According to the report, bespoke solutions will be developed for a “connected enterprise” because India is a booming market for industrial automation and there are an increasing number of partnerships taking place.

Impact of AI & Machine learning

Both artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning have been utilised in a number of processes to identify fraud, find production irregularities, and more.

The most recent developments in AI have developed methods for dealing with categorization, estimation, and clustering issues that promise to be substantially more valuable.

The most cutting-edge deep learning approaches using artificial neural networks may generate up to $3.5 trillion to $5.8 trillion in value annually, or 40% of the value produced by all analytics techniques, according to a McKinsey & Company review of several hundred AI use cases.

Learn more about how and why industrial automation will impact our lives in the years to come.  

What is Industrial Automation?

Automation is the use of specialised methods and devices that assist human operators in carrying out a task. In other words, automation uses logical programming commands, strong technology, and replaces human involvement.

Industrial automation can be defined as the use of predetermined technologies and automatic control devices to automate the operation and control of industrial processes without the need for human intervention and to produce better results than manual labor can.

Industrial automation systems can identify manufacturing flaws in products produced on an assembly line, recall cars, and maximize machine learning for operational productivity.  

How AI helps in Industrial Automation

AI, machine learning, and industrial robotics technologies have merged into single systems for manufacturing production to give us a number of benefits.

Increased uptime, reduced programming time, and higher productivity are some of the key benefits of industrial automation.

Increased Productivity

One benefit of industrial automation is higher output with quicker and better performance. Industrial automation hastens mass production by slashing assembly times significantly while improving product quality.

As a result, it generates a substantial amount of output for given labor input. Reduced time-to-market also means that newly developed items can be in the hands of customers in a matter of hours or days.

Optimum Cost of Operation

Another major advantage of industrial automation is the integration of several industry processes with automated machinery to minimize manual cycles and effort and bring down the need for human labor. This translates to saving capital spent on employees.

• Improved Product Quality

Automation lessens the need for human interaction, which minimizes the likelihood of human error. By adaptively controlling and monitoring the industrial processes at all phases, from the conception of a product to its final form, uniformity and higher conformance of the result can be maintained.

• Goodbye to manual routine checks say hello to automated checks

Industrial automation reduces the need for manual checking of various process parameters. automation technologies keep track of industrial processes and automatically adjusts process variables to set or desired values using closed-loop control techniques.

Smart water management solutions from IoT Solutionz(an initiative by Pixel Solutionz with smart monitoring and automatic pump control services, helps you cut down on power bills, save water for later use. Read more about IoT in our daily lives: IoT Landscape in India- Present and Prospect 

• Higher Safety and Security

We have observed in the past how blatantly careless manual errors in the management or control of industrial processes, equipment, or production units resulted in significant power waste, excessive use, and even accidents.

With industrial automation, not any more. Automated machines, such as those with auto-off modes, power-saver modes, or automatic warnings for dangerous circumstances, can be controlled and handled in a more structured way.

Industrial automation 2.0 in Manufacturing Industry: Impact of AI & Machine learning

In addition to saving lives, this also conserves energy. There will always be industrial automation. Order-driven manufacturing will cut down on waste and help dynamic supply networks function more quickly and effectively.

To configure the assembly of products, manufacturers will use real-time digital platforms linking consumer and industrial data.

A speedier setup of production lines to produce newer and better items will benefit both consumers and manufacturers. Workforce skills will be greatly impacted by industrial automation. The need for highly technical skills like programming will increase.

Increased social, emotional, and higher order cognitive abilities are also a result of this. According to McKinsey & Company, even while the necessity for physical and manual skills will undoubtedly drop, they will still make up the majority of worker capabilities in many nations in 2030.

Connected Living According to a NASSCOM report published in 2017, the IoT landscape in India is expected to reach $15 Billion by 2020, making up 5% of the global market. The last three years have seen over 100 Indian startups in IoT. Investors are showing interest in startups offering innovative IoT solutions and a whopping $60 million has been invested in the last two years. Among the leading verticals, healthcare and manufacturing are hot for investment.  

IoT Implementations Talking about IOT applications, we may divide them into two broad categories: Industrial and Consumer segments. The industrial segment includes industrial and retail automation, contributing to the development of smart offices and smart cities. In the coming years, more organizations shift towards IoT will for improved and efficient businesses for higher productivity and better business returns. The manufacturing industry is using smart machines to improve the overall manufacturing process and to produce better goods.

