by Gary Mintchell | Apr 24, 2017 | Internet of Things
The Linux Foundation announced launch of EdgeX Foundry, an open source software project to build a common open framework for Internet of Things (IoT) edge computing and an ecosystem of interoperable components that will unify the marketplace and accelerate enterprise and Industrial IoT. The goal is the simplification and standardization of Industrial IoT edge computing, while still allowing the ecosystem to add significant value.
Looks like the big news is that Dell has joined and turned its Project Fuse set of IoT building blocks over to the open source project.
The press release, like most that deal with software, was long on buzz words and short on specifics that we all love to see. I have meetings this week in Hannover and expect to learn more. Watch for end-of-the-week updates.
Project Fuse? I did some research.
Back in December, 2015, Dell’s IoT director of strategy and partnerships Jason Shepherd told me that things were too complex trying to tie all the different ways to communicate through, for example, and IoT Gateway edge device. He also added these predictions for 2016. They seem to fit with the announcement.
- Enterprise will become the largest market for IoT adoption—While the Internet of Things hype reached its peak in the consumer markets this past year, 2016 will be the year of IoT in the enterprise market. Currently, we are seeing a slump in sales for the once buzzworthy, consumer IoT devices, such as fitness trackers, whereas just the opposite is happening for commercial IoT products. As companies begin understanding the value of IoT (return on investments, efficiency, productivity, etc.), commercial IoT solutions will gain traction and the enterprise will emerge as the largest market for IoT adoption.
- Standardization and interoperability of IoT technology will become a focal point—As IoT solutions become a mainstay for enterprises and consumers alike, the industry will face growing pressure for standardization and interoperability. As a result, an increasing number of industry players will begin uniting under the common goal of establishing a set of standards for IoT. These standards bodies and consortiums will make solid progress in 2016 but it is unlikely they will decide upon a finalized set of standards in the coming year. Rather, 2016 will be a year for critical industry-wide conversation that will help to drive the awareness of and need for standardization and interoperability.
Then I found this blog by Stacey Higginbotham, Dell plans an open source IoT stack, from last October.
I met with Jason Shepherd, director of IoT strategy and partnerships with Dell, who told me about its efforts to bring a modular set of building blocks to the industrial internet. It’s called Project Fuse, and Dell plans to make the effort open source.
Dell is working with 30 other “big name” companies that Shepherd didn’t name to create a layer of technologies that will sit between the many different messaging protocols used by today’s sensor networks and the cloud and analytics layer (see photo).
To me, this looks like it could cause problems for some of the middleware software vendors that currently do a lot of the heavy lifting for clients trying to integrate various systems, but Shepherd says some of them are on board because a platform like Project Fuse means they don’t have to build each client’s integration from scratch.
Leaders of this initiative believe there is too much fragmentation and the lack of a common IoT solution framework. This complexity hinders broad adoption and stalling market growth.
“Success in Internet of Things is dependent on having a healthy ecosystem that can deliver interoperability and drive digital transformation,” said Jim Zemlin, Executive Director of The Linux Foundation. “EdgeX Foundry is aligning market leaders around a common framework, which will drive IoT adoption and enable businesses to focus on developing innovative use cases that impact the bottom line.”
Unifying the IoT Market
EdgeX Foundry is designed to unify the marketplace around a common open framework and build an ecosystem of companies offering interoperable plug-and-play components. “Designed to run on any hardware or operating system and with any combination of application environments, EdgeX can quickly and easily deliver interoperability between connected devices, applications, and services, across a wide range of use cases,” states the release. Interoperability between community-developed software will be maintained through a certification program.
Dell is seeding EdgeX Foundry with its FUSE source code base under Apache 2.0. The contribution consists of more than a dozen microservices and over 125,000 lines of code and was architected with feedback from hundreds of technology providers and end users to facilitate interoperability between existing connectivity standards and commercial value-add such as edge analytics, security, system management and services. This is complemented by the recent merger of the IoTX project into the EdgeX effort, which was previously supported by EdgeX Foundry members including Two Bulls and Beechwoods Software, among others. Additional supporting code contributions by EdgeX members are already underway.
