Are you ready for the Internet of things to revolutionize manufacturing?

Digitalization is the main driving force of our age , Change our world constantly . Intelligent and interconnected systems are increasingly penetrating into all types of applications . The Internet of things （IoT） It has begun to affect various environments , Family, for example , City , tourism , logistics , Retail and pharmaceutical , But its development will not stop at the current scientific research achievements and the fields involved .

According to a report of McKinsey & Company in the United States, it is estimated that ,2025 The potential economic impact of IOT applications in 3.9 Million to 11.1 Between trillions of dollars , among 1.2 to 3.7 Trillion dollars will be allocated to IOT applications in factory environments . Also known as intelligent manufacturing or German industry 4.0, These are fully networked manufacturing ecosystems driven by the Internet of things .

some time , all “ Factory object ” Will be integrated into the network , The traditional control hierarchy will be product , Decentralized self-organization of field equipment and machines . The production process must become flexible , Even the smallest batch can be produced cost effectively , And timely meet the personalized needs of customers . meanwhile , Customers are also promoting this development , Because they can design and order products with the click of a mouse . They can also expect their products to be delivered in a few days or even hours . Because of the Internet of things , These become easy to implement .

Despite the huge potential , However, the introduction of IOT technology in the quite traditional manufacturing field will not work quickly . Long investment cycle , The requirements for process and technical stability exceed the speed of innovation , There are many problems .

With the Internet of things technology more and more in-depth, now the factory , Even the smallest equipment , Technology providers and plant planners must also find solutions to four major problems ：

1. How to ensure the interoperability of the system
2. When thousands of devices communicate at the same time , How to ensure real-time control and predictability
3. How to prevent subversives or competitors from controlling highly networked production systems
4. How to determine the investment income or return of Internet of things technology

  To compensate for technical uncertainty and financial risks , Appropriate pilot environment is needed . In the pilot environment , Intelligent manufacturing technology and strategy can be implemented for the first time , Evaluate and demonstrate . This is why almost every large IT Or automation technology providers have established their own intelligent manufacturing laboratories , There you can test and demonstrate proprietary solutions . But they missed an important point , Intelligent manufacturing is actually a network paradigm , It affects everything from automation to IT, From digital planning of products to recycling , From intelligent sensors to business applications and other fields .

Providers who can only provide a single solution cannot cover all these aspects at the same time . therefore , In order to achieve the overall solution , Technology providers must form a network to unite , Develop compatible solution modules suitable for the future needs of technology users .

For the center of developing comprehensive solutions for Intelligent Manufacturing , The general configuration comes from the association of manufacturing and research institutions . Such networks can include large multinational enterprises 、 Small and medium-sized companies and experienced research centers . An important goal of this collaborative model is to test the innovative Factory Technology under real conditions , And promote it from the laboratory to the market as soon as possible .

The advantage of this association is that it acts as a “ neutral ” platform , You can connect technology providers and users , No matter how they compete in the business world . This means that companies with overlapping business and capability areas can work together , No matter how big or small , What is the historical and economic situation . ad locum , They can set independent general standards , Therefore, it is not linked to specific companies or brands , They can provide proprietary technology and business models , For open ecosystems .

Technology providers with complementary businesses or capabilities can also benefit from network opportunities when different areas are interconnected , for example , In traditional automation technology and IT Interfaces between systems , Such as the digitalization of big data application or maintenance process . The network is complemented by research partners . Their role is to engage in necessary research projects , And apply the results . Besides , They will also coordinate the cooperation between all partners .

since 2005 Since then , Kaiserslautern, Germany SmartFactoryKL Smart factory has realized such a cooperation mode . They are based on industry 4.0 Highly modular production line for standard implementation , It can be considered as the first best practice case of multi vendor collaboration . The example of intelligent manufacturing awakens the pursuit of efficiency 、 The vision of a customer-oriented factory , These factories can be seamlessly connected with intelligent ecosystems . however , Before that , We still face many challenges . Proving the feasibility of intelligent manufacturing solutions from a technical point of view is only half of the work .

One of the biggest problems today is the lack of technical acceptance and interoperability between systems . Widely accepted standards are the key requirements of the next industrial era , But they are far from easy to achieve . First , It needs a lot of market demand driven by customer demand , This is also called market pulling force . secondly , It needs a sufficient number of companies , Collaborate and reach agreement on common and marketable solutions , This is the driving force of Technology .

Of course , Never has an industrial revolution occurred in a hurry . contrary , These changes have developed in decades of evolutionary transformation driven by technological progress and market demand . The current shift to intelligent manufacturing is likely to eventually become an evolution that will last for decades . If we want to accelerate these developments , We need to build more Inter Organizational Networks and test environments as catalysts .