The consumer segment, on the other hand, covers smart lifestyle, home, health, and fitness automation. IoT-based lighting system (with in-built sensors), remotely controlled air conditioners or smart security systems are already in use. Smart water management solutions from IoT Solutionz (an initiative by Pixel Solutionz with smart monitoring and automatic pump control services, helps you cut down on power bills, save water for later use.   Wearable technology is largely in use for monitoring critical health conditions. Sensors are collecting data and at the same time, the data is made available for doctors. Now doctors can monitor crucial patients, closely, all the time, even when working from a far-off location.  

Bigger players in the fray On a larger scale, IoT-based surveillance systems with LoRaWAN (Long Range Wide Area Network), is used to solve the problem of chlorination plant chlorine leakage along with chlorine cylinder temperature in India, has already been implemented. Google’s Project Brillo, which includes familiar tools such as Android Studio, the Android SDK, Google Play Services, and Google Cloud Platform, allows developers to build smart devices with Android APIs and Google services while staying highly secure with updates direct from Google. IoT is one of the biggest game changers of the century.

The Indian consumers have already realized the potential of smarts and market experts predict a steady growth for IoT-based solutions. The coming years will see more companies with better offerings, making life simpler for us. The IoT landscape in India looks bright and promising.

We saw a year of turbulence for Bitcoin value, yet Blockchain technology continued to evolve, and in the meanwhile, Amazon showed us Alexa is here to stay. Here, we take a look at five emerging technology trends for 2019.  

Artificial Intelligence: By now even a fifth-grader knows that AI is about machines with human attributes, which means they are capable of speaking, reading, seeing and even recognizing human emotion and acting accordingly. Thus, machines can complete a lot of tasks, especially mundane everyday jobs by “learning” from repeated interactions.

Also, algorithms are developed that can adapt to location, speech or user history and thus, machines can perform even difficult or risky tasks, more accurately or much faster than humans. The year 2019, according to most analysts will witness more widespread use of AI. With AI you have the opportunity of customizing products and services as per changing needs and also gain a competitive advantage over competitors.  

Augmented Reality: Augmented reality will be another head turner for 2019. It consists of systems that combine real-time 3D vision, sound, haptics (the sense of touch), location data and smell to enable people to re-imagine their existence in some other place.

This also means responding to their surroundings and altering their virtual environment in real-time. In 2019 more and more enterprises will apply augmented reality for commerce, education and even the military for training, communication, and innovation.  

IoT: If there’s one thing that will beat all other trends on this page, it is the Internet of Things. The year 2018 was an eye-opener. 2019 and beyond the world will actually discover the benefits of connected living.

Needless to say, IoT will lay the foundation for new business models, platforms and possibilities that will transform our living. IoT, I must say, will open up a sea of opportunities for professionals willing to apply their technical knowledge to connect platforms as well as those with the data analytics skills to utilize the rich stream of information generated by IoT applications.  

Blockchain: Blockchain, a form of Distributed Ledger Technology, underlies Bitcoin, a digital asset and payment system, which was introduced as Open Source software for peer-to-peer transaction management systems without the need for a mediator. All transactions made by this means are verified by a network of nodes and recorded in a public distributed ledger called Blockchain.

Companies are already using Blockchain technology to transform the more time-consuming, centralized, less reliable, and less secure legacy systems into something that is more secure and faster at work.

To quote an example, the Digital democracy platform MyVote uses Blockchain to store users’ personal data and voting history to give citizens a more direct voice in the political process. Expect more surprises in 2019.  

Automation: Perhaps Isaac Asimov was right. We started with automation as early as the 1960s. But it is only recently that we have discovered its actual usefulness. We must take a hard look at ourselves and think of what automation can do for us.

Apart from performing all manual jobs (that we have done so many times and yet make the same mistakes), automation will transform our lives in more ways than you can think of. From convenient devices at home to industrial applications on a massive scale, automation will be a key focus of technological change in 2019, with potentially far-reaching economic and social consequences.

Already, automation has replaced humans in the legal and finance industry, and will soon take over other segments. Other trends that did not make it to the top five but will create ripples are 3D printing, implanted wearables for healthcare, and natural language processing for enabling human-like conversations among organic and digital agents.  

Want to add more to the discussion? We would love to hear. Comment below.              

