Smart Factories and the Challenges of the Proximity Network
But that is not always the case. The fire extinguisher factory has a video monitoring program that can detect dangerous gases and warn staff of its presence, even highlighting the area where the gas is detected. Given it is transmitting video, the bandwidth requirements are significantly higher.
2.3.6 DATA RELIABILITY
Certain use cases require a high-degree of data reliability between the edge device and the enterprise application, whereas others are less sensitive. High reliability can be achieved with many technologies, but some have more proven and easier-to-implement mechanisms to achieve robust data transfer. There is typically a tradeoff between low power and ease of reliability implementation.
For Process Improvement
The process improvement for data reliability depends greatly on the criticality of each data point being correct and the amount of automated control. For applications that are gathering data over time to look for trends( the chicken plant, for example), the reliability requirements are generally around three 9 ' s. For applications where decisions are made automatically on the latest data point, reliability is paramount.
For Predictive Maintenance
Since a predictive maintenance system analyzes trends of data over time to produce a result, some data loss is more tolerable than in many process improvement use cases.
3. INTEGRATION CHALLENGES DRIVE CONNECTIVITY DECISIONS
The IIoT System Architecture provides three discrete connectivity decision points( Figure 6): the sensor / actuator interface, the proximity network and the backhaul network. The various integration challenges directly impact the choice of connectivity at each of these interfaces.
Figure 6: Three Connectivity Choice Points
- 70- January 2017