Industry 4.0 alliance equips Multivac with smart services for automated machine monitoring

03 Jan 2024 --- Multivac is partnering with Concept Reply, part of the Reply network of companies that specializes in Internet of Things (IoT), to develop smart services for automated machine tracking. The project is part of the Open Industry 4.0 Alliance initiative, in which industry-specific companies are developing common standards for transforming to the Industrial IoT. 

The cloud IoT project aims to digitally manage machines locally and remotely to make processes more transparent and to increase systems’ efficiency and productivity. 

As a member of the Open Industry 4.0 Alliance, Concept Reply contributes its expertise to IoT projects and supports setting standards in the industrial IoT field. Concept Reply is working for the processing and packaging solutions manufacturer and international founding member Multivac on the “smart services” project. 

Dr. Marius Grathwohl, vice president for Digital Products and Transformation at Multivac and member of the board of the alliance, says: “The successful collaboration between Concept Reply and Multivac is based on the commonality of an open mindset and a shared understanding of Industry 4.0. Both companies are members of the Open Industry 4.0 Alliance, and we already have a common understanding of the architecture.”

Expanding industry standards
The cloud IoT platform implemented for Multivac acts as a central monitoring and management instance. The data is processed on the platform and made available to users as smart services in freely configurable dashboards.

The use of a micro-front-end architecture on the Azure cloud and the application of modern web technologies form the basis for the future use of AI-based assistants. These innovations are laying the foundation for new business models and a sustainable, resource-efficient smart factory, say the companies.

The combination of cloud and edge computing reduces latency from data acquisition to sensor technology and actuator control, explain the companies. The benefits for the user are real-time data processing, protection against cyber-attacks and direct machine-to-machine communication.

Concept Reply says that further projects with Multivac are planned to expand industry standards through intelligent production digitalization and to shape the future of Industry 4.0.

The Open Industry 4.0 Alliance is developing multi-vendor Industry 4.0 solutions and services for automated production systems and warehouses. Use cases include automated onboarding, device provisioning, device management, digital nameplates, digital twins and automated device lifecycle management. The open technical ecosystems enable machines and applications from different vendors to be networked and data securely transported along the value chain.

Edited by Natalie Schwertheim

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