industrial Internet of things (IIoT)
The term Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) represents the industrial concept of an Internet of Things( IoT), as opposed to the consumption-oriented IoT concept. The Industrial IoT is a trend that, along with many other IT technologies, serves to improve operational effectiveness and represents the networking basis for Industry 4.0.
An IIoT network consists of smart devices that communicate via the Internet. The networks and systems made up of them can monitor, collect, exchange and analyze data. The insights gained provide decision-makers with important information for controlling business processes and decisions. As a result, companies can generate further business growth and improve their competitive environment and business sustainability.
Industrial Internet of Things can be used in many industries, with smart manufacturing in the manufacturing sector as well as in agribusiness or resource extraction, hospitals and healthcare facilities, distribution and logistics companies. An important aspect of IIoT is improving operational effectiveness through smart industrial systems and more flexible production techniques. The difference with the Internet of Things (IoT) is that with IIoT, computations occur as edge computing at the network edge, where they are generated. In other words, directly at the sensors. As a result, the computational effort in the IIoT is higher than in the IoT.
The IIoT can support predictive maintenance and servicing with the real-time data it collects. This allows machine failures and faults to be detected and corrected in advance, thus avoiding downtime and extending effective utilization time. Furthermore, the use of sensor data can improve M2M communication and the efficiency of learning machines and automata. The efficiency improvements are due to the fact that intelligent machines work more efficiently and accurately than those controlled by humans. In manufacturing specifically, IIoT can improve efficiency and help reduce costs in quality control and the supply chain. Other IIoT examples for industrial use include smart grids deployed in companies for intelligent energy supply and remote diagnosis in telemedicine.