by Gary Mintchell | Aug 4, 2022 | Internet of Things, Manufacturing IT, News, Operations Management, Organizations, Standards
I missed the notes of an interview when I transferred to a new notebook a couple of months ago. It concerns a new Framework published by the Industry IoT Consortium (you may remember them as the Industrial Internet Consortium, still known as IIC). These Frameworks are blueprints targeted at decision makers providing a variety of perspectives on a topic along with practical advice according to Wael William Diab, Chair IIC Industrial AI Task Group and Secretary IIC Steering Committee, and Bassam Zarkout, Executive Vice President IGnPower Inc. and the Chief Editor of the IIAIF.
They told me the work approaches the topic from different perspectives—business, usage, functional, and future.
Artificial Intelligence Framework
The Industry IoT Consortium (IIC) announced the Industrial IoT Artificial Intelligence Framework (IIAIF). The framework highlights the value proposition AI can enable in next-generation industrial IoT (IIoT) systems and addresses the emerging requirements and implementation challenges.
“The rapid growth and innovation in the field of AI have unlocked applications that a few years ago were infeasible. These advances are fueling digital transformation across industry sectors such as manufacturing, transportation, healthcare, finance, and retail,” said Wael William Diab, Chair IIC Industrial AI Task Group and Secretary IIC Steering Committee. “By taking a holistic approach to the emerging requirements and challenges, the framework aims to accelerate responsible adoption of AI-enabled IIoT systems and ultimately bring the benefits of digital transformation to more use cases and sectors.”
The IIAIF brings together both the IT and OT perspectives and their convergence by considering the various aspects of next-generation AI-enabled IIoT systems. For instance, the framework addresses the value proposition, implementation challenges, and architectural decisions and provides exemplary usage scenarios.
“AI-enabled IIoT systems enable better insights, faster decision making, and more effective operations, and empower organizations to deliver higher value to the market,” said Bassam Zarkout, Executive Vice President IGnPower Inc. and the Chief Editor of the IIAIF. “The framework is unique in terms of positioning, scope, and real-world use cases. It addresses the practical business, trustworthiness, ethical, and technical considerations of AI with other digital transformation enabling technologies.”
“The IIC is focused on creating transformative business value by accelerating the adoption of industrial IoT systems,” said Stephen Mellor, IIC CTO and Exec. VP of OMG. “The IIAIF is a prime example of how IIC is facilitating the adoption of emerging technology by helping organizations understand and address the unique requirements of AI in IIoT environments.”
Update to Industrial Internet Networking Framework
The Industry IoT Consortium (IIC) published an update to its Industrial Internet Networking Framework (IINF) that includes new guidance on deploying satellite communications technologies in place of terrestrial networks, which can be technically and economically unfeasible. Today, developers can deploy satellites to connect IIoT devices spread over vast areas or for connectivity in remote, underpopulated land areas, or over the seas and oceans.
“The main advantage of satellites over terrestrial networks is their wide coverage on a regional and continental scale,” said David Lou P.hD., Co-Chair, IIC Networking Task Group and Chief Innovation and Strategy Officer at Huawei. “Even though closing the link budget for IIoT devices is challenging, satellite technology can support IIoT devices as a direct radio access network. They can also serve as a backhaul technology for wireless or wired networks at any altitude.”
by Gary Mintchell | Aug 3, 2022 | Business, Education, Leadership, News, Organizations
The first NI Week in Austin, TX I attended was 1998. I hit every year until maybe 2015. The clear vision of leadership around building a company with solid ethics and focus on having a positive impact on the world impressed me from the very beginning.
The company has grown from that startup scrappiness I first witnessed to the corporation it is today, yet the vision persists through the third generation of leaders.
Recently I interviewed Tabitha Upshaw, senior director of Brand, Reputation and Impact to learn more about the results reported in the 2021 Corporate Impact report just announced about a month ago. She emphasized the Three Pillars of the program: Changing the Faces of Engineering, Building an Equitable and Thriving Society, and Engineering a Healthy Planet. These were created to reflect where the company can have the greatest influence and impact as a test and measurement engineering leader.
Some of the results noted in the report include:
- The launch of a rigorous grant-making process with $2.7 million in grants to nine nonprofit partners who are advancing diversity in STEM education, including the Girls in Engineering and Technology program in Malaysia and the Women at Tech program in Hungary.
- Improved equity in base pay across NI, with ratios of 99% for women to men (global), 101% for people of color to white (U.S.), 100% for Black to white (U.S.) and 101% for Latinx to white (U.S.).
- 35.5% of electricity sourced from renewables, plus 113,542 square feet of new buildings and remodels designed to LEED/WELL standards.
