Engineering software maker Autodesk is making its move into the industrial Internet of things (IIoT) with its recent release of a cloud-based platform for the technology.
IIoT could change the way many companies, especially those in oil, gas, and mining, run their industrial processing facilities.
Now Autodesk has announced the SeeControl, cloud-based platform for IIoT, which allows customers to capture, analyze and use data from remote products. The offering will help manufacturers gain competitive advantage by optimizing their existing products and capturing the intelligence required to offer their customers new services, said Brian Roepke, senior director of product lifecycle management and Internet of Things at Autodesk.
Users will be able to visualize in 3-D the data returned, to help make operating, maintenance, and predictive decisions, he added.
The IIoT and the data and analytics it returns represent a significant technological shift that delivers huge business benefits, even to the extent of changing a company’s business model, according to Accenture. The management consulting firm predicts the global Industrial IoT landscape will be worth $14.2 trillion by 2022.
Any machine that registers state data can become a part of the IIoT when connected to a network. And machines and software that operate across several types of machine data can draw out useful systemic insights. Combined with steering-wheel, speed, GPS, and accelerator-pedal readings, a sensor-driven rain indicator, for example, could warn driver that they are moving too fast for road conditions, or help them improve fuel economy by moderating acceleration habits.
Autodesk’s SeeControl allows manufacturers to monitor how their product performs in the real world and use live data to optimize future versions. This way, they can keep products running at peak levels, identify potential for failure before it happens, and schedule maintenance downtime when it is least disruptive, Roepke said.
Because the platform is cloud-based, companies can get up to speed quickly. The solution also works with the many types of device and communication protocols used for the IoT, meaning companies are not tied to a single standard, he added.
It’s easy to use, with no-coding and drag-and-drop tools for device communications, data analytics, visualization and business, Roepke said.
“The future of making products in the machinery and specialty vehicles industries is changing quickly and the expectations for online services have increased,” he said.
The uses for IIoT are as unlimited as the types of machinery sensors can monitor.
BP, for example, is using Smart Wireless technology from Emerson Process Management as part of a leak detection system that helps enhance safety at its chemical production center in Geel, Belgium. The wireless technology gathers information from hydrocarbon sensors that continuously monitor storage tanks, valves, and pipelines throughout the plant and delivers that information to the control system so operators can be notified of any leaks.
This automated monitoring system has enabled BP to meet the latest government regulations for storage and handling of flammable liquids at much lower cost than with traditional wired technology, according to BP.
