Industrial Automation Magazine India

Machines must be able to communicate in real time without any barriers

Published on : Saturday 20-08-2022

Sunil David, Advisor to IoT and AI Startups. 

Seamless connectivity seems to be a topic arousing much interest. Why would production entities need to have autonomous communication? 
Manufacturers globally are using IoT, Analytics and Cloud solutions to streamline their Manufacturing processes, reduce their overheads, and enhance their revenue streams. IoT devices with the right sensors integrated into industrial assets provide them real-time feedback, optimise storage and shipping conditions, and send alerts to the right stakeholders for repairs and preventive maintenance. Connected factories with integrated IT are being used to collect and process data for both ends of the supply chain. All this data is moved to the Cloud for storage, analysis and further processing.  
 
Networks such as 5G, which has high capacity, wireless flexibility, high availability and low-latency make it a natural choice to support the gathering of operational intelligence information. As networks grow and become smarter and eventually become autonomous, they will produce far more information than their predecessors. Manufacturers that can capture and crunch these numbers can produce actionable intelligence that enhances productivity and helps them make the right decisions and predict business outcomes leveraging the power of AI. 
 
When the network gives advanced warning that a piece of specialised and complex equipment in the shop floor needs a repair, augmented reality using very low-latency 5G-enabled headsets will make technicians a lot more efficient. L1 technicians can travel to a manufacturing site and have engineers at their Headquarters guide them step by step  through the repair process remotely via 5G networks, using context-sensitive 3D animations to walk them through the required steps. 
 
High speed and extremely low latency 5G networks will enable manufacturers to drive more functionality closer to the network Edge device so that real time events can be responded to faster as data is processed closer to where it is getting generated. Because the network technology's reliability is so high and its latency so low, equipment can communicate wirelessly with Enterprise back-end systems for time-critical operations in ways that weren't possible in the past.  
 
Is the need for real time communication also experienced over the enterprise boundaries? For example, with the vendor subsystems, with delivery subsystems? How about across multiple plants? 
Yes. Manufacturing applications today are more and more distributed and integrated, not only inside the production sites, but also between the various remote sites of production, of management, of product development and of product distribution. The need for manufacturers to connect with their Suppliers and Partners is also extremely important to ensure there is real time visibility of the Supply Chain. Hence, there is not only the need for local communication within the production sites but also for remote communication which has to be carried out through Wide Area Networks leveraging cellular, terrestrial or satellite technology. The communication requirements of these wide-area distributed applications are very similar to those of the higher level applications within the factory. Exchanges of long streams of data as well as of multimedia video streams are typically part of these applications. However, the wide-area dimension introduces new technical problems and strongly restricts the available solutions. The best connectivity options would be terrestrial Fibre or 4G cellular connectivity for applications which are not very latency sensitive,  however if the applications require lower level of latency and near real time communication 5G networks would be the best choice.    
 
Historically major vendors have developed their own communication interfaces and protocols. Each such protocol was embraced by their partners. Equally, since ages there has been a call out for open protocols from the side of major buyers. What actually defines an open protocol? When can a system be said to support an open protocol? 
In order for all machines in a Smart Factory to be networked and connected, they must be able to communicate in real time without any barriers. This is where proprietary software has become obsolete. The solution therefore is open protocol standards for industrial automation technology. 
 
The question is why do we need open standards? They definitely make life easier for all of us and also make it possible for all market participants in the industry to interconnect their systems. The best example is the Universal Serial Bus, or USB. This is a very familiar device in data processing standards, this universal connector provides, among other things, data transmission and power supply for billions of mobile handsets and computer systems.
 
Standards also offer numerous advantages in industrial communication. For example, imagine the bottling plant of a manufacturer of beverages. At one station the bottle gets filled, at the next stage it is sealed. Once the first station is finished, it signals to the next station to unscrew the lid. The necessary information is defined and specified in protocols. These specify the language (source code) in which the machines communicate with each other and the meanings (variables) that are exchanged between them. Hence it is a prerequisite that all the machines have to speak the same language in the form of standardised protocols – the basis for intelligent machine networking in a Connected and Smart Factory environment.
 