According to the paper, there are instances in cities all over the world where 40% or more of the water pumped into a distribution grid is wasted before it ever reaches the user. It is now necessary to act.

India is in a crisis. Most people are aware of how closely tied India’s traditional ways are to the country’s economic and social systems of governance.

Given that it is already the second most populous country in the world (Census, 2011), India’s natural resources are heavily burdened, with water being the most essential of them.

This suggests that the threat to the depletion of water supplies caused by the expanding population has been significant. The constantly expanding population is a fact.

Water accessibility per person has decreased from 2,309 cu m (Sharma and Bharat 2009 study) in 1991 to 1,588 cu m in 2001 due to population growth (CWC, 2010). When taking into account the anticipated growth in population by 2025, the per capita

Shocking, is not it? Well, there’s more to it.

Dry taps, low water levels, and drier seasons to follow

The Composite Water Management Index’ (CWMI) says nearly 600 million Indians are facing high-to-extreme water stress –where more than 40 percent of the annually available surface water is used every year–and about 200,000 people are dying every year because they do not have access to safe water.

The same report cautions us by saying that the situation is likely to worsen as the demand for water will exceed the supply by 2050. According to a report by ASSOCHAM and Skymet Weather Services, with the rapid rise in the day and night temperatures, India is drying out set apart by industrious dampness shortage conditions.

The report also notes that nine states are currently experiencing a dry spell, and it shows that the mean annual air temperature is rising across several regions of the country.

India must act quickly to find a solution before the water issue worsens. IoT provides us with intelligent water management options to address India’s water crisis. Let’s get in-depth on the Internet of Things and water management concepts in this conversation.

IoT for Water Management: Smart Sensors and Automatic Pumps

Installing level sensors and other equipment that is spread out over reservoirs and overhead tanks is necessary for efficient water management in homes and workplaces.

When the ideal level is reached, these IoT-based level sensors can determine a tank’s or reservoir’s maximum capacity and notify the central servers.

Regular transmission of this information to the central servers assists in calculating daily water usage and provides an indication of the amount of water in the reservoirs or storage tanks.

When the ideal level is attained, the water supply is instantly halted. Every time the water level reaches half of the container’s total water content, the automatic pump activates once again.

Using IoT to Manage Water: Intelligent Irrigation Watering schedules in the fields are automatically adjusted by smart irrigation systems, which continuously monitor weather, soil conditions, evaporation, and plant water usage.

This prevents water shortages and minimises water waste. The frequency and length of the irrigation schedule are determined by smart controllers using weather and/or site data.

Smart irrigation controllers with soil moisture sensors assess soil moisture content using IoT-based technology.

The sensors, which are buried in the root zone of turf, trees, or shrubs, properly measure the soil’s moisture content and send this information to the controller. There are two distinct sensor-based techniques for measuring soil moisture: •

Suspended cycle irrigation systems can be programmed with watering schedules, start times, and durations just like conventional timer controllers. When the soil is sufficiently moist, the irrigation system will halt before the next planned irrigation.

Water on demand Irrigation: It requires no programming of irrigation duration (only start times and days of the week to water). It has a user-set lower and upper threshold, which initiates irrigation when the soil moisture level fails to meet those levels.

According to industry experts, smart irrigation systems and controllers conserve water from 40% to as high as 70%, winning over traditional irrigation controllers.

A water-efficient irrigation study of the Saving Water Partnership, a coalition of 24 water purveyors, was conducted in Washington State’s Puget Sound and the results are astounding.

The reported water savings were 20,735 gallons per year per site for sites with rain sensor controllers and 10,071 gallons per year per site for sites using traditional controllers.

Smarter Cities with IoT-based Water Management

The WRG report goes on to state that many cities have also found that if they simply reduce water pressure in the grid, they also reduce leakage and minimize wear and tear on aging pipes.

Based on the historical data collected and analyzed by predictive analytics and combined with the consideration of special events, holidays, as well as the weather in that city, water consumption for a city may be calculated.

Issues like water wastage and unequal distribution can be addressed by ‘smart’ technologies such as Grundfos’ Demand Driven Distribution pressure control system, which can save both water and money by delivering optimal water pressure at any given time.

This system can automatically monitor grid use patterns with remote sensors and adjust the water pressure accordingly using a Grundfos software algorithm.

The Internet of Things technology also makes use of optimization techniques to send a notification to the residents regarding the unavailability of power on a particular day.

