1. Safety
Security is paramount for all IoT solutions, and therefore, industrial IoT solutions require even stronger safeguards. Imagine the potential for millions of dollars in losses daily from unexpected disruptions in large-scale production. For instance, a power grid shutdown would impact the economic activities of millions and could even jeopardize national security.
When deploying industrial IoT solutions, various advanced security measures are typically employed to ensure a high level of security, ranging from secure and resilient system architectures to specialized chipsets, encryption and authentication methods, threat detection, and appropriate measures taken during the management process.
2. Interoperability
Deploying an Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) solution is not about deploying a completely new solution in a new environment, but rather about coexisting with a large number of existing technologies, including SCADA, M2M technologies, and other manufacturing execution systems that exist for different purposes. These legacy systems do not disappear.
This means that Industrial IoT solutions must integrate and support various protocols and datasets, and be able to reliably and stably collaborate with these existing manufacturing systems. Another crucial point is that Industrial IoT solutions must be able to integrate with back-end Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems.
3. Scalability
As is well known, an industrial network is a proprietary, very large network that supports tens of thousands (or more) of controllers, robots, robotic arms, and applications for various purposes.
According to YiHuo Manufacturing, in such a large network, redeployment solutions must be designed to scale seamlessly now and for a long time to come to support tens of thousands of new sensors, devices, and controllers, or existing non-IoT devices. This support includes interoperability, scheduling, workflow integration, data collection, data analytics, decision-making, and integration with production and business execution systems.
4. Precision and accuracy
We know that all operations in the industrial sector require a higher degree of precision and accuracy. For example, high-volume, high-speed manufacturing processes in automation need to be synchronized to the millisecond level. Simultaneously, when quality assurance systems detect minute changes, they must take timely corrective actions based on these metrics.
In this environment, simply striving for precision is far from sufficient; even the slightest error can lead to drastic consequences, including a rapid decline in efficiency, extended downtime, and substantial revenue losses. Therefore, Industrial IoT solutions must support high precision and accuracy to ensure all business operations function smoothly.
5. Programmability
For industrial and OT systems, to support entirely new manufacturing processes, everything from programmable logic controllers (PLCs) to machining equipment is frequently reprogrammed and reconfigured. This programming may be done in the field or remotely, but it must be programmable. In short, Industrial IoT solutions supporting industrial and manufacturing applications must provide the same flexibility and adaptability.
6. Low latency
In a high-speed, continuous production system, sensors constantly monitor every operation, and every second in this process is crucial. Every minute anomaly must be detected and corrective measures taken near real-time.
Because any brief delay in detection, evaluation, decision-making, and execution will incur high costs in terms of worker safety, product quality, production costs, and revenue loss. This also places a demand on Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) solutions, requiring the establishment of corresponding measures to support the low-latency requirements of certain industrial applications.
7. Reliability
In fact, many industrial systems may have been operating for a long time before being replaced; systems that have been running for 20 to 30 years are not uncommon. They operate in harsh environments, sometimes subjected to extreme temperatures, cold, high vibration, pressure, and dust conditions. Moreover, these systems may be deployed on remote suburban construction sites far from headquarters.
This means that Industrial IoT solutions may face the same environmental conditions and requirements. They must be able to support high availability, withstand high load cycles, and operate stably and reliably. Furthermore, they should be able to operate for several years, only shutting down when maintenance is required.
8. Elasticity
In critical industrial processes and systems, downtime (even service access) is unacceptable. Therefore, solutions must be designed with resilient operation in mind. This means that a failure in one part of the system should not directly cause the entire system to stop operating. Even if there is a potential loss of operational capability, there must be a backup system or a system process that can be routed to another part of the system to continue functioning.
In mission-critical operations, industrial IoT solutions must support fault tolerance or be designed with resilience. From sensor failures to network connectivity drops, industrial IoT systems and architectures must be able to easily handle any failures during operation and still perform their processes and operations satisfactorily.
9. Automation
Many industrial processes have achieved a high degree of automation, with minimal reliance on human intervention. In such industrial environments, a major task for IoT solutions is to support a range of autonomous requirements, which will significantly accelerate the evolution of intelligence towards the edge, such as integrating automatic control logic into gateways and incorporating deep learning capabilities into system design. Furthermore, these IoT solutions must be programmable and compatible with both new and existing manufacturing execution systems.
10. Operability
Industrial systems have stringent requirements for operational quality, needing to operate stably and predictably over long periods in unknown, harsh environments. This necessitates regular maintenance by service technicians from both the field and back-end. To achieve such a high level of maintenance, industrial IoT solutions must be operable. The ability to maintain industrial IoT solutions throughout their entire lifecycle—from replacing sensors and updating firmware to configuring gateways and servers—is essential.
