Robust wireless sensors collect critical data for industrial environments
Executive Summary
Manufacturers often struggle to garner usable data from complex and incompatible equipment and systems. Xtel* has developed an innovative wireless sensor solution optimized and customized for industrial environments. Monitoring of temperature, pressure, humidity, vibration, and other critical variables is simplified by the specially engineered sensors. Combined with an Intel® architecture-based gateway and analytics applications from Xtel's ecosystem partners, the result is enabling industry to increase utilization and optimization, while gaining insight into operations and reducing costs.
Challenges
Industrial manufacturing equipment is often designed to collect data but tends to be proprietary—meaning each system has its own unique hardware protocols and applications. The result is that industry often cannot access or make timely use of the data inherent in existing operations. Adding to the complexity is the exponential growth in the number of machine-to-machine connections, from 4.9 billion in 2015 to a predicted 12.2 billion by 2020.1 Challenges such as costly downtime, a lack of predictability on equipment malfunctions, and operational inefficiency can make it difficult to stay competitive and meet compliance requirements. Getting holistic insight across a single factory or those in multiple locations remains elusive.
Solution
Xtel offers a sensor-based smart manufacturing solution that combines with Intel architecture-based gateways to deliver a new level of analytics insight. The open, standardized solution enables manufacturers to achieve the benefits of Industry 4.0 without disrupting current operations or requiring investment in new equipment. With Xtel and Intel, industry can gain holistic Insight into the complex variables that impact machines, workflow, and manufacturing output.
A wide range of robust, wireless sensors have been designed and engineered by Xtel to work in rugged manufacturing environments, digitizing equipment such as turbines, engines, and pumps. Data is gathered, filtered, and analysed at the edge or transmitted to the cloud by the Intel architecture-based gateway, providing information to automate processes and improve decision-making. The sensors are easy to deploy and can be placed around and, in some cases, within equipment, for 24/7 monitoring and identification of issues and trends.
Sensor types
Xtel sensor modules can be deployed individually or combined into a single solution.
Xtel* wireless sensors combine with Intel® architecture-based gateways to collect data across the spectrum of critical industrial functions
The solution from Xtel and Intel brings both flexibility and scalability to manufacturers. It's designed for easy integration into existing facilities. Equipment can be provisioned and operational very quickly, typically in 10–30 minutes, with data analysis generated in user-friendly graphs, alerts, and notifications. Because they are wireless, it's simple to move sensors around plants to ensure pertinent information is gathered; applications can be added as requirements evolve. This feature also saves the considerable costs associated with altering wired sensor placement or functionality.
Xtel deployments are customized to meet the needs of particular industries and are powerful tools for identifying issues impacting product quality and the bottom line. For a large freight company, specialized sensors were placed inside massive cast-iron cargo ship engines, sending signals from sensors to gateway even when engines are running. For a toy manufacturer, Xtel set sensors around normal production systems to measure and identify variations in oil temperature and humidity and discover the cause—in this case oil temperature—of production issues. Data enables preventive maintenance, for instance, ensuring a system is not running too hot and sending an alert to service technicians weeks before equipment breaks down.
Collecting data on equipment failure and preventive maintenance is just one of the benefits of the Xtel and Intel solution. Insurance rates for systems are often lower and disputes easier to manage because manufacturers have predictive maintenance in place, as well as the data when equipment and systems do not meet their guarantees. Likewise, fulfilling compliance requirements is simplified, because manufacturers have the data to prove they are meeting standards.
Typically, Xtel starts customer implementations with a pilot, allowing manufacturers to use a simple wireless sensor package (WSP) to test the value of the sensors, gateway, and data analytics for their organization. This provides a chance to experiment with the sensors and see the types of data that can be acquired and analysed.
Energy-efficient IoT
Xtel wireless sensors include a highly optimized thermal energy harvesting module with the Bluetooth® low energy chipset. With temperature gradient below 5 degrees Celsius, the Xtel wireless energy harvesting sensor platform transmits temperature data.
- No batteries
- No maintenance
- Low environmental impact
- Can incorporate into areas with limited accessibility
- More than 15-year lifetime
Sample Use Cases
Handling and transport of goods
By embedding Xtel's intelligent, reusable sensors, companies that manufacture thermal storage boxes can access relevant data on temperature, position, and other parameters of goods in transit. Through a built-in online temperature and tilt sensor, manufacturers can check for compliance with required conditions.
Wireless monitoring of production machinery
Wireless sensors enable manufacturers of production machinery to continually monitor wear and tear of their products. Costly production stoppages are avoided through continuous electronic surveillance via integrated temperature, vibration, humidity, and pressure sensors which ensure that machines are serviced before breakdowns occur.
How It Works in Brief
Wireless sensors are customized for industrial companies—tailored to precision requirements—and use the Intel architecture-based gateway to filter and transmit data for edge and cloud intelligence. Sensor software, hardware, and engineering are developed by Xtel. Analytics applications are provided by Xtel's ecosystem partners.
Energy consumption in wireless sensor technology is ultralow, with sensors running for 5–10 years on a single coin cell battery. In some cases the battery can be removed altogether by collecting energy from the environment—from sources such as light, vibrations, and heat—also known as energy harvesting.
Xtel's cloud server solution allows manufacturers to manage data as it is collected.
Xtel's wireless sensors and Intel® architecture-based gateways enable industrial insight from the edge to the cloud
Advancing Edge and Cloud Intelligence
Intel and its ecosystem help businesses use the IoT to solve long-standing industry-specific challenges. Quickly develop IoT solutions that connect things, collect data, and derive insights with Intel's portfolio of open and scalable solutions so you can reduce costs, improve productivity, and increase revenue.
Intel® technologies support the rigorous requirements for programmable logic controllers (PLCs), industrial PCs (IPCs), human machine interfaces (HMIs), robotics, machine vision, and many other industrial applications.
Conclusion
With Xtel and Intel, manufacturers can achieve many of the benefits of Industry 4.0 within their existing infrastructure. The wireless sensor and gateway solution gives industry the data needed to identify issues with equipment and systems, increase operational efficiency, support predictive maintenance, and more.
The Foundation for IoT
The Xtel solution is just one example of how Intel works closely with the IoT ecosystem to help enable smart Internet of Things (IoT) solutions based on standardized, scalable, reliable Intel® architecture and software. These solutions range from sensors and gateways to server and cloud technologies to data analytics algorithms and applications. Intel provides essential end-toend capabilities—performance, manageability, connectivity, analytics, and advanced security—to help accelerate innovation and increase revenue for enterprises, service providers, and industry.
About Xtel
Xtel is an independent wireless product development company. Its dedicated, highly specialized engineers bring deep expertise developing crucial mobile components from idea to commercial product. The company provides innovative technologies and functionality for the industrial sector and IoT.
Learn More
For more information about Xtel, please visit xTel or contact us at info@xtel.dk.
For more information about Intel® IoT Technology and the Intel® IoT Solutions Alliance, please visit intel.com/iot.
References
1. IoT will account for nearly half of connected devices by 2020, Cisco* says