Intelligent Tech Channels Issue 06 | Page 31

INTELLIGENT CABLING Smart networks; valuable and useful As we become ever-more interconnected, sufficient monitored cabling is vital to maintain communications says Nabil Khalil, Executive Vice President of R&M META. D igitalisation is advancing inexorably. And the signs can be seen in factories, offices, apartments and businesses, in traffic and health companies, as well as in education, social and leisure-time facilities. All kinds of interfaces connect the visible world with the Internet and remote datacentres. And the numbers are increasing all the time. Experts call them ubiquitous or omnipresent systems. And there is a parallel increase in the number of application cases and scenarios. Electricity meters in apartments are networked and talk digitally to the provider. The smart power grid powers the washing machine on or off as required. A smartphone can remotely control heating, lighting and security systems in buildings. Sensors in the water pipes indicate where there is a leak and how it can be repaired quickly. This means that even a water pipe system is now a smart network. Digitalisation is becoming ever more prevalent in retail too. Displays in the shop of the future will know a customer’s demands and preferences from his/her digital profile, and will lead them to all the latest and appropriate offers. And digitalisation promises potential for industry, too. Regardless of location, production networks can be configured at the click of a mouse. Machines can communicate with other machines independently. Virtual product development and construction save both time and material. Data just has to be created once to be used for production planning and other purposes. The digital copies can then communicate with the real machines. This is how companies can find out how production systems are doing and when they should be serviced. Nabil Khalil, Executive Vice-President of R&M. Digital copy of reality Due to technical progress, manufacturers can now create ever more efficient electronic network-capable components at an ever lower price. Tiny computers, actuators and sensors, which constitute embedded systems, can now be accommodated in virtually every object in the physical world and be connected to the Internet using a proprietary IP address. This is how cyber physical systems, smart networks and the Internet of Things (loT) came into being. And this is how incredible quantities of information, knowledge and business processes end up in an apparently anonymous cloud. Gradually, an extensive digital copy of the real world is built up in this cloud. Copies are made of objects, items and processes from bits and bytes that are stored in datacentres. The data networks also acquire and process their current status and the environment impacting on them. Great value, practical use The pros and cons of this mega trend are the focus of many an argument. Health, safety, data protection and market freedom have to be guaranteed at all times. But the great value and practical use of the digital image of reality are clear. The digital image can be used multiple times. A few examples: The data gained from smart networks can be analysed centrally, quickly and in a standard form. Service providers can better simulate, automatically detect and more easily examine complex risks, trends and contexts. The basis for making decisions is more precise for forecasts, marketing and service, an important aspect of value creation. Many causes of disasters, delays, loss or high consumption values can be determined online at short notice from the digital copy of a procedure. Authorities, insurance companies and managers share their knowledge with other parties at the click of a mouse. There are many things that no longer have to be examined ‘on-site’. 31