The word “Robotics” in the manufacturing industry has already become a buzzword and is expected to transform the industry with its endless benefits. Starting from streamlining the overall assembly workflow to collaborating with humans for production, the technology has started to leave its mark on how manufacturing companies operate.
In this regard, one of the significant highlights of robotics in the manufacturing world is the adoption of industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) technology. The IIoT, also popularly known as Industry 4.0, takes use of the data produced by “un-smart” machines in industrial settings over time by using the capability of real-time analytics and smart machines. To that note, at the edge of production, robots of IIoT technology have started to deploy smart sensors and actuators to collect data that was earlier inaccessible to manufacturers. These sensors can track and report any anomaly in a machine’s operations, ultimately helping the company to enable processes like advanced predictive maintenance to assess when a device is going to fail and need maintenance.
However, despite the several advantages, certain bottlenecks potentially obstruct the smooth integration of IIoT with the manufacturing industry.
Early adopters vying to make a full transition to IIoT are also struggling to blend their legacy and IIoT infrastructure. As they deploy IIoT devices on legacy equipment and numerous devices, an employee’s ability to monitor and oversee the end-to-end operation becomes increasingly difficult. Furthermore, there is no standard for ensuring interoperability within a system that incorporates devices that were never intended to be “smart” in the first place.
Manufacturers are also deficient in safe storage and administration of the large volume of data that must be analyzed quickly to spot realtime trends. Given the level of security that IIoT technologies necessitate, enterprises must devise a strategy for speeding data monitoring, administration, and storage to respond quickly to incoming cybersecurity threats. Enterprises must prepare for safe, short-term storage solutions (edge computing) and long-term storage solutions (cloud or data centres).
Nevertheless, despite the several challenges, a report from Cision PR Newswire states that the global Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) market size is projected to reach USD 102460 million by 2028. And with cloud or edge computing technologies, advanced analytics systems, and the right partner to help with IIoT integration, manufacturers can expect to be 100 percent IIoT-enabled in future and optimize their production processes, make data-driven decisions, and drive revenues like never before.
