Industrial Internet of Things: Where the Old Economy Meets The New
The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is still a relatively new field, one ripe for development in a region such as Atlantic Canada, where there are educational and business systems primed to boost entrepreneurship.
This is the belief of Richard Jones, an entrepreneur-in-residence at Propel ICT, Atlantic Canada’s startup accelerator.
Jones has decades of experience in the business world, including as CEO of both Eigen Innovations and Shift Energy, two of the highest-profile IIoT outfits in the region.
IIoT refers to machines communicating with, and taking instructions from, each other without human interference. These machine interactions allow industrial processes to be optimized. For example, Eigen’s Intellexon product selects data from sensors and other sources in a customer’s plant, analyzes it and adjusts machinery — all in real time — to reduce waste and improve efficiency.
“IIoT is the sector where engineering technology and information technology overlap,” Jones said.
“IIoT is an opportunity for a region like Atlantic Canada, where there are many good engineering and computer science schools producing graduates with the relevant skill sets, as well as creative business minds and programs and accelerators that allow them to come together.”
Read more in Entrevestor.