There are numerous standards in industrial communication. This variety emerged partly because Industrial Control System (ICS) manufacturers would develop a separate standard for their own system. The proprietary standards developed were incompatible with each other. We have seen a trend that has developed towards open, manufacturer-independent standards that allow flexible and seamless system integration and individual customisation. This represents a clear advantage for customers and all users. However, getting different systems and devices to speak the same language requires moving away from proprietary standards. This paradigm shift is being demanded and promoted by user organisations that provide their member companies with the specifications of their systems.  
 
Some of the Open Communication protocols used in Industrial IoT environments are as follows: 
 
Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT), plays an important role in IIoT (Industrial Internet-of-Things) applications, such as the energy monitoring of machines in the shop floor. This is an open network protocol for machine-to-machine communication that enables the transmission of telemetry data in the form of messages between various devices and also into the Cloud environment. With its mechanisms for real-time data transmission via terrestrial Ethernet networks, Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) also provides important standards. What we are seeing today is competitors willing to work together to push their development further. They all agree on a common interface as to how their machines can be connected to higher-level systems and how the most important machine parameters are defined. For example, they are developing the definition of a uniform machine communication interface called UMATI based on the data exchange standard OPC Unified Architecture (OPC UA) which is widely used. The objective is no longer just to standardise the communication between control, sensor and actuator. With UMATI, the focus is on ensuring standardised communication between machines. The companies cooperate with the common goal of enabling more seamless connectivity and more data for the connection and integration.
 
Taking a look into the future of industrial communication, industrial 5G is a very good example of new standardisation approaches in wireless data transmission. Future generations of mobile phone technology will therefore also open up completely new possibilities in industrial communication. 
 
In the automation industry, which is a competent body to provide accreditation and registration for protocols? Which is the entity who would define an open protocol? What commercial incentive would such an entity hope for? How would upgrades and revisions be handled? 
ODVA (Open DeviceNet Vendors Association) is a standards development organisation and membership association whose members comprise the world's leading companies in the Industrial Automation space. ODVA’s objective is to work towards advancing Open, Seamless and interoperable information and communication technologies in industrial automation.
 
ODVA recognises its media independent network protocol, the Common Industrial Protocol or "CIP" — and the different network adaptations of CIP, viz., EtherNet/IP, CompoNet, ControlNet and DeviceNet — as its core technology and the primary common interest of its membership. For future interoperability and integration of different production systems with other systems, ODVA embraces the use of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) and standard, unmodified Internet and Ethernet technologies as a guiding principle wherever possible. This principle is clearly exemplified by EtherNet/IP — which is the world's number one industrial Ethernet network.   
 
Since ODVA is a trade and standards development organisation consisting of member companies, no person or entity owns it. ODVA directs all its activities to promote the common interest of all its members and not for the benefit of any particular member and, moreover, is required to do so by law. To qualify for membership of ODVA, an industrial company must manufacture, or clearly showcase well-documented plans to manufacture the hardware and/or software products that integrate the different technologies of ODVA or are designed to enhance the implementation, operation and support of the requisite hardware and/or software products that integrate the technologies of ODVA in a multi-vendor systems environment.  
 
Since ODVA's members are competitors, they take the required steps and measures to ensure that its activities are carried out in a transparent manner that complies with the required antitrust and competition laws as they pertain to trade and standards development organisations. ODVA can provide this legal framework because governments across the world have recognised standards development as a pro-competitive activity that benefits the overall industry. To ensure that the IP (intellectual property) created through the collaboration of all its members remains pro-competitive, ODVA strives to produce the technical specifications that are truly vendor-neutral and open while at the same time recognising and protecting the legitimate IPR of all its members in the industrial automation space.  
 
How do upcoming technologies propose to deal with this topic? Such technologies include Cloud systems, Big Data Systems and more? 
Industry 4.0 harnesses all the components of previous revolutions of the past and adds to it an extremely important aspect which is Big Data. Big Data comprises huge piles of information stored in a Data Lake that would take humans years to go through and analyse manually, with very little benefit. Today, that Data can be moulded into information that drives value and enables manufacturers to make the right decisions.
 
