Dear Readers!!
At the beginning of the year, while I was thinking of what I could do differently from last year to improve my knowledge skills, I came across SAP devX External Conference Program. I opted to apply for it and I got this unique opportunity to attend an External IoT Conference - "Internet of Things World Asia 2019" held in Singapore on 11-12 September 2019. The conference cost including travel and stay was sponsored by SAP devX External Conferences Program .I am thankful for providing me this experience to attend, learn and gain insights about the latest developments on the Internet of Things space.
To learn more about the Conference Program you can visit their Jam Page
SAP devX - SAP Development Excellence
"Internet of Things World Asia 2019" showcased the best of tech and telco industry in digital transformation space in Asia and South East Asia. The Conference demonstrated a wide range of IoT use cases covering IoT Capabilities: Connectivity, Security, Analytics and AI, Edge computing showcased from industry verticals- Manufacturing, Energy & Utilities, Oil and Gas, Buildings, Smart Cities, Agriculture, and Supply Chain. A few of the key event sponsorers were Hitachi, Huawei, and Microsoft. There were 2000+ attendees, 35+sponsors and exhibitors, 25+ lecture sessions and 10+ Start-up demo pods.
I am sharing all my learning experiences: key highlights of the event and topics addressed via this blog.
# EDGE Processing and Computing
Edge-processing solutions are becoming more prevalent with many providers moving to integrate these with end-to-end IoT solutions and build strategies for layering them into networks effectively. The attractiveness of this technology lies in its ability to enable faster processing and decision-making in the local IoT environment and to some extent mitigating the risks related to data sovereignty, privacy, and hacking.
Development of edge computing is being driven by network functions virtualization (NFV) and (eventually) 5G; AI allowing decision-making and processing at the data source; microservices and containerization with DevOps-style continuous delivery simplifying edge application development and deployment; powerful low-power microprocessors and accelerators. Open-source tools for Intelligent Edge enabling orchestration and management of edge services in diverse network platform and the multi-cloud environment is gaining momentum.
Still, Early days for Enterprises to actively start adoption to edge processing!!
# Connectivity solutions to link and share data
Adoption of NB-IOT (Narrowband width) and LTE-M(Long Team Evolution 4G) networks will gain pace significantly in 2019.5G for IoT will take several years for standardization and commercialization.
LPWAN (Low Power Wide Area Network; Wireless data transport protocol) and 5G testbeds will drive smart city development in the near future.LPWA characteristics of low cost, long battery life, low energy consumption, low data rates, and strong indoor and underground coverage – are a great match for many IoT applications. Consumption of LPWA will take off with simple use cases such as smart lighting; smart parking; water monitoring, and leak detection; fire monitoring; smart metering; smart agriculture.
It’s the time for commercialization of LPWAN
#AI for IoT
The role of AI is becoming significant in using IoT data to "feed" AI systems, and AI to direct endpoint devices intelligently. Monetizing IoT data directly or indirectly is one of the goals for many enterprises and service providers and AI technology is one of the enablers to achieve it.
AI complements IoT
#Blockchain for IoT
In the context of IoT, the focus is on leveraging blockchain infrastructure to secure and scale IoT ecosystems. Need for establishing common standards for using blockchain in industry-specific applications. For example, standards around APIs and interfaces. Blockchain's decentralized transaction database creation with secure and independently verifiable record keeping approaches maps well to the requirements of a variety of IoT applications.
Supply Chain business function having huge potential for use cases involving IoT tracking technologies with Blockchain-enabled verification services. One such supply chain use case involves blockchain technology to independently and robustly verify the identity of devices joining an IoT network. Another
Energy grids use case involves buildings with solar panels that can contribute energy to a neighborhood grid and are then charged for usage or compensated for energy production; such transactions could be independently tracked and verified using blockchain records.
Customer interest for Blockchain – IoT solutions are yet to be proven
Industry-Specific Solution Trends in IoT:
#Smart Cities – A New Way Forward
Smart lighting continues to be the most popular smart city service use cases with LED upgrading for street lighting followed by sensors for street furniture, Smart light poles for environmental monitoring, traffic and public Wi-Fi and projects clear long-term cost savings.
Smart parking and traffic management is the second and third popular use case with smart parking linking with traffic management initiatives to drive emissions norms and air pollution standards in smart cities.
Public security applications have grown in prominence with advances in video and computer vision technology
Current key IoT challenges in smart city projects to tackle are complicated cities, complex use cases, cultural changes, governance, fragmented vendor ecosystems, cyber threats, connectivity, partnerships, limited or fragmented funding, revenue monetization for operators and vendors, etc.
CSPs looking to monetize on smart city opportunities could potentially partner with companies dealing in waste disposals, lightening, security, and transportation rather than attempting to win large city direct IOT contracts.
Smart Cities though currently appears complicated, overhyped and frustrating, Smart cities will be the Way Forward to Future.
#Automotive IoT and Connected Cars
Industrial IoT is the key enabler for rapid data ingestion, device management, data security and big data edge processing in the frame of the aerospace value chain. Focus is on improving traceability, error reduction, transparency on production and operations, maintenance and monitoring optimization, enabling feedback loop to design via digital twin and data models.
Connected cars focus on embedded connectivity with telematics platforms, connected navigation systems, driver safety features, consumer features, and services. For Autonomous vehicles, mass-market availability and consumption in level 4 and Level 5 will take many years to realize. Some of the challenges in Autonomous IOT include regulations, safety concerns, improvising on built features based on the real-time data capture from on-road performances, etc.
Automotive and Connected Cars growing prevalence towards embedded connectivity
To summarize it all, the
key takeaways from the sessions and panel discussions on IoT:
- IOT is critical enabler and enhancer of several emerging technologies that are expected to have disruptive impacts felt across the global economy.
- Artificial Intelligence is becoming significant in IOT space -using IOT data to feed AI systems and AI to direct endpoint devices intelligently.
- Edge processing is becoming an important enabler to help enterprises make the most of their IoT data and deployments.
- Rollouts and adoption of mobile IoT technologies, narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) and LTE-M(Long Term Evolution 4G) will finally gain pace in significant numbers in 2019.
- In Industrial IoT, "easy-fit" of IoT solutions into manufacturing and industrial settings play a key role in delivering automation and efficiency gains, both in the factory setting and in the supply chain.
- Automotive IoT continues the shift towards embedded connectivity with the growing prevalence of telematics platforms and connected navigation systems in new cars.
- With People, Processes, IT/OT Integration among the key IoT challenges in many sectors and enterprise settings, Technology alone cannot drive the growth.