“One of the key factors holding back IoT designs in the enterprise is that there are too many choices to safely and easily implement a system that will provide a return on investment in a reasonable timeframe,” said Mike Krell, Lead IoT Analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy. “EdgeX Foundry will fundamentally change the market dynamic by allowing enterprise IoT applications to choose from a myriad of best-in-class software, hardware and services providers based on their specific needs.”
Founding members include: Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Alleantia, Analog Devices, Bayshore Networks, Beechwoods Software, Canonical, ClearBlade, CloudPlugs, Cloud of Things, Cumulocity, Davra Networks, Dell, Eigen Innovations, EpiSensor, FogHorn Systems, ForgeRock, Great Bay Software, IMS Evolve, IOTech, IoTium, KMC Controls, Kodaro, Linaro, MachineShop, Mobiliya, Mocana, Modius, NetFoundry, Neustar, Opto 22, relayr, RevTwo, RFMicron, Sight Machine, SoloInsight, Striim, Switch Automation, Two Bulls, V5 Systems, Vantiq and ZingBox. Industry affiliate members include: Cloud Foundry Foundation, EnOcean Alliance, Mainflux, Object Management Group, Project Haystack and ULE Alliance.
“Businesses currently have to invest a lot of time and energy into developing their own edge computing solutions, before they can even deploy IoT solutions to address business challenges,” said Philip DesAutels, PhD Senior Director of IoT at The Linux Foundation and Executive Director of EdgeX Foundry. “EdgeX will foster an ecosystem of interoperable components from a variety of vendors, so that resources can be spent on driving business value instead of combining and integrating IoT components.”
Adopting an open source edge software platform benefits the entire IoT ecosystem:
- End customers can deploy IoT edge solutions quickly and easily with the flexibility to dynamically adapt to changing business needs;
- Hardware Manufacturers can scale faster with an interoperable partner ecosystem and more robust security and system management;
- Independent Software Vendors can benefit from interoperability with 3rd party applications and hardware without reinventing connectivity;
- Sensor/Device Makers can write an application-level device driver with a selected protocol once using the SDK and get pull from all solution providers;
- System Integrators can get to market faster with plug-and-play ingredients combined with their own proprietary inventions.
The Linux Foundation will establish a governance and membership structure for EdgeX Foundry to nurture a vibrant technical community. A Governing Board will guide business decisions, marketing and ensure alignment between the technical communities and members. The technical steering committee will provide leadership on the code merge and guide the technical direction of the project.
“We think EdgeX Foundry is the key to accelerating the fragmented IoT market and are proud to have been a part of the effort from the beginning,” said Jason Shepherd, IoT Strategy and Partnerships, Dell. “We’re big believers in openness and choice, and this modular architecture is designed to help anyone easily build edge computing solutions with preferred hardware, software, standards and services while minimizing reinvention. EdgeX Foundry is not a new standard, rather a software platform to unify standards and edge applications.”
EdgeX Foundry is an open source project hosted by The Linux Foundation building a common open framework for IoT edge computing and an ecosystem of interoperable components that unifies the marketplace and accelerates the deployment of IoT solutions. Designed to run on any hardware or operating system and with any combination of application environments, the EdgeX enables developers to quickly create flexible IoT edge solutions that can easily adapt to changing business needs. To learn more, visit: www.edgexfoundry.org.
by Gary Mintchell | Mar 17, 2017 | Automation, Data Management, News, Organizations, Process Control, Technology
ABB CEO Ulrich Spiesshofer
ABB held its customer conference in Houston this week and showcased many new products and unveiled its digital enterprise platform ABB Ability.
