3 Ways the “Internet of Things” Will Revolutionize Modern Electronics Assemblies
As a thirty year old electronics manufacturing service (EMS) located in Cheswick, PA, TMG Electronics knows keeping up to date with the ever-shifting technological landscape is the key to staying relevant in our industry. When we can anticipate what our customers will be looking for before they need it, we’re able to continue to bring the best possible circuit boards and box-build assemblies to market. The most exciting innovation on the horizon is something called the “Internet of Things” (IoT), and it is an enormous undertaking that could connect real-time data from a trillion everyday objects over a digital network.
Imagine a world where all of your inanimate possessions have the ability to “communicate” with one another. For instance, when your car pulls into the driveway, the garage door automatically opens, your TV flips to your favorite show, and your Jacuzzi tub starts filling up. Best of all, each one of these objects is able to self-diagnose (and in many cases) troubleshoot their own mechanical problems.
Aside from transforming consumer electronics as we know them, the Internet of Things (IoT) will also bring some big changes to commercial middle-market manufacturing. Here are three ways TMG expects IoT to revolutionize the role of electronics assemblies in American production facilities:
- PCB integration with the Cloud:
It’s very possible that the size and structure of circuit boards as we know them will dramatically change as we find ways to embrace the power of the cloud. A recently introduced prototype called “non-intrusive load monitoring,” gathers electricity usage info from all machines via the central circuit box, sends this data to the cloud, and then turns around and automates those machines in an energy-efficient manner. In some experimental cases, the cloud is actually outputting some of the work of a circuit board!
- Disruption of Existing Markets:
You’re going to see this affect the energy industry, as well as current electronics suppliers. Recently, electronics makers came to an unprecedented decision to universalize their products in order to make them more compatible with each other. Likewise, commercial-grade electronics assemblies will have to move it or lose it if they want to survive in the age of the Internet of Things. We’re already seeing advances in IoT-compatible hardware cryptography, which requires upgrades in circuit boards.
- Self-Awareness:
Don’t worry, your autonomous electronics won’t be turning on your factory workers any time soon; however, machines that are equipped with IoT-friendly electronics will be able to monitor their own performance and relay that information across a digital network. As a supplier of electronics setups for mid-market manufacturing companies, we know that the ability to make manufacturing machinery “smart” will dramatically change what is possible for American manufacturing. For one, energy—and therefore money—will be saved because all the electronic set-ups within a single factory will be able to better integrate operations and optimize output.
If you’d like to discuss some ways you can prepare your mid-market manufacturing firm for this new electronics revolution, and save time, money, and energy—send us a message.