A particular point of pride according to Upshaw came from tracking pay equity goals and reporting that the company was beating these goals handily.
The company has placed dollars, executive time, and other emphases on STEM education at all levels of schooling as long as I’ve known it.
The report also puts forth a new goal: By 2030, NI will become a climate-neutral company with an ongoing commitment to protecting biodiversity. The company’s ambition is to operate in a way that produces no net greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1 and 2).
“We are living through a period of rapid evolution. We see it with our customers who are accelerating the digital transformation of our world, and we see it in our society and across our planet,” said Eric Starkloff, CEO of NI. “Our 2030 Corporate Impact Strategy reflects our desire to be a driver of positive change.”
One of NI’s key drivers of positive transformation in 2021 was its announcement of $2.7 million in grants to STEM education initiatives that advance diversity in STEM education globally. The company formed nine new partnerships with nonprofits to bring hands-on programs and mentoring to girls and women, people of color and economically disadvantaged populations.
“We’ve had to put in extra effort to keep Corporate Impact top of mind in the face of macro challenges such as the pandemic, supply chain disruption, and our transformation as a company,” concluded Upshaw. “And I’m so proud of what we’ve worked together across the company to achieve this year.”
by Gary Mintchell | Jul 25, 2022 | Internet of Things, Manufacturing IT, News, Organizations, Standards
The power of industry consortia lies in the number of companies and the market reach of the companies who gather to develop standards for technology and use. This guidance from the Industry IoT Consortium (IIC, formerly Industrial Internet Consortium) helps organizations drive better business outcomes using data from resource-constrained edge devices. That is digital transformation.
From the news:
The Industry IoT Consortium (IIC) announced updates to its Industrial IoT Internet Connectivity Framework (IICF), a foundation document that guides the building of an Industrial IoT (IIoT) connectivity architecture. The latest version of the IICF expands the connectivity guidance to include lightweight, resource-constrained machine-to-machine (M2M) devices often found at the edge of networks. The IICF defines an IIoT communications stack and a connectivity assessment template. It applies the assessment template to evaluate IIoT connectivity standards and provides guidance on selecting the right connectivity standard based on system requirements. The IICF connectivity reference architecture enables data sharing and interoperability across a diverse range of IIoT systems.
“Five years ago, the IICF laid the foundation for ubiquitous data sharing across the rich but often confusing landscape of IIoT applications. Today’s important updates and new assessments cater to the communication requirements of resource-constrained devices,” said Dr. Rajive Joshi, lead author, co-chair of the IIC Connectivity Task Group, and Principal Solutions Architect at Real-Time Innovations (RTI). “IIoT architects can use this document confidently to review up-to-date requirements, technologies, standards, and solutions that enable rapid, open information exchange across their systems.”
“Sharing data is essential for organizations to create new value streams and unleash the potential of a global IIoT marketplace,” said Stephen Mellor, CTO, IIC. “The latest version of the IICF helps organizations use IoT connected M2M devices to drive better business outcomes.”
The IICF is a fact-based, consensus-developed document that provides a stable long-term foundation for IIoT interoperability. It offers helpful, practical, tangible guidance for requirements assessment, technology evaluation, and selection.
IICF authors include Rajive Joshi from RTI, Paul Didier from Cisco, Christer Holmberg and Jaime Jimenez from Ericsson, and Timothy Carey from Nokia. The Industry IoT Consortium is a program of the Object Management Group (OMG).
by Gary Mintchell | Jul 15, 2022 | News, Organizations
I haven’t had the opportunity to talk with John Dyck of CESMII or with Phoenix Contact executives for more than a couple of years. But I’m happy to see Phoenix Contact joining the organization. Work must be done in the US to add vigor to the manufacturing and industrial sector.
Phoenix Contact Development and Manufacturing Inc., has joined CESMII –The Smart Manufacturing Institute. As a platinum member, Phoenix Contact will work with CESMII and other member companies to radically accelerate the development and adoption of advanced sensors, controls, platforms, and models – all to enable Smart Manufacturing (SM) to become the driving sustainable engine that delivers real-time business improvements in U.S. manufacturing.
Louis Grice, Phoenix Contact vice president of digitalization and government affairs, was named to the CESMII board.
Grice stated, “We’ve embraced Smart Manufacturing on our own production floor. By working with CESMII, we’ll contribute to a mission-driven association dedicated to driving performance, increasing quality, improving reliability, and saving energy for sustainable and competitive U.S. manufacturing.”