ABB Ability is the name given to its portfolio of digital solutions. I was trying to place it into a competitive landscape when one speaker showed a slide positioning ABB Ability with GE Predix, Siemens Mindsphere, and Schneider Electric’s Ecostruxure. CEO Ulrich Spiesshofer likened it to putting all the Lego blocks of ABB’s digital offerings together.
ABB Chief Digital Officer Guido Jauret
ABB Ability is a platform, database, and analytics that allows such things as helping customers in utilities, industry, transport and infrastructure develop new processes and advance existing ones by providing insights and optimizing planning and controls for real-time operations. The results can then be fed into control systems to improve key metrics such as factory uptime, speed and yield.
“As a pioneering technology leader in digital solutions, with an installed base of more than 70 million connected devices and 70,000 control systems, ABB is uniquely positioned to support its customers’ digital transformation,” said Spiesshofer. “With ABB Ability, we are combining ABB’s entire portfolio of digital solutions and services. We are creating additional customer value by bringing together ABB’s domain expertise, advanced connectivity and the latest digital technologies. With this, our customers can achieve unprecedented improvements in operational performance and productivity.”
Digital offerings provided by ABB Ability include performance management solutions for asset-intensive industries; control systems for process industries; remote monitoring services for robots, motors and machinery; and control solutions for buildings, electric-vehicle charging networks and offshore platforms. Some of the more specialized offerings address energy management for data centers and navigation optimization for maritime shipping fleets, among many others.
Customers who are already using the portfolio of digital solutions that are now part of ABB Ability include some of the world’s leading utilities, manufacturers and service providers, among them Shell Oil, CenterPoint Energy, Con Edison, BASF, Royal Caribbean, Cargill, Volvo, BMW and many others.
“Building our solutions on the Azure platform means we can take advantage of all of its capabilities and add value with our domain-specific offering,” said ABB Chief Digital Officer Guido Jouret. “In effect, we are turning ABB’s decades of industrial domain expertise into software offerings that our customers can access through the world’s largest and most advanced digital platform. From being a hidden digital champion, we are becoming the partner of choice for customers embarking on a digital transformation. They can now know more, do more, do better, together. We can help them assess, automate, optimize and collaborate.”
This product was the coolest thing at the show for me. It is ABB’s take on the trend toward smaller I/O devices with configurable racks. Admittedly not having first-mover advantage, ABB was able to build on existing competitive offerings and release an updated take on the technology.
ABB Ability System 800xA Select I/O, a new addition to System 800xA, is a redundant, Ethernet-based, single-channel I/O system. It supports ABB’s next-generation project execution model, Intelligent Projects, which offers a range of efficiency improvements for automation projects. With Select I/O, customers can undertake major projects on a faster schedule with fewer cost overruns. It uses standardized cabinets that allow installers to digitally marshal signals instead of using labor-intensive marshalling panels. Loop checks can be done before the rest of the system is delivered, minimizing the impact of late changes and allowing for project tasks to be executed in parallel.
ABB Ability Asset Health Center – Among the first ABB Ability solutions to be launched on Azure is ABB’s next-generation asset performance management solution, Asset Health Center 3.0. Available since January 2017, it uses predictive and prescriptive analytics and customized models to identify and prioritize emerging maintenance needs based on probability of failure and asset criticality.
ABB Ability Collaborative Operations – This powerful solution, now being brought to scale across industries, helps customers collaborate more effectively. It allows experts to work together across organization boundaries, using the same data and analytics platforms. It focuses on such outcomes as improving productivity, reducing equipment failures, lowering the cost of asset maintenance and transforming overall business performance. This is done while maximizing security and protecting data, people and assets at every level of integration. The solution has been delivering sustainable, long-term results to early adopters.
