Platform Communication Unified Architecture (OPC UA) standard for industrial automation communication. IIOT OFFERS VISIBILITY, DELIVERS VALUE A plethora of third-party apps that extract data from industrial equipment and utilize the cloud are proving the value of the IIoT. One example from the agriculture sector collects data from tanks on nitrogen fertilizer concentration, temperature, pressure, drain-liquid level, and other indicators and sends it to the cloud for analysis. This helps farmers avoid government fines and the need for contamination cleanup services. For many markets and processes, building equivalent applications in house without IIoT-friendly frameworks and standards would be complex and expensive. Companies would need expertise in embedded software, industrial-communication protocols, IIoT cybersecurity, and cloud APIs. Technologies that address system integration, application design, and industrial communication are emerging to make the IIoT more attractive. Together, they allow machines to exchange data, and developers to create applications with highly specific functions. When paired with a standard interface, the data becomes a service that can be more easily shared. This approach will enable
assembly lines to access parts on a just-in-time basis, or trucks to be safely controlled from the cloud, as networked devices report data ranging from their location to their operating status.
SHAREABLE SERVICES HERALD INDUSTRY 4.0
SOA, or service-oriented architecture, was conceived in the 1990s to make software components interoperable and reusable via service interfaces. This means the “services” can be more easily used by new products without them understanding exactly how the service is generated. For the IIoT, sensor outputs become services that any device can access. The interfaces used are loosely coupled, meaning it is easier and safer to share services. This practice has found a new purpose in the IIoT. Thanks to the loose coupling provided by the defined service interface, manufacturers can choose from a variety of software components or services and team them with their industrial data and machines. This makes it an affordable and low- risk way to innovate and implement smart ways to run plants and processes.
Microservices complement SOA as “an application architectural style and an application-scoped
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