Industry 4.0 & IIoT
The Internet of Things, or in short IoT, has become a de facto standard. All devices must be connected to the Internet and data must be gathered in the ‘cloud’ to monitor and optimize. Refrigerators must be able to order items themselves, etc. IIoT is a branch of IoT, specifically for the industry. We want to collect data in order to monitor and optimize. If the rubbish bin is about to be filled, it must be emptied now, but if it is not about to be full, we may not need to empty it until next week. This is just an example. If we can optimize the business process, we can save resources and thus money.
With the increasing digitization, the demands for industrial communication networks and efficient automations are constantly increasing. Powerful, integrated and more real-time compatible communication networks are in demand. Industrial Ethernet is a proven technology that can meet these challenges and ensure that data is collected and distributed systematically and reliably across all levels. It's about information technology, electronics, automation - and digitization, big data, robots and machine learning.
The industry is increasingly demanding the ability to easily realize complex IIoT applications such as energy management, factory machine control, transport control and remote control of assets through expanded communication and high-performance data collection and control functions.
Railway, wind power and offshore applications require reliable and stable systems, even in harsh environments.
Cloud solutions
AWS and Azure are cloud-based server solutions, often referred to as the cloud. The providers provide computer power and space for data, which can be expanded as needed, while data is secured and backup copies have been made.
Data collection
Once you have chosen your cloud solution, AWS, Azure or another provider, you also require some data. These come either directly from I/O modules, which directly support communication to the cloud or via a gateway.
I/O modules and controllers
I/O modules with direct access to the cloud can be simple I/O modules with only a few digital and/or analog inputs and outputs, controllers and slightly more complex solutions or powerful computers with different inputs and outputs.
Gateways
If you want data sent to the cloud, but the I/O module you want to use does not have this function, there is also a solution for this. Here you need a gateway that on one hand can communicate with and translate data from the I/O module, and on the other hand communicate with the solution in the cloud. These can be simple converters that support the exact protocol you need or more complex solutions with support for several protocols at the same time.
MQTT
Communicating with the solution in the cloud happens in several ways. The most common is via the standardized protocol MQTT, which consists of small, simple and structured SMS-like messages. They use very little bandwidth, which is an advantage with slow or rate-based connections such as LTE/4G.
