Predictive maintenance is one of the most compelling use cases for the industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). In fact, according to IBM, predictive maintenance can prevent up to 70% of equipment breakdowns, and reduce downtime by as much as 50%.
In the IEEE Technology Report on Wake-Up Radio (IEEE, 2017), this use case is highlighted as one of the biggest market opportunities in the next five years, impacting industries such as shipping and logistics, process industries, discrete manufacturing, utilities, and healthcare. Even governments are taking advantage of predictive maintenance: The United States Department of Defense just announced that it will use C3 IoT’s platform to develop artificial intelligence tools for predictive maintenance of assets. (Dignan, 2017)
As organizations begin to take advantage of predictive maintenance, the practical matter of deployment comes into play. Not every device and sensor used for predictive maintenance can be wired. Wireless applications are numerous, and powering those deployments in a sustainable way is critical.
That’s where IEEE Wake-Up Radio comes into play. This upcoming standard, being developed by the IEEE 802.11ba standards task group, will significantly increase battery life in Internet of Things devices. The energy savings is significant, increasing the life of a single battery by years. This reduces costs even further for organizations that seek the benefits of predictive maintenance, both in terms of the cost of the batteries themselves, as well as in the man-hours needed to physically change the batteries. Depending on the number of devices and sensors deployed within an organization, the cost savings can be significant.
The development of predictive maintenance devices and sensors needs to take IEEE Wake-Up Radio into account when planning future devices. If the devices will be connected via 802.11 (Wi-Fi®), then IEEE Wake-Up Radio is required in order to stay competitive in a crowded market.
To learn more about IEEE Wake-Up Radio, check out the IEEE Technology Report on Wake-Up Radio, available now.
Resources
IEEE. (November 2017) IEEE Technology Report on Wake-Up Radio: An Application, Market, and Technology Impact Analysis of Low-Power/Low-Latency 802.11 Wireless LAN Interfaces. IEEE Educational Activities and IEEE Standards Association.
Dignan, L. (November 2017). C3 IoT Lands Department of Defense Deal for Aircraft Predictive Maintenance. ZDNet.
[…] In order for IoT technology to flourish, especially in situations where it’s infeasible or impractical to frequently replace batteries (think pacemakers and other medical devices), a reduced need for frequent recharging or replacement of batteries is essential. […]