FOCUS ON TECHNOLOGY
Hyundai Robotaxi , a driverless car based on the IONIQ 5 showcased at the IAA Mobility 2021 motor show in Munich , Germany ( 6 September 2021 ).
Manufacturers ( OEMs )– including Signify , Schneider Electric and many others – will also aim to quickly deliver Matter compliance in their own products . But Matter adoption will also force smart home OEMs to make key strategic decisions . Players will be faced with either continuing with the expense and greater control of maintaining dedicated apps and support for their smart home products or handing over that functionality to any Mattercompliant smart home platform provider . Smart home platform providers are wary of Matter support delivering their install base over to their largest competitors .
Matter will arrive in 2022 and the smart home industry should prepare to adopt existing business and revenue models .
A protracted period of semi-autonomous driving rollouts starts in 2022
While 2022 will see the tentative launch of a few small-scale robotaxi services , the largest opportunity for AV ( autonomous vehicle ) technology will be driver-supervised , semiautonomous applications for years to come . Under the Society of Automotive Engineers ’ ( SAE ) definitions of autonomous driving , a Level 2 application can be any combination of steering , acceleration and braking assistance , as long as the driver retains their overall responsibility and role as supervisor .
This has unlocked an opportunity for OEMs to roll out more and more autonomous features , monetising their sizable investments in AV technologies without the need for a new driverless regulatory environment or exposing themselves to the liability that comes with unsupervised autonomous features . The launch of Intel Mobileye ’ s SuperCruise system on a variety of ZEEKR models will see drivers given access to a host of autonomous functions normally associated with highly autonomous prototypes , but under their supervision .
When automotive OEMs first began investing heavily in AV technology , it was done in the belief that the technology would deliver fully autonomous operation in the early 2020s , and along with it a new revenue opportunity based around mobility services . Instead , OEMs find themselves in an unprecedented supply chain crisis , with the prospect of driverless mobility services still a number of years away . Automakers will lean heavily on the semiautonomous vehicle , so-called “ Level 2 +” opportunity , from 2022 onwards .
Sustainability convergence with the IoT
Companies around the world provided sustainability plans on decreasing their carbon footprint that will come to action in the future decade . Meanwhile , suppliers are also facing market changes . Growing competition in the market and rejection of governmental subsidies will shape the market and force Operations and Maintenance ( O & M ) teams to reduce expenses and improve the efficiency of their wind power plants and solar farms . To achieve these goals , we will see a new market development in the sustainable energy and IoT domain .
In 2022 , the IoT will continue to transform the sustainable energy markets such as wind , solar , biothermal and nuclear power generation industries . IoT analytics will provide wind energy suppliers with real-time data on their power plants and storage assets , as well as their customers ’ consumption , to ensure continuous energy generation and distribution . IoT solutions also guarantee the adjustment of business operations for dramatically increased revenue .
There is an expectation to see a shift in pricing and demand for sensors , actuators and gateways , because all of these devices are needed to predict failures and ensure the overall efficiency of used equipment , specifically for sustainable power generation . This trend is the most accurate for green technology companies that will continue to reduce operational expenses , reserve funds for innovations and deliver more affordable green energy .
WHAT WILL NOT HAPPEN IN 2022
No end in sight for global supply chain disruption
Currently , there is not only a shortage of semiconductors but also items like medical equipment , electronic items , apparel and many consumer-packaged goods . The pandemic has disrupted every aspect of the global supply chain . Apart from lags in critical processes like production and procurement , there have also been continued scarcities that influence logistics , including packaging , shipping pallets and other products that are detrimental to transporting goods globally .
Scarcity of materials has caused the prices of an abundance of items , such as cars and phones , to increase . Although the pandemic has made supply and order volume extremely volatile , it is not the only factor at fault . Scaled-down production , port congestion and reshoring efforts , coupled with decades of lean inventories kept by companies to adopt the Just-In-Time ( JIT ) model to limit costs , have also largely contributed to the disruptions .
It is hard to determine when the shortages will end , but there are good reasons to believe that the trend will continue well into the end of 2022 , and possibly longer .
5G will not permeate the production line
As of July 2021 , there were 84 sites with publicly announced private cellular network ( 4G / 5G ) deployments . All are at large companies and facilities with examples including ABB , Airbus , BASF , Daimler AG , Ford , Haier , Konecranes and Nippon Steel . While important , current deployments are mostly used as campus networks or in a lab or intermediary production development centre for non-industrial production applications .
Standards work by 3GPP and 5G-ACIA continues to advance adoption and use of the technology . However , the device ecosystem and implementation / management functions lag . There is also a question of relevance ; two-thirds of manufacturers employ fewer than 20 people . In its current form , working with
Automation in focus .
18 | sheetmetalplus . com | ISMR February 2022