Industrial IoT: Significant Disadvantages for non-digitized plants
Nuremberg, 13. Nov. 2024 – As the convergence of information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) continues to accelerate, non-digitalized systems are at a considerable disadvantage in terms of efficiency and competitiveness compared to digitalized systems. This was predicted by Hilscher Gesellschaft für Systemautomation mbH at the Smart Production Solutions (SPS) 2024 automation trade fair on Wednesday.
According to the industrial communication expert from Hattersheim near Frankfurt, this will be particularly clear given that the majority of control tasks in production plants will be carried out by software-based systems using industrial PCs (IPCs), virtual machines (VMs) or edge and cloud computing solutions in 10 years' time. Arguments that currently speak in favor of classic programmable logic controllers (PLCs) are increasingly being addressed by general IT systems in ever better form. These include:
- Robustness
- Real-time capability
- Flexibility
- Availability
- Low maintenance
- Longevity
- Stability
- Cost efficiency
AI and cybersecurity amplify the trend
We are convinced that in 10 years, the majority of control tasks will be performed by software-based systems and virtualized hardware.
Christian Tepper
Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)
Hilscher Gesellschaft für Systemautomation mbH
Proprietary approaches fail
Strong partners at the SPS
Hilscher is already working closely with a number of such partners. For example, Tomorrow Things GmbH was a co-exhibitor at the Hilscher stand at SPS. The innovative company develops solutions with which digital twins of machines and systems can be implemented in no time at all. At SPS, both companies presented a demonstrator with which specific OPC UA data points can be connected plug & play to a cloud for condition monitoring and predictive maintenance using blueprint apps.
Together, the two companies are putting together ready-made automation packages for users in order to bundle the expertise of both companies. These packages consist of a combination of communication components from Hilscher, such as high-performance, real-time-capable edge gateways including IIoT apps, and Xentara, the modular, secure and powerful real-time automation platform from embedded ocean.
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Head of Product Management Industrial IoT
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