How can wind turbines on wind farms be fixed remotely? Will there be variable insurance policies that adapt to our driving behaviour? How can cyberattacks affecting the safety of autonomous cars be tackled? How can the water pollution of a river be monitored? How can energy losses in gas distribution networks be detected? and How can one find out the condition of crops in real time?
From 29th – 31st October, IoT Solutions World Congress (IoTSWC) will provide an answer to these and other challenges in their testbed area. They will demonstrate how the Industrial Internet, combined with Artificial Intelligence, blockchain, drones, 5G and other disruptive technologies, are transforming multiple sectors with new products and services that were beyond our imagination just a few years ago.
Testbeds are experimental platforms designed to apply new solutions and test them under real operational conditions. These trials explore developing technologies or combinations of these with those that already exist with the aim of creating products or techniques which are capable of generating new international standards. The ten practical applications to be exhibited at the IoTSWC 2019 have been selected by a committee of experts coordinated by the Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC) who are also supported by representatives from the IoT Council, Ametic, Cenesis, Machine Design and ABII.
The first of these installations, presented by GFT IT Consulting S.L., will exhibit a solution to personalise and adapt car insurance to driving habits. This system analyses drivers’ behaviour in real time using cloud-based technology and machine learning. In this demonstration, visitors will be able to drive radio-controlled cars around a track and augmented reality will determine the risk profile of the driver and check that the connected car technologies can be applied to real life, thereby creating new mobility, predictive maintenance and safety services.
Also noteworthy is the innovative cybersecurity system from TÜV SÜD developed by LHP Engineering Services, Xilinx, National Instruments and Aicas GmbH which blocks any threat that endangers the normal functioning of an autonomous vehicle in the field of connected transport. A cyber hack on a connected electric car will be simulated; it will compromise functions related to braking, steering, speed and the battery in order to learn how to prevent these attacks from being successful.
Drones, AI and blockchain in rivers and wind farms
Similarly, at the IoTSWC 2019, visitors will see how Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy has revolutionised the inspection and repair works to the wind turbine blades, substituting techniques, that were formerly carried out through a risk-filled activity at a height of 120m, with autonomous drones and a digital solution based on artificial intelligence and cloud storage known as Hermes. The aerial devices take pictures of the turbines, while the solution analyses the photos to detect possible damage to the blades, achieving safer, quicker and more accurate inspections. Microsoft Azure, Covizmo DK APS, GamaSmart and Clobotics have all participated in the development of this project.
In another field, the Spanish firm Libelium, in collaboration with its distributor in Russia, Smart IoT Distributions, Airalab and Togliatti State University present their ‘Drone on the Volga’ to measure the water pollution in the Kuybyshev Reservoir of the Volga River. Water Pollution is a major problem in Russia as more than 10 million people lack access to quality drinking water, resulting in health problems for the citizens of many cities in the country. This project combines the use of drones, sensors and blockchain to promote the transparency of data in real time, easily detecting sources of pollution and opening up a market for drone-based services in smart cities.
Monitoring of crop fields, patients and production plants
The event also offers visitors the chance to get to know the Smarteye Project, an initiative resulting in the collaboration between Ibercaja, EFOR, Microsoft and Libelium. Thanks to the direct application of the IoT, this project allows farmers to see the status of their operations in real time, helping them make affordable and effective decisions. It is a scalable product which can adapt to any type of crop field or farm helping it become sustainable.
Additionally, i2CAT together with ConnecThink and Monolitic will set up a testbed designed to improve the quality of life for the elderly and chronically ill. The platform which will be presented is based on IoT, Artificial Intelligence and 5G and will enable healthcare providers to improve emergency treatment and home visits and patient home care, thereby reducing hospital readmissions.
The Fiware Foundation, along with the IDSA, Prostep, Capvidia, SAS, IBM, Orbitor, and Fraunhofer have developed an experimental environment to evaluate the benefits of the new generation of Digital Twins in the manufacturing process, the monitoring of products through IoT and 3D printing services for spare parts. They are capable of exchanging data with real environments through blockchain to provide support and improve specific production processes in manufacturing plants.
Similarly, Bosch Rexroth S.L.U. will present a workstation that acts as an active assistant to an employee, providing them with all the information about the assembly tasks to be performed, indicating errors and intervening to correct them where necessary.
Smart gas and oil well networks
Nedgia, a gas distributor belonging to Naturgy, in partnership with MAHLE Thermoelektronic GmbH and ALLWIZE Communications will exhibit a gas network monitoring system to improve operations and carry out predictive maintenance tasks, aiming to prevent energy losses and fraud. The main new feature is the use of a new thermoelectric technology to feed an IoT device that operates independently and with very little energy consumption.
Finally, ZYFRA in partnership with Slavneft present a software solution based on Artificial Intelligence to control submersible electric pumps in oil wells. With this system, the production efficiency can be increased combining the well’s pump operation mode and the oil flow in an automated way. According to Gartner, these Smart oil wells could help oil companies reduce their costs by 5% and increase production volumes a further 2%. The solution has been successfully tested over a period of 6 months in 500 oil wells in Western Siberia achieving increased production of 1.5%.
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