ABB Ability Digital Substation – ABB’s digital substation provides customers in the utility sector with unmatched control and efficiency. The digital substation incorporates fiber optic current sensors and disconnecting circuit breakers to reduce maintenance requirements and the need for miles of conventional cabling. ABB Ability takes these advances several steps further by combining the latest electrical gear with digital sensors and cloud computing. The result is that grid operators can make decisions based on comprehensive, up-to-the-moment information, while predictive algorithms can improve maintenance practices and asset management.
ABB Ability Smart Sensor – This smart sensor solution, unveiled last year, connects low-voltage electric motors to the Industrial Internet, allowing them to be monitored continuously. The solution, which can be easily affixed to a motor, transmits data on vibration, temperature, loads and power consumption to the cloud. Alerts are generated as soon as any of the parameters deviates from the norm, allowing the operator to take preventive action before the motor malfunctions. Early indications are that the smart sensor solution leads to a reduction in downtime of motors by up to 70 percent and extends their lifespan by up to 30 percent. Acting on the data to optimize the motor’s performance reduces energy consumption by as much as 10 percent.
by Gary Mintchell | Mar 6, 2017 | Automation, Internet of Things, Operations Management, Security
When all things are connected, security becomes the crucial yet often overlooked component of the plan. Dell EMC as an enterprise IT supplier is long familiar with the necessity for planning security. This addition to its IoT Partner Network adds another dimension to its secure IoT offering. We have watched Dell EMC steadily building its IoT presence over the past couple of years. The gateway concept with computing at the edge is really catching on.
Asavie, the provider of next-generation enterprise mobility management and Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity solutions, announced today at the Industry of Things World it has joined the Dell IoT Solutions Partner Program as an Associate Technology Partner.
Asavie PassBridge cloud-hosted platform delivers on-demand IoT services that manage and secure connectivity across diverse networks, at scale. In combination with Dell Edge Gateways , Asavie PassBridge provides enterprises with end-to-end control of their network connectivity to ensure the commercial success of their IoT projects. It enables enterprises to rapidly rollout IoT projects, and securely capture and manage the vast amounts of data transacted between IoT devices.
Welcoming the announcement, Lars Jerkland, Vice President, OEM for Asavie, said, “We are pleased to be part of Dell’s growing network of IoT Partners. Customers are struggling with IoT network connectivity and integration challenges and our work with Dell helps address these obstacles. Together, Asavie and Dell offer industrial customers a secure, seamless, end-to-end IoT connectivity experience without any of the potential delays typically associated with rolling out a global cellular project.”
“Dell is focused on providing our customers with a comprehensive IoT solution to help them build new business models and grow,” said Jeff Brown, Dell EMC vice president, Global IoT and Embedded PC Sales, OEM Solutions. “Dell’s Edge Gateways and Asavie PassBridge, provide customers with a scalable, secure and robust IoT solution. As a result, enterprises can accelerate IoT implementation, generating increased cost savings and rapid delivery of new services to market,” continued Brown.
by Gary Mintchell | Mar 2, 2017 | Automation, Internet of Things, Operations Management
Dell introduced the Dell Edge Gateway 3000 Series at Mobile World Congress. This new platform features a form factor for harsh environments and small spaces. The 3000 Series includes three unique models targeted specifically for use cases and embedded solutions in the industrial automation, energy, transportation, and digital signage markets. With these Edge Gateways, customers will be able to securely transfer and analyze important data at the edge of the network to glean real-time intelligence from the physical world. Ideal deployments include a vehicle, a refrigerated trailer, a remote oil pump in the desert, digital signs in an elevator or inside of the HVAC units on a rooftop of a casino.
Customers are looking for faster, real-time analysis of the massive amount of data produced by devices on their networks, to perform immediate, smart decision-making. For some, it’s too expensive to move all the data from the edge of the network near the devices to the data center. Computing at the edge helps determine which data sets are interesting, relevant and need to be sent back to the data center or the cloud for further analytics and longer term storage, saving bandwidth and reducing costs and security concerns. Dell offers a complete edge to core to cloud portfolio of infrastructure for Industrial IoT solutions that includes everything from Edge Gateways, security and manageability solutions, data center infrastructure and connectivity.
