How does Smart Control and Operational Technology (OT) has managed to harness IOT?
The world is connected in a way never seen before but the connection is not limited to people. Today, processes and things are connected as well and share an abundance of data/information between each other, giving rise to the internet of things (IoT) and the technology has just begun its climb to popularity among business decision-makers, industrial premises as well as residential houses.
According to IDC, American-based market intelligence and adversary services providers, the total amount of data created by IoT devices annually is expected to reach 79.4 zettabytes by the year 2025. That is an enormous number, which highlights that around 41.6 billion connected devices are expected to collect, store, and analyze information in the upcoming next six years. Undoubtedly, the study by IDC suggests that 2019 and 2020 are going to be revolutionizing years for IoT as solution providers are continuously building infrastructures that support IoT applications, all the way from the sensors to the servers.
Speaking of sensors, smart controls make up a significant section of IoT. While information technology (IT) makes the foundation of IoT, smart controls function as the pillars that bring the devices ‘alive’. Simply, smart controls make things/devices to become self-aware, communicate with one another, respond to the commands by the users, and raise alarms, in case any mishap in their functioning occurs.
Another significant technology that basically acts as the ‘cell’ of IoT is operational technology (OT) that is specifically dedicated to detecting or causing modifications in the physical processes through direct monitoring and control of physical devices such as valves, pumps and more.
Smart controls and OT are interlinked that harnesses the power of IoT to its fullest to ensure that such a revolutionizing technology gains momentum among industrial as well as residential areas.
Benefits/Uses of IoT
● Communication — It is in the name. IoT is an internet connection but not among computers; it an internet connection among things, which means that communication is the primary advantage that IoT brings to the table. Also, popular as machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, the connection between physical transpires transparency, resulting in fewer inefficiencies and better quality.
● Device Monitoring — Devices come ‘alive’ with IoT. They talk, respond, and raise alerts during downtime. Amazingly enough, this ability of IoT helps industries and businesses to monitor their device and fix them before any disaster occurs, saving cost as well as time.
● Automation — The term is doing the rounds across market segments, owing to its ability to digitize manual processes, reduce redundancies, and eliminate inaccuracies. IoT brings automation in innumerable manufacturing and industrial processes, where these processes can be controlled and managed. Without the need for any human intervention, the machines communicate with each other, which leads to faster and timely output.
● Efficiency, time, and money — IoT is efficient, provides accurate results; it saves time by removing manual tasks and human intervention, and it also saves a considerable amount of money to the businesses and industries, employing this technology within their premises.
Applications of IoT:
● Smart Homes — Ranking as one of the most practical uses of IoT, smart homes have gained immense popularity in the last few years. Voice command activated lighting systems, mobile-controlled doors, and entertainment systems come in the topmost list of smart devices installed in smart homes.
● Industrial Internet — Industrial Internet connects machines and devices in sectors such as power generation, oil, gas, e-commerce, retail, and healthcare. It also utilizes situations where unplanned downtime and system failures can impact the business and other elements of growth.
● Smart Supply Chain — IoT has helped supply chain in tracking the goods, assisting suppliers in exchanging inventory information, trace down faulty products, and find out the best delivery route possible, and much more.
● Smart City — Smart cities are a significant, planned innovation that consists of better-organized water distribution, traffic management, waste management, and environmental monitoring. IoT solutions in the smart city serve numerous purposes related to traffic, air and noise pollution, and citizen safety.
● Smart Grid — Another popular application of IoT is in smart grids. Basically, a smart grid extracts information about consumer behaviours and their electricity usage along with electricity suppliers in an automated manner to improve efficiency, overall economics, and reliability of electricity distribution.
Other major applications of IoT are wearable devices, connected cars, smart retail, and telemedicine. Now, let’s explore the areas where smart control and OT harnesses the power of IoT to manage all the applications and make optimum use of this revolutionary technology.
How has Smart Control and OT managed to harness IoT?
There are innumerable examples of how smart controls and OT has harnessed the power of IoT to improve the lives of people all across the globe. It is not only limited to smarter living but has also moved on to improve the business aspects and industrial machines.
● Smarter Living — The power of interconnectivity that is brought forth by IoT is derived from the underlying fact that devices, when transformed into smart machines, minimize the susceptibility to errors and manages things without any manual labor. Smarter living is the best example of this connectivity. Imagine the entertainment system, lighting system, wardrobes, and all the house doors that are possible to be managed by voice commands or a simple click. Not only such technology brings great personalized experience, but it also saves significant time, which could otherwise have been lost in doing manual labor. Smart appliances such as smart smoke detector or security lock are further strengthening individual security.
● Smart Workplace — Smart control and OT also impacts any workplace profoundly. The real power of IoT in the smart offices lie in the devices that work together in unison to form a coherent system of technology and employees; it is a mixture of machine and human beings. Among many ways, one of the primary methods that smart controls and OT is via smartphones that allow employees to work on the go; they can manage their emails, edit documents, and navigate to meetings. Smart control further empowers the company as well as the workforce to receive alerts about the work deadlines and respond to it without delay.
Companies can also use smart smoke detectors, thermometers, air purifiers, and other devices that could be controlled through a single smartphone or system, further implying how smart controls harness the power of IoT in a work environment.
● Manufacturing — OT’s significant usage is on the shop floor, where industrial equipment is run and managed extensively. Many machines on the shop floor or other stages of manufacturing need to be monitored regularly, indicating tremendous manual labor. Smart control emerges as the savior in such a scenario. OT, on the other hand, supports modifications in the processes of these machines, remotely by directly monitoring and controlling the physical devices/parts that run these machines. OT even comes handy in order to diagnose faults in equipment parts before they become a reality through direct monitoring.
Transportation sector — In this industry, smart controls and OT saves the lives of people. From detecting traffic conditions and mapping out the right route to monitoring the vehicle condition and sending regular alerts about the status of the vehicle in real-time, OT wonderfully manages to show the direction to the transport and keeps the person driving the vehicle safe and informed all the time.
About HashStudioz Expertise in Internet of Things (IoT) Solutions
IOT Solutions help organizations boost operational efficiency and transform their business need to differentiators. SMART, CONNECTED and SECURE.
We at HashStudioz design application program and interfaces that are used to provide internet to computing devices. In (IoT) Internet of Things offering, we work on Big Data Technologies, machine learning, predictive analytics, Factory Automation, Process Automation, Smart Lock System, Smart Security System, Remote Control Systems, Smart Things, Automatic Car Tracking Adapter, etc to name a few. Contact us to know more.
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