The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) opens up a wide range of opportunities for the manufacturing industry in particular. Comprehensive networking is no longer a vision of the future, and the 5G mobile communications standard will presumably increase the dynamic from 2020.
What is the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)?
Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) refers to the use of IoT concepts in industrial production. In the German-speaking world, the Industrial Internet of Things is often referred to as Industry 4.0. Compared to the Internet of Things in the private sphere (IoT), the focus in the industrial sector is on the networking of machines (machine-to-machine) and seamless process chains. The key concept of the IIoT is thus to integrate machine learning and big data technologies and thus considerably increase the effectiveness of companies. However, complexity and requirements are much higher in IIoT than in IoT.
IIoT- Architecture: Edge – Network – Cloud
Essential requirements for an IIoT architecture are scalability, real-time capability, interoperability as well as data protection and security. Sensors, actuators, and intelligent devices that collect data (edge computing) and send it to servers (network) play a central role. At the cloud computing level, they are further processed into action-relevant “smart data” using smart algorithms. These then form the basis for automated processes. Major cloud providers such as Microsoft, Amazon Web Services and Google now provide IoT platforms that facilitate the development and administration of IIoT applications. Such solutions are ideal for the entry level in particular.