Sensors give machines food for thought

Jaakko Lehto, Head of IT and Customer Engagement at Konecranes, says that sensors are one of the most important technologies that have enabled the development of the Industrial Internet. Before companies can take full advantage of sensor technologies, they need to do more than just understand the technology. The most important thing is to understand the information these new technologies can offer us.

When I meet people and discuss the industrial internet with them, I typically get two reactions – skepticism or enthusiasm. To the timid ones, I say that we shouldn’t be afraid because the industrial internet is not science fiction. Simply put, the industrial internet is just a toolbox consisting of technologies that make our society work a bit better. Today, the prices of many technological innovations have dropped drastically while the availability of these products has increased. This trend has been the most crucial factor contributing to the development of the industrial internet.

Sensors are sophisticated devices that are used to detect and respond to electrical or optical signals. With the help of sensors, we can measure almost anything related to the performance of machinery, e.g. temperature, humidity, speed, gas consumption, effect position, motion and light, to name a few. Adding more sensors to the machinery will result in a massive quantity of data that will in turn enable companies to achieve maximum efficiency. Generally speaking, sensors are the tools that make machines capable of keeping track of their own state.

Of course, there are several other technologies which support the development of the industrial internet. For instance, this year, Stuart Parkin’s innovation for making hard disks radically expand their capacity, has been awarded the Millennium Technology Prize. Parkin developed a type of data-reading head capable of detecting weaker and smaller signals than had previously been possible. Basically, the innovation was a revolutionary opening for the era of Big Data, making Facebook, Google, Amazon, and other online services possible.

However, before companies can enjoy the full benefits of these new technologies, they need to understand the tools and opportunities these new technologies offer. In order to do this, companies should pay attention to at least the following issues:

The art of analyzing information – Companies need people who are able to analyze the collected information and make right decisions based on the information they are provided with.

Cost-efficient data mining – You can get all kinds of information out of sensors and hard disks, but the challenge is to find the information that the customer really needs. In order to get paying customers, you need to collect information that is really useful for them.

Understanding your customer’s business – Understanding the customers and their needs is the only way we can create valuable new services and business ideas.

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