The Industrial Internet of Things as the Next Big Growth Driver?

The Industrial Internet of Things as the Next Big Growth Driver?

The Internet of Things (IoT) is often marketed as a consumer-based technology phenomenon that will combine the potential of low-cost sensors and big data with wide-scale internet connectivity.

The promise of this consumer-focused vision of IoT is to change how we interact with daily objects in our lives. When people talk about the IoT, they often bring up ideas such as the connected home, automobiles, or health – concepts that will change how we live on a personal level.

But flying under the radar is a less sexy sub-sector of the IoT that could ultimately prove to be the most transformative – the marriage of the internet of things with industrial applications such as mining, oil and gas, infrastructure, aviation, locomotives, cities, farming, manufacturing, and power generation.

It’s been coined the “Industrial Internet of Things” (IIoT) by giants like GE, AT&T, Cisco, Intel, and IBM– and today’s infographic from RS Components shows that the economic growth stemming from this industrial internet revolution could be game-changing.

Industrial Internet of Things

The opportunity behind the IIoT is massive, and it’s measured in the trillions of dollars.

GE, for example, expects that by 2030 that it will add $10 to $15 trillion to global GDP, and that it could raise average income significantly throughout the world.

Like previous industrial revolutions, the IIoT will allow for greater automation of previously human-intensive work, creating greater productivity per man-hour invested.

Some potential applications:

Smart Farming: Making use of the vast amounts of information from crop yields, soil-mapping, fertilizer applications, weather data, machinery, and animal health, to improve yields and cut costs in the modern farming environment.

Smart Manufacturing: Using the industrial internet to create a fundamental shift in how products are invented, manufactured, shipped and sold. Intelligent networks will power the value chain – connecting people, processes and data and generating new best practices.

Smart Cities: Cities could stand to benefit significantly from connecting people, processes, data, and things together. City assets such as libraries, transportation systems, power plants, water supply networks, waste management systems, law enforcement, hospitals and other community services could feed off each other. Local governments will understand what is happening on micro and macro levels, and how the city is evolving.

Smart Energy: Power generation can be improved by combining sensors, big data, and connectivity. Imagine wind farms that make slight mechanical adjustments to capitalize on the small changes in wind velocity or direction, to be more efficient – this is only scratching the surface of what is possible.