“The democratization of Smart Manufacturing is a national imperative as we work together to create a more competitive manufacturing environment. This journey requires a productive and sustainable ecosystem, and it’s an honor to have Phoenix Contact partnering with us on this important endeavor,” said John Dyck, CESMII Chief Executive Officer.
by Gary Mintchell | Jul 14, 2022 | News, Organizations, Standards
FDT Group Managing Director Steve Biegacki joined Utthunga on a LinkedIn Live session this morning (7 am CDT) to discuss migrating FDT DTMs to the latest version FDT 3.0 UE.
He discussed the benefits of the new FDT Hub which contains a central repository of DTMs such that users need not search other files to find the latest versions. FDT is also no longer tied to Microsoft Windows. Developers and users can have Linux or MacOS platforms. Better still, the latest versions are not tied to a single PC allowing use in the cloud or another server supporting multiple users.
FDT Group enables more efficient migrating to the latest standard through a set of tool kits developed by the organization and also by vendors. FDT Group also provides a Style Guide to help developers through the migration process.
Even so, FDT 3.0 is backward compatible with DTMs already in the field.
Embedded OPC UA server enables communication with other devices allowing the sensor-to-cloud strategy.
by Gary Mintchell | Jul 12, 2022 | News, Organizations
Governmental agencies or think tanks that seek to influence governmental agencies may bear some fruit in the end. People like me who are predisposed toward getting things done hold skeptical views. But enough voices could cause something good to happen. This news concerns a policy center on industrial strategy for the US economy.
The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), the leading think tank for science and technology policy, launched a new policy center called the Hamilton Center on Industrial Strategy to advance a new approach to U.S. economic policy that focuses squarely on bolstering America’s competitive position in advanced technologies and industries that constitute the most strategically important sectors of the economy.
As its opening salvo in the economic policy debate, ITIF’s Hamilton Center on Wednesday will publish a comprehensive global index of national performance in the competition for market leadership in advanced industries.
“The United States is at risk of losing its technological, economic, and national security edge to China. Policymakers need to decisively change course to avoid that outcome,” said ITIF President Robert D. Atkinson, who is directing the Hamilton Center. “There is a deeply entrenched belief in Washington policy circles that nations can specialize in any industry where they have a comparative advantage, and whether it’s computer chips or potato chips makes little difference, because global trade is generally a win-win proposition that will lift all boats. But it turns out semiconductors and other advanced, traded-sector industries are far more important to economic and national security than potato chips—and the research that ITIF’s Hamilton Center is publishing this week shows in no uncertain terms that global trade in those industries is like tug-of-war: China’s gains are coming at the expense of the United States and its allies. Policymakers need to focus like a laser on bolstering the country’s competitive position in the select group of advanced, traded-sector industries that serve the dual purpose of enabling economic and national security.”
The Hamiltonian perspective represents a new intellectual framework for practical competitiveness policy that enables U.S. technology leadership in global markets. The Hamilton Center’s mission is to advance strategic-industry policy that accomplishes more than simply increasing innovation inputs such as science funding, or improving economic factor conditions such as intellectual property protection, though those steps are certainly important. The goal instead must be to craft and effectively implement policies and programs that directly enable firms in America to lead in these key industries and technologies.
Under Atkinson’s leadership, with ITIF’s vice president for global innovation policy, Stephen Ezell, the Hamilton Center will conduct economic research, publish actionable policy analysis, organize high-level discussions, and engage with policymakers to rethink economic policy as a key instrument to achieve U.S. technological leadership. The Hamilton Center’s advisory board includes leading scholars, practitioners, and former officials with deep knowledge and experience on a wide range of issues involving industrial strategy matters:
- Erica Fuchs, professor of engineering and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University
- Carroll Thomas, former acting associate director for innovation and industry services at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and former director of the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership
- Sridhar Kota, Herrick Professor Emeritus of Engineering of the University of Michigan and executive director of MForesight
- Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan, USAF (Ret.), former director of the U.S.Defense Department’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC)
- Ben Armstrong, a research scientist and interim executive director of MIT’s Industrial Performance Center
- Willy Shih, Robert and Jane Cizik Professor of Management Practice in Business Administration, Harvard Business School
- Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Ernest L. Arbuckle Professor, Harvard Business School
- Bill Bonvillian, MIT lecturer and senior director of special projects at MIT’s Office of Digital Learning
- David Adler, advisor on industrial strategy, Common Good Foundation
“With America now facing an aggressive, often malign challenge from China in particular, there needs to be stronger policy advocacy and thought leadership articulating the case for a robust national strategic-industry policy,” said Atkinson. “The place to start is firmly rebutting the deeply held view of most economists and many policymakers that all industries are created equal.”
