5
the internet oF thinGs (iot): local – reGional – Global
Where process automation is concerned, the digital factory is already a
reality. The constantly growing deployment of automated production
equipment and robots, and their consistent connection in a local area
such as a production facility are supported by network technologies like
Ethernet, WLAN, Bluetooth, RFID or Low Power Wide Area Networks. In
addition, these technologies facilitate to some extent the networking of
regional locations, as long as their respective network infrastructures do
not differ totally from one another.
Telcos such as Deutsche Telekom provide building blocks for secure supra-
regional or global connections in the form of network technologies for
Wide Area Networks. Their solutions include, in particular, broadband
connections like fiber optic, and cellular or mobile connections. LTE
technology delivers performance on a par with that of a fixed-line network.
LTE also shortens latencies – with the result that LTE mobile networks
provide a sound basis for the Internet of Things and Industry 4.0.
IDC market researchers estimate that by 2020 about 30 billion “things”
such as machines, cars, washing machines and refrigerators will be con-
nected via the Internet around the world. With the adoption of the IPv6
standard the technical preconditions are in place. Instead of around four
billion addresses as in the days of IPv4, about 340 sextillion addresses
can be allocated under IPv6. So 30 billion connected “things” are just
the beginning – and nowhere near the end of the IoT and Industry 4.0.
In these IoT networks individual components will talk with cyber-physical
systems. They will do so on the basis of previously passive devices or
things being equipped with microcontrollers, identifiers, sensors and
actuators that are known as embedded systems. They serve inter alia to
receive and relay data, to identify objects unequivocally, to determine
status, and to check and actively control (production) processes. A smart
container, for example, can be identified indirectly via an RFID transponder.
Depending on how frequently data is recorded and transmitted, the trans-
ponder can then relay at any time required information about the container’s
most recent position and contents. Standardized interfaces and defined
protocols ensure that interaction processes between modules or intelligent
systems are executed and can, as required, be adjusted or replaced at
any time.
reMote Maintenance oF MachinerY
at DürKoPP aDler aG.
The sewing machine manufacturer Dürkopp Adler demonstrates
opportunities that can be opened up by means of connected
machines. The Bielefeld-based company has connected its in-
dustrial sewing machines in collaboration with Deutsche Telekom.
If the customer so wishes, the manufacturer can monitor from its
head office in Germany the status of machinery at a factory in,
say, Bangladesh. If the monitoring system reports problems, the
configuration can be adjusted from Bielefeld.
Dürkopp Adler reduces in this way both machine downtimes
and the cost of sending service technicians out to rectify faults
on site. To check connected sewing machines, Dürkopp Adler
uses the Cloud of Things (see also practical example on page
20), a cloud-based software platform that manages, controls and
evaluates data from connected devices, and also contains certifi-
cated hardware components and SIM cards with a data tariff.
SEcURITy ON THE INDUSTRIAL INTERNET OF THINGS inDustrY in chanGe