Internet of things for smart cities ensures that water as a resource is equitably distributed, and not wasted. Adopting a sustainable mindset is as much required as using smart technological innovations.

Individuals should start adopting eco-friendly practices and products. Simple measures like rainwater harvesting and water aerators go a long way in overcoming the crisis of water shortage.

Smart water management solutions from IoT Solutionz (an initiative by Pixel Solutionz,) with smart monitoring and automatic pump control services, help you cut down on power bills, and save water for later use. Interested? Call us for IoT-based water management solutions.

IOT stands for the internet of things, to start with the first query. The Internet of Things refers to physical items used to gather and share data via a network connection.

A few examples of physical objects that have electronics, software, and sensors embedded in them are cars, buildings, devices, and other objects.

How is IoT useful and how is it gaining a lot of importance is a matter which one must look upon. IoT helps to revolutionize our lives in major ways some of which is been expressed as follows:

Efficient and real-time operations

The ability to connect devices to the Internet helps to bolster the efficiency and effectiveness of business operations with a real-time approach.

Opportunities to improvise business skills.

Along with the efficiency and effectiveness, we get an advantage from the out-of-the-box approach which gives us new ideas and methodologies to increase revenue streams.

Availability of data with the just-in-time approach.

With the availability of data, a wide range of techniques become available to help improvise creativity in the existing pattern of working thus helping to provide solutions just in time by surfing on the internet.

Improvise public relations through social media.

Public relations and marketing methods have started adopting the means of the internet like Whatsapp and Facebook thus staying connected with social circles. IoT has its advantages as well as disadvantages too.

Since we have landed up visiting through the advantages of IoT thus we should have a look at the disadvantages of the same too. Some of them are expressed below:

Cyber security and privacy concerns.

Devices connected through a network are vulnerable to thieves who hack the online data and steal sensitive information thus thereby hacking the private data.

Increase of virtual interactions than personal interactions. Dependency on gadgets and machinery.  

Our restrooms have ceased to be mere restrooms. Call them glamour rooms, if you like. But most important of all, we have smart bathrooms that come with IoT-based bathroom fixtures that help you save both water and electricity.

Here we explore some of the hottest trends in smart toilet technologies.

DTV+ Shower/Smart Shower: With smart connected shower you can adjust the water temperature, control the showerheads/spray patterns, adjust music or lighting, turn on steam, and even set the duration of a shower using voice commands.

Moreover, the Moxie Showerhead with Bluetooth enabled wireless speaker system, another very popular smart toilet feature, allows you to listen to up to 7 hours of music, news or podcasts while showering.

PerfectFill Bathtub: PerfectFill bathtub is designed in such a way that you can automatically fill a bathtub to optimum depth and temperature of water. You can also automatically drain the tub using voice commands. What more, you can start or stop it even when you are away for a movie and have a bath waiting for you at the perfect temperature when you walk in.

Warming Drawers: Nothing is better than getting a fresh, warm towel when you are out after a bath. AKA towel warmers adjust the temperature of the towel to your room temperature, and absorb the moisture content, and pile them neatly- all done while you were busy foaming yourself behind the shower curtain.

Programmable Water Pebble: This smart toilet feature (which looks like a white, shiny pebble) has multiple benefits. It tracks your water usage and trains your shower to use less water. The in-built sensors of the smart toilet feature will tell you to stop the shower when you are not using it, and water flow cease, if it does not sense any movement in the washroom.

Simplehuman Sensor Mirror: The Sensor Mirror is very much like the magic mirror we read about in fairy tales, in our childhood days. The only difference is, the mirror does not talk, and it only works to make life easier for you.

The Sensor Mirror uses a light system to stimulate natural sunlight so that users can see their full-color variation. The mirror automatically lights up when you approach towards it. The cordless mirror has a long-lasting LED that lasts up to 100 years.  The Simplehuman Sensor Mirror saves electricity and you do not need to light a bulb every time you enter the bathroom.

Smart Sinks and Digital Faucets: The Smart Sink technology in your washroom or restroom can help you save on both water and power bills. It has several benefits like reduced tap flow and digital temperature-control settings.

The Infrared tap technology “reads” the user and turns off the faucet when it senses that hands are not under the faucet. Digital faucets have other programmable features like a timed shower setting or a teeth-brushing option that runs for an allotted time frame.

