Smart Industry 1/2017

IoT platforms can turn farmers
into desk workers by displaying
all the important data on their
operations and farmland in real
time and using the data to remotely
activate and control their automated
production facilities, such as feeders
and milking machines.
OnFarm is a four-year-old startup
based in Fresno, California, that offers
an online management system for
agricultural operations. The OnFarm
platform is based on Thingworx,
an IoT development platform from
PTC, to aggregate and analyze data
from a wide variety of sources, such
as humidity sensors in fields and
operational data from agricultural
machinery, as well as information
feeds from weather services, production
facilities, and a host of other
sources. It can also control the
production facilities remotely.
Raising business models
IoT platforms can also turn elevators
into passenger transportation systems
with guaranteed service level
agreements. MAX is a preventative
service and maintenance solution
built by Thyssenkrupp Elevators, on
Microsoft’s IoT Azure Suite.
It works in real-time and generates
forecasts to ensure elevators spend
50% less time standing idle due
to maintenance work, according to
its developers.
Not only does this platform enable
Thyssenkrupp to limit downtime,
it also reduces the amount of time
people have to spend waiting for
an elevator. In addition, it provides
a stream of real-time data that can
be analyzed to help the company
improve its products.
Preventative maintenance also supports
planning and enables service
technicians to be deployed more
efficiently. It additionally allows
Thyssenkrupp to create new business
models. For example, treating
elevator provision as a service with
service level agreements based not
only on meantime between failure
but also the number of passengers
transported per hour.
IoT platforms are even turning race
cars into speeding data projectiles
and Formula 1 races into hybrid
events involving both the virtual
and the physical world.
Honda R&D monitors 160 sensors in
its Formula 1 race cars and analyses
the data in real time with the help
IoT platforms
are turning
F1 races into
hybrid events
involving both
the physical
and the virtual
worlds
of IBM’s Watson IoT technology. This
real-time data analysis helps race
strategists, mechanics and drivers
to improve both their own performance
and their cars.
Elements of IoT platforms
These are just a few examples of what
companies can achieve with the help
of IoT platforms. All the scenarios are
about increased productivity, more
efficiency, more flexibility, greater
innovation, and, of course, the new
business models made possible by
these platforms.
IoT platforms are based primarily on
standard IT functions that can be
organized into powerful application
systems by implementing connected
sensors and actuators. This involves
the cooperation of hundreds of IT
workers, including automation specialists,
mechanical engineers, and
large-systems integrators.
The platforms connect the physical
world with the virtual world of IT,
thereby enabling completely new
data-based business models and
value creation systems to arise.
In a report, The Forrester Wave: IoT
Software Platforms, market analyst
Forrester Research describes the
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