“As the number of connected devices becomes more ubiquitous, we know that intelligent computing at the edge of the network is critical. The IoT continues to enhance customer experience, drive business growth and improve lives, making it central to organizations’ digital transformation strategies,” said Andy Rhodes, Vice President and General Manager, Internet of Things, Dell. “The small and mighty 3000 Series opens up new opportunities for our customers and partners to get smarter with their data and make big things happen.”
The Gateway 3000 Series joins Dell’s award-winning line of IoT-enabling hardware including the Edge Gateway 5000 Series and Embedded Box PC 3000 and 5000 Series. It comes with the Dell Command Suite and an optional upgrade to remote manageability through Dell’s Edge Device Manager, allowing customers to manage all their Dell IoT devices through a single tool.
All solutions benefit from Dell’s end-to-end support services, including the base Limited Hardware Warranty, or optional Dell ProSupport for up to five years, and Dell Deployment services. ProSupport on the Gateway 3000 Series includes proactive, automated support, 24/7 access to ProSupport engineers and Advanced Exchange Service to minimize downtime with a quick unit replacement. There’s also pre-qualification with over 65 technology and service providers in the award-winning Dell IoT Solutions Partner Program; inclusion in more than 20 scalable, repeatable IoT blueprints; and financing options through Dell Financial Services.
The Gateway 3000 Series is designed by Dell’s expert team of rugged product engineers and put through a rigorous 10-step testing process. The product line was designed for scale per tens of thousands of hours of feedback through customer advisory councils, industry consortiums and market feedback.
The rugged 3000 Series is complementary to its big brother, the 5000 Series, which is designed to excel in fixed use cases that require modular expansion, large sensor networks and more advanced edge analytics. The 3000 Series is ideal for both fixed and mobile use cases requiring smaller sensor networks, tight spaces and more simple analytics.
“The new Dell Edge Gateway 3000 Series powered by Intel provides powerful edge analytics in a compact form factor. The series bridges the data needs of traditional operational technology with the manageability demands of IT,” Ken Caviasca, general manager, IoT Group (IOTG), Intel. “We’re excited to continue our collaboration with Dell to help our collective IoT customers connect what matters.”
All three models include:
- Intel Atom processor
- 2 GB RAM and 8 GB eMMC storage (32 GB and SD card for additional storage options)
- Ethernet, USB, certified for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth LE
- Integrated 3G or 4G LTE cellular options for select countries
- Support for hot or cold operating temperature extremes from -30°C to 70°C
- Integrated digital GPS, accelerometers, and atmospheric pressure sensors
- Support for a wide input power range from 12-57 VDC (with vehicle transient voltage protection)
- Ability to be powered via Power-over-Ethernet (PoE)
- An ignition pin for easy operation while connected to a battery powered device
- Dell factory support for Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSB 2016 and Ubuntu Core 16
Differentiating features between the three models include:
- Industrial Automation and Energy Management, Model 3001; Multi-function I/O port and programmable serial ports (RS-485/422/232).
- Transportation and Logistics, Model 3002; CAN bus for land/marine protocols, integrated ZigBee for mesh sensor networks.
- Digital Signage and Retail, Model 3003; Display Port output for video displays (2560×1600) and 3.5mm line in/line out for quality audio streaming.
The Dell Edge Gateway 3000 Series will be available in early summer 2017 in select countries, starting at $399 USD. For more information visit www.dell.com/Gateway3000 or contact a Dell EMC OEM Solutions representative.