Touch-Free Toilet Flush: Now, you do not need to touch a handle or button, every time you need to flush. Simply wave a hand over DeltaFlushIQ’s sensor to activate it. It does not flush automatically; it works only when you want it to.

TOTO Automatic Toilet: TOTO offers smart toilet features such as an automatically opening and closing of the lid, auto flush, heated seat, and “electrolyzed” water to self-clean the bowl, a nightlight, and even a remote control to operate the smart toilet. This not only saves on water but also makes toilet experience much safer for kids and elder members of the family.

It goes without saying that smart toilets cannot function without smart water management solutions. IoT Solutionz, an initiative by Pixel Solutionz, offers smart metering and pump control solutions for better water management.

See video:

IoT Solutionz’s automatic monitoring system posts updates on energy consumption per minute on the user’s app or via SMS, accurately. Consumption pattern analysis platform helps the user to decide exactly how and where to save energy consumption and money. The Smart Sensors connects with their high power consuming consumers and helps them optimize power consumption.

IoT Solutionz’s automatic closed-loop system checks for the water level, before turning on the pump. Also, it turns off the pump, once the optimum level is reached, keeping water wastage at bay.

What smart technology do you use in the bathroom?  Tell us about your smart toilet experience.

The programme started with an inaugural speech by Mr. Debashis Sen, the additional Chief Secretary, Government of West Bengal, and was soon followed by Mr. Ambarish Dasgupta’s (Senior Partner and Founder at Intueri consulting LLP) brief discourse on “IoT – ushering the connected existence”. The audience enjoyed a delightful discussion by Prof. Sudip Misra (IIT, KGP) who spoke on Enabling Cross-domain Convergence and Innovation with the Internet of Things. Soon after, Electronics Sector Skills Council of India (ESSCI) CEO NK Mahapatra expressed his views on startup developing solutions in areas like intelligent transport system, smart parking, smart urban lighting system, and smart city maintenance. Industry stalwarts like Abir Banerjee (National Business Manager, HPE, Aruba) and Manish Kelkar (Director, SCM at Oracle India Pvt. Ltd) enlightened the audience with their views on Hardening security for Industrial IoT & Industry 4.0 – challenges & concerns and application of IoT in Logistics Management. The State IT&E department minister Bratya Basu, the honorary guest at the IoT Knowledge workshop launched Bengalathon 2018.

Post-lunch, there was a panel discussion on the strategy for IoT – Way Ahead, where Vishal Sanghvi (Founder & CEO, Net2Point), Sujay Nandi (Lead Architect, Cognitive Business Decision, IBM), Shantanu Som (CEO, Som Imaging Informatics), Sounak Dey (Scientist, Research & Innovation, TCS), Sadhan Biswas (Founder Partner, Pixel Solutionz), and Lalit Mishra (General Manager–IoT Sales, TCL). Pixel Solutionz founder and partner, Sadhan Biswas expressed his views on the challenges of IoT implementation in India and suggested smart strategies for overcoming the challenges. He spoke at large on the lack of awareness among people, the need for more economic solutions, and start-up prospects in IoT.

IoT Solutionz, a product by Pixel Solutionz, enables enterprises to, create IoT platforms and leverage best–in–class IoT solutions for assured return on their investments. The smart water management system, by IoT Solutionz, ensures that the pump is turned on only when the water level falls below the minimum and is proactive enough to refill it, immediately. Energy-efficient and affordable, the IoT-based energy management solution helps you save on power bills. The smart motion sensor checks for human movement in the room, and automatically switches off power when no one is present in the room. IoT Solutionz’s smart energy management solution also includes voice-controlled lighting, power on/off and remote management of home functions.

Their smart LPG solution monitors product usage and sends regular updates via SMS. Its smart sensor checks for LPG layer in the cylinder, and send an alert notification, once the level falls below the minimum level. Smart LPG solution tracks gas usage and helps you save on gas bills.

Soon after this, students and techies presented their ideas as to how IoT could be effectively used for developing smart technologies like intelligent transport system, digital signage, smart urban lighting, and telecare. Students demonstrated self-assisting systems and smart wearable devices which can track specific health conditions, with a reminder system for medicines, or monitor patient movement.

The Knowledge workshop on the Internet of Things was a huge hit, with techies, thought leaders, scholars, and students interacting over innovative solutions for smart cities and better living, and of working together for a connected living.