Typical fields of application for the measurement technology cloud
In fact, nearly every application involving the use of a sensor and amplifier could be affected by this development.
For example:
Tests and inspections in the cloud: Faster coordination of global development processes
All over the world, developers of technological products are under growing pressure to reduce the time to market. On the one hand, the testing and inspection of components and entire systems are increasingly being virtualized (e.g. by the use of virtual tests); on the other hand, they are becoming ever more complex and are increasingly conducted alongside product development. Whether the number of measuring points increases or decreases due to new test methods such as machine learning (both outcomes are conceivable): the end result is that the user is faced with the challenge of growing data volumes, sometimes in test projects running in parallel worldwide, with more advanced analytical tasks. Only the intelligent interweaving of data and performing analyses in the cloud will enable this high speed product development in the era of the IIoT. The availability and comprehensibility of measured data are also important factors. Cloud technologies enable data to be accessed worldwide by authorized parties, and improve information flow and work in international teams. As one very concrete example, an HBM customer is currently using cloud storage to monitor its test benches at three different sites.
Production monitoring and machines that learn: No Industry 4.0 without the measurement technology cloud
Production monitoring and machine control are already fairly established where use of the cloud for measurement technology is concerned. And this is undoubtedly where discussion about possible standards and processes have made the most progress. In addition to protocols such as http, CoAP, XMPP and MQTT, the debate is currently about enabling machine-to-machine (M2M) communication protocols. In other words, about the ability not just to transport machine data (control variables, measured values, parameters, etc.), but also to describe them semantically so that they are machine-readable (as in OPC UA). In smart production and machine systems in which, ultimately, machines will communicate with one another, the role of sensors is growing in importance. While major digitization advances are not yet evident (or necessary) in the world of sensors, signal conditioners (such as the ClipX from HBM) play a key part.
Long-term infrastructure monitoring
A real model application for the use of the measurement technology cloud is long-term infrastructure monitoring, e.g. in structural health monitoring (SHM) projects. Monitoring of bridges, buildings, tunnels and structures such as pipelines and wind turbines is ideal for cloud use. For one thing, data are collected over long periods of time, while it would be impossible to have an engineer on site at all times. In fact, access to measured data via the cloud is a must. However, even today, the cloud has more to offer these applications: measurements are evaluated in parallel, reports and analyses are compiled and provided as logs that comply with the law and can also be accessed by partners and contractors. The process can be monitored at any time by the quality management system and audit processes. And importantly, it allows highly efficient predictive maintenance measures, and swift intervention on the occurrence of undesirable events or even disasters.