Dell EMS Internet of Things (IoT) group assembled a mini supply chain as its booth at the user conference Dell EMS World in Las Vegas in May. At the October Dell EMS World in Austin, these were put together as an ice cream factory and distribution, and the booth featured an ice cream machine. I sure could have used an ice cream by the time I got through all the exhibits.
The Dell IoT Gateway was the common denominator of the exhibit tying everything together.
The first station features construction. Here are a couple of guys trying out the DAQRI augmented reality helmets. I had the opportunity to try these in Hannover. A really cool application of AR.
They are looking at a combination of the construction (see the red “steel” framework) and drawings that show the layout of electrical conduit, HVAC ducting, and other details. As a construction worker, they can get a feel of where things go, as well as spot interferences the designer missed.
This station showed product on its way to market through sensing and communication from Nokia.
Below is a layout of the Emerson process manufacturing system.
They brought actual pipe, pump, motor, instruments, wirelessHART communication. No, it didn’t make ice cream.
This station featured IMS Evolve–an application that brings sensor data into the cloud and provides track and trace, as well as other analytics, assuring the safety of the food product through the supply chain from the point of view of proper temperature.
Don’t forget security! Here is a photo of a physical security video system from V5.
The Dell Gateway is an edge device capable of accumulating data from the disparate sources, performing storage and analysis at the edge then sending information to the cloud for further analysis. It seems that everywhere I go, the “edge” is the place where innovation is centered right now. This simple demo showed the power of the edge.
Leadership and sports. OK, I maybe overdosing on NFL games. I have taken some sports analogies and applied to pondered the topic in general.
Leadership on YouTube–channel moved
Note: This podcast is also on YouTube. If you previously subscribed to my YouTube videos, Google decided at some point to move me to a different channel. You can go there and subscribe to see me in living color.
What got me thinking about this was how some key players in team sports seem to think they are one-person teams. Good leaders have strategies for involving people.
Here is a thought provoking TED Talk from Tom Wujec, a Fellow at Autodesk where he helps leadership teams solve complex challenges and design their future with emerging digital technologies. He uses the metaphor of drawing the process of making toast to eventually get groups thinking about using systems thinking to do what he calls “Wicked Problem Solving.”
Following is a his 8 steps process:
An Introduction to Systems Thinking and Wicked Problem Solving
DrawToast workshops are a great way to get groups to think freshly about mental models. In just 3 minutes, each person sketches a diagram of how to make toast. When comparing diagrams, people are shocked at how diverse the diagrams are, revealing a wide range of models of what’s important in making toast. It’s a great launch pad for drawing out what’s really important to the group.
There are 8 Simple Steps to the DrawToast Exercise:
Step 1
Prepare
Get the ingredients: felt markers, thick paper stock, sticky notes or index cards, and masking tape. Stage your room with tables, chairs, and a clear wall where you can post your work. It’s important to have enough room for all participants to see everyone’s creations.
Step 2
Invite
In your invitation, set expectations that your meeting will focus on building a systems model of an important challenge – clarifying your vision, improving cash flow, figuring out the next bold challenge. Begin with a simple design exercise.
Step 3
Conduct
Run the meeting informally. Hand out markers and paper to everyone and ask people to draw a picture of how to make toast.
Give them 2-3 minutes.
You may want to play toast-making music…
Step 4
Reflect
Have each person hold up their drawing for all to see. (Let the laughter start) Have the group place their drawings on a large wall space and comment on the drawings; pointing out which are simple and complex, which have people and which don’t.
Step 5
Play the TED.com DrawToast video and let it explain the big ideas about systems thinking. After it plays, ask the group how many nodes they drew and what kind?
Step 6
Draw Your Challenge
Have people draw a picture how to improve what what they are working on as a group. This can include almost anything, strategic or tactical. See ‘Draw Questions’ for inspiration. Make sure people draw individually and in silence.
Step 7
Share
Have people work at tables. showing and explaining their diagrams. Compare and contrast the diagrams and see what is similar and different between them. What links and nodes are common?
Step 8
System
If you have the time, have the group develop a systems diagram of the challenges using sticky notes and drawn links. Building on the previous individual diagrams, have groups of 4-6 people create nodes and links to to solve the challenges.
I think that cloud-based platforms supporting this Internet of Things (IoT) phenomenon will proliferate for a while until we reach some sort of stability. Nadella came from this part of Microsoft, so I’m not surprised to see continued emphasis on these enterprise platform technologies.
An interesting highlight for us manufacturing and production geeks was that Microsoft brought an application by Rockwell Automation front and center. When Rockwell started doing these services, the Internet of Things phrase had not even been invented. It now finds itself in front of the IoT parade in the Microsoft keynote. I guess the time has come.
Quoting from its blog, “Microsoft’s vision is to help companies thrive in this era of IoT, delivering open, scalable platforms and services that any company, whether startup or the most established global enterprises, can use to create new value, right now. Nadella mentioned our investments in the Windows 10 IoT operating system for devices, and equally with the Azure IoT Suite, we’re bringing together a variety of Azure services to help our customers accelerate their transformation to digital businesses.”
This reminds me of conversations with Microsoft people stretching as far back as 1999 where the topic was Microsoft as a platform company that provided a foundation for industrial applications. Looks like it is consistently fulfilling that vision.
Microsoft introduced a preview of the Azure Intelligent Systems Service last April. It is designed to securely connect, manage and capture machine-generated data from sensors and devices. “If the Intelligent Systems Service was a starting point, the Azure IoT Suite is its evolution and maturation – a reflection of what we learned from the feedback provided by our customers and partners throughout the preview.”
The Azure IoT Suite is an integrated offering that takes advantage of all the relevant Azure capabilities to connect devices and other assets (i.e. “things”), capture the diverse and voluminous data they generate, integrate and orchestrate the flow of that data, and manage, analyze and present it as usable information to the people who need it to make better decisions as well as intelligently automate operations. The offering, while customizable to fit the unique needs of organizations, will also provide finished applications to speed deployment of common scenarios we see across many industries, such as remote monitoring, asset management and predictive maintenance, while providing the ability to grow and scale solutions to millions of “things.”
Additionally, the Azure IoT Suite will provide a simple and predictable pricing model despite the rich set of capabilities and broad scenarios it delivers, so our customers can plan and budget appropriately. This approach is aimed at simplifying the complexities that often exist with implementing and costing IoT solutions.
The Azure IoT Suite will be released in preview later this year.
Nadella even talked manufacturing industry featuring Rockwell Automation, playing this video. One of my Twitter contacts pointed this out and asked how much was real and how much was hype. Well, I’ve actually seen similar applications at Rockwell, so it is just good marketing communication of a real service built on what is now known as Internet of Things.