“At Emerson, we need simple, scalable and secure connectivity solutions to help our customers collect data from their industrial equipment and make better business decisions based on that data,” said Mike Boudreaux, Director, Connected Services, Emerson. “Working with Dell, we can move faster to bring new reliability and performance services to market. Our work together has enhanced our capabilities, and is a perfect example of how OT and IT partners are critical to success for Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) deployments. The Edge Gateway 3000 Series will enable Emerson to create new innovative solutions that deliver real outcomes to our customers’ operations.”
by Gary Mintchell | Feb 24, 2017 | Automation, Internet of Things, News, Operations Management, Safety, Software, Technology
Connections, services, augmented reality. Three technology directions and three companies that contacted me last month to point out some cool things going on, often beneath the radar. One of them just raised a bunch of VC money, though. I think you’ll be hearing more.
Now that I’m catching my breath from a couple of intense weeks with the ARC Forum and then the Industry of Things Conference, I have time to look at some new directions.
Knowledge Connected
Omnity uses the tagline Knowledge, connected. It accelerates the discovery of otherwise hidden, high-value patterns of interconnection within and between fields of knowledge as diverse as science, medicine, engineering, law and finance.
More than 2,500 scientific papers and 2,200 patent applications are published every day. Just the last five years of most scientific and engineering fields have produced on the scale of 100,000 documents. Reading these one an hour would take 50 years, a professional lifetime. Pair-wise comparison of these documents at three minutes per comparison would take more than 9,000 years, nearly the length of recorded human civilization. It is impossible to stay current in any field, much less the boundaries between two or more different fields, where most innovation occurs.
Omnity enables research and development professionals in all fields to rapidly and efficiently detect otherwise hidden patterns of relevant document interconnections. Whether for basic research or advanced product development, Omnity allows real-time insight into complex document sets, enabling research and development professionals to efficiently and systematically answer a wide range of questions. Read more here.
I heard about it on the podcast/radio show Tech Nation.
Augmenting Field of Vision
Safety Compass overlays information on your smartphone camera view, enhancing your field of vision. Warnings when and where you need it most—it is with you at work whenever and wherever you are, with coverage for the entire team. Simple, clear functionality with interactive hazard information suits any workplace size.
- Sign in and Select Your Site
- Supervisors can add a site or specific area on site within minutes.
- Adding hazard information is easy, simply follow the prompts to identify issues quickly.
- Workers can then sign in with secure login details and select from any number of relevant worksites.
- Scan Your Location for Hazards Using Augmented Reality
- The Safety Compass uses intuitive augmented reality to communicate hazard information to users in the field.
- Using the phone’s GPS and accelerometers the app superimposes real time information onto the camera view that adapts and compensates for worker’s field of vision.
- View Hazards Site-Wide
- By accessing the worker’s physical location, the app presents vital information on present dangers straight to the worker’s phone, avoiding the necessity of bulky safety manuals to locate and manage risk.
- A worker’s position is shown in relation to hazards, and workers can zoom, tilt and pan across a detailed site map.
- Access In-Depth Safety Information
- Workers receive critical site information well before they enter a hazardous area, allowing them time to prepare for safe work practices and overcoming the challenges of reading large volumes of complicated text in dark, shifting, loud or crowded environments.
- Additional safety information including video content can be added for more detail.
Frameworks of Applications
MuleSoft Agility starts with an application network according to MuleSoft. Mobility, Cloud services, the Internet of Things are creating incredible opportunities for business — but they’re raising customers’ expectations. MuleSoft builds application networks: seamless frameworks of applications, data sources, and devices connected by APIs, whether on-premises or in the cloud. They speed up app launch and modification cycles, make it easier to secure and manage access, and ultimately enable companies to do more — and faster — with less.
Leverage the power of API-led connectivity for a complete connectivity solution for digital business. Connect and orchestrate data on IoT devices, across devices, or with back-end applications. Leverage open standards and developer-friendly tools for speed and productivity. Connect to devices using out-of-the-box transport protocols like Zigbee and MQTT. Adapt Anypoint Platform to fit IoT architecture, not the other way around. Achieve full flexibility with a hybrid architecture and extensibility to connect future technologies.
MuleSoft recently received a large investment. Look for more from it.
