Industry 4.0 and industrial IoT (IIoT) are much more than buzzwords for the digital transformation of the factory floor to increase automation and improve efficiency of industrial processes and systems via a network of connected devices. It requires hardware components from sensors, actuators, cameras, motors, and robotic systems to software solutions for real-time data analytics, diagnostics, and security.
This digital transformation is an ongoing process that continues to evolve and improve. Innovation needs to continue around things like robotics, artificial intelligence, and sensors. This all leads to improvements in automation, efficiency and productivity, predictive maintenance, and process optimization, as well as cost reductions.
Digital transformation also requires standardization to help make it easier to develop, implement, and integrate, while also lowering the cost. An example is the MIPI specs for IIoT and machine-control systems. Kevin Yee, chair of MIPI Alliance’s Marketing Steering Group, said MIPI specs, which are widely implemented in billions of mobile devices, can be leveraged by developers to drive down development efforts and reduce costs across a number of IIoT applications.
“MIPI Alliance develops interfaces that connect embedded components (cameras, displays, sensors, communications modules) within electronic devices,” and “the focus of the organization is to design and promote hardware and software interfaces that simplify the integration of components built into a device, from the antenna and modem to peripherals and the application processor,” he said.
So what will the future of the factory look like? Intelligence at the edge. “As factories strive to boost productivity and improve operational costs, the demand to deliver new technology that empowers intelligence at the edge is increasing,” said Jeff DeAngelis, vice president, Industrial Communications, Industrial & Healthcare, at Maxim Integrated. This will require a new way of thinking, he said, that entails four critical elements: intelligent sensor technology, IO Link hub solutions and software-configurable I/O, intelligent actuators, and diagnostics and real-time decision-making with the help of AI algorithms.
A big role in the technological development of Industry 4.0 is motor control, said Maurizio Di Paolo Emilio, editor-in-chief of Power Electronics News. These motor control systems, comprised of software and hardware components like IGBTs, WBG semiconductors, and MCUs are becoming more complex, he said, and new hardware needs to be developed that offloads real-time critical tasks from the processor while enabling more diagnostics, predictive maintenance and AI, and functional safety systems.
Sensors also play a big part in industrial applications. These devices measure, monitor, and detect any number of substances or processes. As more factories implement advanced automation and control systems as part of their Industry 4.0 and IIoT transformation, the data collected from these tiny devices can have a huge impact on processes and systems in terms of operational efficiency and safety.
When you think of IIoT, you don’t typically think about batteries. Sol Jacobs, vice president and general manager of Tadiran Batteries, tells us that “IIoT-connected devices are becoming truly wireless to monitor hard-to-access and off-the-grid environments.” As a result, it has become critical to not only understand the application’s requirements but also the key parameters of the battery to select the right one that improves the device’s performance and extends battery life.
In the May/June issue, we also share 10 facts about silicon carbide for power applications. “SiC-based power devices are driving a radical transformation of power electronics, thanks to a combination of excellent physical and electronic properties,” said Stefano Lovati, contributing writer. He discusses everything from the main properties of SiC and the best applications for the technology to how SiC achieves better thermal management than silicon and how the SiC reverse-recovery time compares with silicon MOSFETs.
We also look at the top 10 AC/DC power supplies for industrial and medical applications. Many of the latest power supply designs address some of the biggest design challenges around the need for higher power density and efficiency and operation in harsh environments.
Cover image: Shutterstock
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