Vision-equipped IoT Controller Makes Industrial Machinery Agile and Efficient

The convergence of physical and digital worlds is giving rise to the Smart Factory and a new generation of industrial machinery. This new era, known as Industry 4.0., focuses on using the Internet of Things (IoT) and cyber-physical systems to streamline manufacturing and business processes, improve versatility and precision, and boost quality and capacity.

However, the challenges in turning a factory into a Smart Factory to achieve these advantages and increase overall competitiveness are steep. Challenges include:

• The sheer variety and size of the machinery involved
• The complexity of distributed control systems that can include hundreds of control nodes
• The multitude of sensors and other legacy devices in isolated networks never designed for Internet connection

NEXCOM PC-based IoT controller capable of integrating machine vision is coming online—literally. Designed to run on-machine vision solutions while connecting physical manufacturing systems to factory and enterprise networks, NIFE 300, offers IoT connectivity, massive increases in computing and image processing performance, more data storage, and connection to Big Data solutions. Its on-machine vision enables greater precision and coordination in quality inspection, complex machining, analysis of complex processes, and supply chain coordination. All functions run on one unified platform.

Recipe for Precision

The capabilities required for the NIFE 300 IoT controller providing on-machine vision can be divided into three functions: machine vision, control and monitoring, and IoT gateway (see figure 1).