Yokogawa’s view of a connected industrial plant, as described in a white paper on process automation and the Internet of Things. (Image courtesy Yokogawa Electric Corporation.)
Yokogawa Electric Corporation, an electrical engineering and software company also involved in industrial automation, will collaborate with four technology providers to develop an Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) architecture.
The collaboration includes Bayshore Networks, FogHorn Systems, Microsoft and Telit IoT Platforms, each of which has experience in the IoT industry.
The IIoT architecture will make use of each company’s existing IoT technology, incorporating Microsoft’s Azure IoT Suite, Bayshore’s security technology, Foghorn’s fog computing software and Telit’s device management, sensor onboarding and communication modules. Yokogawa offers experience in sensor technology and control systems.
The IIoT is growing quickly, with the North American IIoT market predicted to be worth around $600 billion by 2021. However, there are still challenges in implementing IIoT systems, such as ensuring adequate security and remaining cost-effective.
Yokogawa hopes that the IIoT architecture collaboration will result in end-to-end IIoT solutions, taking care of the hurdles so that users won’t have to. Their desired solution would incorporate everything from plug-and-play sensors to automation, to processing in the cloud.
“The IIoT architecture that Yokogawa will develop under this agreement will revolutionize the way in which value is delivered in sensing and plant information management,” said Yokogawa’s Tsuyoshi Abe. “By working with these four companies, Yokogawa will rapidly establish its IIoT architecture.”
Yokogawa seems to have had their sights set on IIoT solutions since at least last year, when they invested USD$900,000 in Bayshore Networks. “Yokogawa shares our vision for a secure IIoT enabling new applications that will increase safety, optimize processes, and drive efficiencies,” commented Bayshore CEO Mike Dager.
For more IIoT news, check out Industrial Robot Deployments Grow as Manufacturers Adopt Enriched Connectivity Technologies in Factories.
