usage tracking, and job site planning solutions. Real-time monitoring, usage analysis, and predictive maintenance improve operational efficiency.
Predictive Maintenance
Predictive maintenance helps keep production lines running through real-time sensor measurements and AI-driven analytics that assess equipment performance before failures occur.
Safe Connected Worker
Monitoring worker location and safety through wearable sensors and mobile devices helps improve workplace safety and operational awareness.
The Role of IIoT in Smart Manufacturing
Smart manufacturing integrates digital technologies into industrial automation systems to improve efficiency, productivity, and flexibility.
IIoT enables seamless connectivity between industrial devices, sensors, and machines, allowing real-time monitoring, predictive maintenance, remote monitoring, and autonomous decision-making.
Industrial robots equipped with IIoT sensors and automation systems streamline production, improve precision, and enhance worker safety.
By leveraging IIoT solutions, manufacturing robots can adapt to dynamic environments, perform complex tasks efficiently, and support the development of the factory of the future.
Connectivity and Factory Automation
Connectivity is essential for enabling communication between devices, sensors, and backend systems in factory automation environments.
IIoT connectivity supports real-time data exchange between automation systems such as SCADA and MES, improving workflow precision and operational efficiency.
Big data analytics helps manufacturers identify patterns, trends, and anomalies from IIoT-generated data, enabling improved operations, product quality, and predictive maintenance.
The Emergence of the Smart Factory
Smart factories combine IIoT technologies, industrial automation systems, and robotics to create highly automated, data-driven manufacturing environments.
These factories improve efficiency, flexibility, scalability, predictive maintenance, and adaptive manufacturing capabilities through real-time production visibility.
Key IIoT Technology for Smart Manufacturing
Wireless technologies are becoming increasingly important in industrial automation environments.
u-blox offers Wi-Fi, LTE, and Bluetooth low-energy modules that enable seamless connectivity, automation control, and data exchange across industrial applications.
Solutions
LTE Cat 1bis and LTE Cat 4 modules provide reliable connectivity for remote monitoring, asset tracking, and industrial automation across manufacturing plants, mines, oil fields, and agricultural environments.
Wi-Fi 6 IoT modules
deliver high-throughput wireless connectivity for smart manufacturing applications, enabling efficient communication between IoT devices and backend systems.
Learn more about Wi-Fi 6 smart factory solutions
Low-power Bluetooth modules
support battery-operated industrial IoT devices and wireless sensor networks used for environmental monitoring, predictive maintenance, and worker tracking.
MQTT Anywhere
provides secure IoT communication over 2G, 3G, LTE, and LTE-M networks.
CloudLocate
combines GNSS, Wi-Fi, and cellular positioning technologies to provide energy-efficient tracking and precise location services for industrial monitoring applications.
IIoT is transforming industrial automation and monitoring by driving innovation, operational efficiency, and smarter manufacturing environments.
Highlighted u-blox Offerings for Industrial Automation and Monitoring
NORA-W40 Series
Stand-alone Wi-Fi 6 multiradio modules.
IRIS-W10 Series
Stand-alone Wi-Fi 6 multiradio modules.
MQTT Anywhere
IoT Communication-as-a-Service SIM-based LPWA solution.
NORA-B1 Series (Open CPU)
Stand-alone Bluetooth 5.2 low-energy modules.
MAYA-W2 Series
Host-based Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.4, and 802.15.4 modules for IoT applications.
NINA-B40 Series (Open CPU)
Stand-alone Bluetooth 5.1 low-energy modules.
Courtesy of u-blox
