New product and investment speak to value of IoT for the smart manufacturing sector
Rockwell Automation is a major player in helping customers realize digital transformation and adopt IoT tools to create smart manufacturing operations that reduce downtime as a function of analytics, machine learning and other tools that increase production efficiencies.
Project Scio is a new IoT analytics platform designed to provide manufacturers with a turnkey solution that drives scalable data insight. Rockwell calls out key attributes as automatic, software-based device discovery; centralization of real-time data; machine-learning algorithms optimized for particular uses cases; automated monitoring and mitigation based on pre-defined parameters; a forthcoming app marketplace that supports existing applications as well as third-party development; and an open platform that can integrate with legacy assets to prolong investment.
Rockwell VP of Information Software John Genovesi spoke to the power of data insight: “When users gain the ability to fuse multiple data sources and add machine learning, their systems could become more predictive and intelligent. Scio puts analytics to work for everyone. The scalable and open platform gives users secure, persona-based access to all data sources, structured or unstructured. And a configurable, easy-to-use interface means that all users can become self-serving data scientists to solve problems and drive tangible business outcomes.”
To the AI piece, Rockwell has invested in The Hive, which combines venture capital funding and a “co-creation studio” focused on enabling startups to develop AI applications for industrial automation.
“Smart manufacturing requires the use of new and disruptive technologies such as AI to create the future industrial plants and supply networks that are flexible, efficient, responsive, and secure. AI can help manufacturers unlock data, contextualize it, and take action,” Elik Fooks, senior vice president for corporate development at Rockwell Automation, said. “We continue to create partnerships with leading innovators, such as this one with The Hive, to further advance The Connected Enterprise, our vision for realizing unprecedented industrial productivity from the integration of plant and enterprise operations.”
