IT in Manufacturing


IIC launches smart factory ­machine learning testbed

November 2017 IT in Manufacturing

The Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC), the world’s leading organisation transforming business and society by accelerating the adoption of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), has announced the Smart Factory Machine Learning for Predictive Maintenance Testbed. The testbed is led by two companies, Plethora IIoT, a company designing and developing cutting-edge answers for Industry 4.0, and Xilinx, the leading provider of All Programmable technology.

This innovative testbed explores machine learning techniques and evaluates algorithmic approaches for time-critical predictive maintenance. This knowledge leads to actionable insight enabling companies to move away from traditional preventative maintenance to predictive maintenance, which minimises unplanned downtime and optimises system operation. This would ultimately help manufacturers increase availability, improve energy efficiency and extend the lifespan of high-volume CNC manufacturing production systems.

“Testbeds are the major focus and activity of the IIC and its members. We provide the opportunity for both small and large companies to collaborate and help solve problems that will drive the adoption of IoT applications in many industries”, said IIC executive director, Dr Richard Mark Soley. “The smart factory of the future will require advanced analytics, like those this testbed aims to provide, to identify system degradation before system failure. This type of machine learning and predictive maintenance could extend beyond the manufacturing floor to have a broader impact to other industrial applications.”

“Downtime costs some manufacturers as much as $22k per minute,” said Plethora IIoT team leader, Javier Diaz. “Therefore, unexpected failures are one of the main players in maintenance costs because of their negative impact due to reactive and unplanned maintenance action. Being able to predict system degradation before failure has a strong positive impact on machine availability: increasing productivity and decreasing downtime, breakdowns and maintenance costs. We are excited to lead this testbed with Xilinx and work alongside some of the leading players in IIoT technologies. This is a unique opportunity to test together machine learning technologies with those involved in the testbed at different development levels starting from the lab through production environments, where a real deployment solution is utilised. As a result from these experiences, we can significantly reduce the time-to-market of Plethora IIoT solutions oriented to maximise smart factory competitiveness.”

“Xilinx is committed to providing the IIoT industry with our latest All Programmable SoC and MPSoC platforms, ideal for sensor fusion, real-time processing and machine learning from the edge to the cloud,” stated Dan Isaacs, director of corporate strategic marketing and development for IIoT and machine learning at Xilinx. “The combination of these highly configurable capabilities drives the intelligence of the smart factory.”

Additional IIC member companies participating in this testbed are: Bosch, Microsoft, National Instruments, RTI, System View, GlobalSign, Aicas, Thingswise, Titanium Industrial Security, and iVeia. They provide technologies to enable the Smart Factory Machine Learning testbed, including:

• Factory automation.

• OT and IT security.

• Edge to cloud machine learning and analytics.

• Time-sensitive networking (TSN).

• Data acquisition.

• Smart sensor technology.

• Design implementation.

• Embedded programmable SoC technology.

• Secure authentication.

IIC testbeds are where the innovation and opportunities of the Industrial Internet – new technologies, new applications, new products, new services, new processes – can be initiated, thought through, and rigorously tested to ascertain their usefulness and viability before coming to market.

The Industrial Internet Consortium is the world’s leading membership programme transforming business and society by accelerating the IIoT. The IIC delivers a trustworthy IIoT in which the world’s systems and devices are securely connected and controlled to deliver transformational outcomes. The IIC is a programme of the Object Management Group.

For more information contact Karen Quatromoni, Industrial Internet Consortium, +1 781 444 0404, [email protected], www.iiconsortium.org





Share this article:
Share via emailShare via LinkedInPrint this page

Further reading:

Unlocking mining efficiency with advanced processing control
IT in Manufacturing
ABB’s Advanced Process Control system, powered by its Expert Optimizer platform, is emerging as a key enabler of smarter, more efficient mining operations.

Read more...
Open control technology reduces energy consumption and carbon footprint.
Beckhoff Automation IT in Manufacturing
The Swedish company Airwatergreen AB is breaking new ground in the dehumidification of air in industrial buildings and warehouses. PC-based control from Beckhoff regulates the innovative process.

Read more...
Harnessing AI and satellite imagery to estimate water levels in dams
IT in Manufacturing
Farmers and water managers often struggle to accurately estimate and monitor the available water in dams. To address the challenge, International Water Management Institute researchers have worked with Digital Earth Africa to create an innovation that uses satellite images and AI to get timely and accurate dam volume measurements.

Read more...
Why industry should enter the world of operator training simulators
Schneider Electric South Africa IT in Manufacturing
System-agnostic operator training simulator (OTS) software is a somewhat unsung hero of industry that trains plant operators in a virtual world that mirrors real-world operations. The benefits are multiple.

Read more...
Track busway for scalable data centre power delivery
IT in Manufacturing
The latest generation Legrand Data Centre Track Busway technology addresses the operational pressures facing today’s high-density, AI-intensive computing environments and is being well received by data centre facilities around the world.

Read more...
Poor heat management in data centre design
IT in Manufacturing
Designing a world-class data centre goes beyond simply keeping servers on during load shedding; it is about ensuring they run efficiently, reliably, and within the precise environmental conditions they were built and designed for.

Read more...
It’s time to fight AI with AI in the battle for cyber resilience
IT in Manufacturing
Cybercrime is evolving rapidly, and the nature of cyber threats has shifted dramatically. Attacks are now increasingly powered by AI, accelerating their speed, scale and sophistication. Cybersecurity needs to become part of business-critical strategy, powered by AI to match attackers’ speed with smarter, faster and more adaptive defences.

Read more...
Why AI sustainability must be a boardroom priority
IT in Manufacturing
As South African companies race to harness artificial intelligence for innovation and growth, few are asking the most critical question - the environmental cost.

Read more...
RS South Africa shines spotlight on MRO procurement
RS South Africa IT in Manufacturing
RS South Africa has highlighted the growing pressures faced by procurement professionals responsible for maintenance, repair and operations supplies across the country’s vital economic sectors.

Read more...
Sustainable energy management
Siemens South Africa IT in Manufacturing
Utilising its innovative ONE approach technology, Siemens provides complete transparency on resource consumption and offers data-driven optimisation recommendations for sustainable energy management.

Read more...









While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained herein, the publisher and its agents cannot be held responsible for any errors contained, or any loss incurred as a result. Articles published do not necessarily reflect the views of the publishers. The editor reserves the right to alter or cut copy. Articles submitted are deemed to have been cleared for publication. Advertisements and company contact details are published as provided by the advertiser. Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd cannot be held responsible for the accuracy or veracity of supplied material.




© Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd | All Rights Reserved