The latest additions to Industry 4.0 are the advancements in Cloud Computing. We are increasingly seeing industries phasing out on-premises systems and migrating toward Industry Cloud Service Providers such as Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure, etc. Companies are opting to have Cloud Service Providers provide the required infrastructure, platforms, and software run on large server farms to operate the required applications. 
 
Cloud service providers like AWS and Microsoft are able to offer an entire Technology Stack to Manufacturers that not just covers the Cloud infrastructure but also the Big Data, AI and ML solutions that are needed to deliver business value by leveraging the required data insights needed for decision making and predicting business outcomes. The integration of sensor data into Cloud platforms through the use of the right IoT Data Management platforms tightly integrated into all the Enterprise back end applications like ERP, CRM is also handled by the Cloud providers through their strong System Integration capabilities. Any non-standard protocol used by IoT devices to transmit data to the Data platforms can be converted into standardised data formats through Protocol adapters so that Data can be seamlessly ingested into Data Platforms and visualised and analysed further.
 
Does use of Open communication compromise on cybersecurity aspects? 
Digitalisation and the growing networking of machines and industrial systems connected via IoT through sensors also mean an increase in exposure to cyberattacks. Appropriate protective measures are an absolute necessity, especially for critical infrastructure facilities. A holistic approach that covers all levels simultaneously – from the operational to the field level and from access control to copy protection – is essential for comprehensively protecting industrial facilities against internal and external cyberattacks. 
 
Yes, with Open Communication, there could be potential cyber threats that an organisation can get exposed to but it calls for a Defense in Depth strategy that addresses security at multiple layers – Device, Network, Data and Application. With a ‘defense in depth’ approach it gives manufacturing plants, both all-round as well as in-depth protection as recommended by the international standard IEC 62443. It's aimed at factory operators, integrators, and component manufacturers alike, and covers all the security-related aspects of cybersecurity.
 
International Standard IEC 62443 has definitely proven its worth in the industrial automation environment. It is aimed at plant operators, integrators and component manufacturers, and covers all security-relevant aspects of cybersecurity for industry. 
 
Sources: OVDA website 
 
(The views expressed in interviews are personal, not necessarily of the organisations represented)
 
Sunil David has 28 years of experience in the IT and Telecom industry of which close to 20 years was with AT&T, one of the top Communication Service Providers of the World and a Global Fortune 100 Firm. Until recently, Sunil was the Regional Director (IoT) India and ASEAN for AT&T India where he was responsible for building the IoT strategy, Sales, Business Development and also worked on building a robust IoT partner ecosystem; and was also actively involved in a number of marketing initiatives to help enhance the AT&T brand in the IoT space.
 
In his new phase of life, Sunil is Advising and Consulting AI and IoT Startups that are aspiring for the next level of growth. 
 
Sunil has been a recipient of a number of Awards and Recognitions including 6 awards in 2021 and 3 this year from various Industry bodies and media conglomerates in recognition for his work in Digital Technology advocacy, Digital Skilling initiatives, contributing inputs towards IoT policy creation for India and for contribution to National Institute of Electronics and Info Tech, an Autonomous Scientific Society of MeITY, Ministry of Electronics and IT, Govt of India for contributing inputs on the syllabus and specific courses in the Emerging tech space (IoT, Cloud, AI ) that needs to be incorporated into the Curriculum of State and Central Govt Universities. NASSCOM Foundation and IBM India have also planted tree saplings in Sunil’s name for his contribution to the Tech Industry.
 
In August 2021, Sunil was awarded as ‘India’s Fastest Growing Digital Evangelist’ for FY 20-21 by a large media conglomerate Asia One Magazine at the 14th Asia Africa Business and Social Forum. The same month he was also conferred with the ‘CXO Excellence Award 2021’ by CXOTV part of TechPlus Media Group and joining the league of League of Outstanding Technology Leaders of India. This award was given on the basis of peer recommendations from the Industry.