Contact Software is now supporting an initiative from Japan that is developing industry standards for this technology. The cloud is the basis for the Internet of Things. However, it is only suitable to a limited extent for IoT applications that require real-time responses. This is where the Edgecross Consortium, founded in Tokyo in 2017, comes in with its activities. Launched by Mitsubishi Electric, Omron, Advantech, NEC, IBM Japan and Oracle Japan, the initiative develops and certifies manufacturer-neutral edge computing solutions for Industry 4.0.

With edge computing, operating data is collected and processed at the edge of a network, i.e. close to the data source or directly within an automation solution. IoT applications can thus continuously monitor and optimize a machine park and the production processes carried out with it. Edge computing requires standards for hardware, software and communication protocols. Today, over 60 members from the IT, factory automation and industrial connectivity sectors from the Edgecross Consortium's global partner network contribute to this. Their collaboration makes it possible to collect data from sensors and machine control systems independently of the provider and run it on various industrial PCs from different manufacturers.

Contact Software and Mitsubishi Electric are already using the Edgecross Basic software in their joint IoT projects. This leads to digitally networked plants in which production lines, sub-process systems and components communicate with enterprise IT - the link here is the digital twin. The open software platform forwards all information and signals from the machines to an industrial computer from Mitsubishi Electric and converts them into an MQTT protocol.

"With the Edgecross Basic software, we integrate individual systems and their components into a holistic retro-fit scenario with real-time monitoring," says Sebastian Creischer, Account Manager IoT at Contact Software. "And we use our Elements for IoT platform to link operational data analyses with internal company IT to create end-to-end digital, event-driven process chains."

Depending on the desired application, Contact Elements for IoT triggers, for example, predictive maintenance in service, spare parts ordering in purchasing, optimization of the production environment or a product change in development. "As a partner, we can offer coherent concepts for the smart factory that open up real Industry 4.0 potential and drive forward the evolution of the store floor," says Stefan Knauf, Division Manager at Mitsubishi Electric. "That's why we want to cooperate even more closely with CONTACT."