Digital servitisation thanks to actionable insights from qualitative product information

11 September 2017
Anna Hristoskova

For the digital business industry to be able to achieve qualitative data acquisition sensor deployment needs to be optimised. To help SMEs in this process Sirris, Hahn-Schickard and the FZI Research Center for Computer Science are preparing a project proposal 'InsightProducts - Actionable Insights into Product Service Delivery'. The focus will be on supporting companies in the optimal use of sensing & communication to capture qualitative product information, resulting in more actionable insights at the remote customers’ premises. 

The rise of sensing, IoT, big data for fleet management and the shift from preventive to predictive maintenance are driving factors for the growth of the machine condition monitoring market. However, the increasing complexity of manufacturing, automotive, energy, medical systems requires robust techniques for real time monitoring, the detection of the inception/progression of faults, reducing downtime and increasing reliability, and enabling flexible maintenance scheduling. 

These require optimal deployment of wireless sensor nodes, taking into account:

  • a trade-off between the sensor number reduction and the high degree of system reliability
  • data analysis overload & system cost due to the generation of irrelevant/conflicting data
  • focus shift from product delivery to agile delivery of product services 

Project goal and target group 

The InsightProducts project will focus on the in-depth analysis of industrial condition monitoring solutions, specifically targeting their architectural design, sensing solution, in-product intelligence, communication and data acquisition aspects. The project will aim to enhance company products in terms of actionable insights into their design, operations & delivery, based on a feedback loop from the intelligence layers back to the connected product. 

What are these actionable insights? 

  • DESIGN – Monitor & optimise the sensing systems of your industrial products
  • OPERATIONS – Customise & enhance the experience of your customers
  • BUSINESS INNOVATION – Provide additional insights into the overall product life cycle management & extend its economic value 

Thanks to these insights the SMEs will be able to realise a shift to digital servitisation business models, an optimisation of cost, performance, energy efficiency and data quality, and optimisations in product design, operations and business innovation. 

The target group of the project is the digital business industry active in the domains of condition monitoring (in smart manufacturing, energy or automotive) and soft sensors: on the one hand companies relying on digital business models, on the other hand (hardware) product companies and service companies, providing support activities. 

Are you interested in innovating your business and increasing your competitiveness by gaining and using insight in product information? Through CORNET collective research project you may find the support you need! Contact us for further information! 

Authors

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