A rendering of Yabby’s remote floating storage level sensor and volume forecaster. Photo: Yabby

Myriota is partnering with sensor company Yabby Sensors, to provide dam operators and owners with a dam-monitoring solution in Australia based on Myriota's satellite Internet of Things (IoT) platform. The company announced the partnership April 20.

The aim is to help to dam operators identify and manage safety, regulatory, and water use issues associated with dams and storages in the mining and agricultural sectors. With plans to be rolled out internationally, the Yabby Floating Level Sensor is putting an end to manual monitoring of dam water conditions, and is reducing costs, saving water and aiding compliance requirements. The technology is able to automatically provide water levels, volumes, water balance and monitor water quality.

"For decades, dams have been manually monitored, with the process causing inaccuracies in reporting data due to highly variable dam levels caused by changing inflows, evaporation, infiltration and water use. Additionally, not all the water depth could be monitored as the measurements are generally taken near the shore. The misreporting of such data can contribute to the failure of dams or an unlawful discharge and damage to the environment," Myriota CEO and co-founder, Dr Alex Grant, said in a statement.

The post Myriota Partners With Yabby on Dam-Monitoring IoT Solution appeared first on IIOT Connection.

Farmbot, a precision agriculture monitoring company, is a partner of Inmarsat’s new ASP program. Photo: Farmbot. 

Inmarsat has launched an Application and Solution Provider (ASP) program, the company announced April 1. This will be an ecosystem for providers of software, hardware and solutions, as well as original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in commercial land markets.

ASPs will gain access to Inmarsat's global satellite connectivity and regional presence to scale their solutions into new sectors and geographies. This program aims to ensure that companies operating in areas without reliable connectivity, or with mission-critical connectivity needs, are able to access Internet of Things (IoT) solutions to enhance the efficiency, safety and sustainability of their businesses.

The program launches with two partners already on board: Australian-based agri-tech IoT company Farmbot Monitoring Solutions and Swedish company, MinFarm Tech.

"With this new initiative we are set to accelerate the roll out of IoT into remote areas of the world where the data points might be the most valuable. Key to this acceleration is the provision of innovative turnkey solutions that our ASPs are creating, along with Inmarsat's reliable connectivity, to ensure that the IoT solution works wherever it is needed," Mike Carter, president of Enterprise at Inmarsat said in a statement.

The post Inmarsat Launches ASP Program for IoT Solution Providers appeared first on IIOT Connection.

A view of Globalstar offices. Photo credit: Globalstar

Globalstar Europe Satellite Services has announced a new partnership with Perth & Kinross Council in Scotland which will see its SPOT Gen4 devices deployed in Scotland to help workers in rural, isolated, and hazardous locations. Globalstar announced the partnership March 23. Globalstar has integrated the Trackplot lone worker monitoring solution into its devices to bring more features to these particular workers.

Globalstar launched its SPOT Gen4 device late last year. Globalstar's SPOT satellite devices provide security and emergency support to employees for a growing number of governmental and non-governmental entities across the world. Globalstar reports that around 7,500 rescues have been attributed to SPOT satellite technology around the world, to date.

Perth & Kinross is a remote area in Scotland. The council uses Trackplot’s lone worker protection system to monitor and safeguard the structures and flooding team of specialists charged with inspecting all the region's bridges for structural soundness and security, and to mitigate flooding. Trackplot has been supporting the Council since 2010.

“Together with Trackplot, we are delighted that SPOT Gen4 has now taken up the baton in safeguarding the council's lone workers," Gary King, Globalstar's SPOT regional sales manager said in a statement.

The post Globalstar Europe Provides Worker Monitoring Solution in Scotland appeared first on IIOT Connection.

NRG Energy is a leading power generator and retailer with 35 generating facilities producing 23 GW of power to help meet the needs of more than 3.7 million residential, small business, and commercial and industrial customers served through a diverse portfolio of retail brands. NRG has committed to cutting its carbon emissions in half by 2030, even as the company expects to continue growing.

NRG recognizes the role technology will play in this transformation and how Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) devices can help improve efficiency, and optimize how power is produced and consumed. In a blog post on the company's website, NRG shared its vision of what IIoT connectivity can provide, which is, "a real-time view of energy as it is generated and consumed, not just at a corporate level but at a utility and soon, perhaps, a grid level."

Several of NRG's generating plants are in Texas, which operates a competitive energy market through the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). ERCOT is the independent system operator (ISO) that controls about 90% of the electricity distribution in Texas. Unlike other ISO markets, which use longer-term forecasting, the prices in the ERCOT market are determined daily through an exchange, based on available capacity and demand.

The 3.7-GW W.A. Parish generating station, located about 25 miles southwest of Houston, is the largest power plant in the NRG fleet. These days, it needs to be available to respond to ever-changing load demand, because generating units designed to run at a steady baseload are now operating at variable loads, with some units even being stopped and restarted daily to meet demand at certain times of the year. Such flexible operation places new stresses on the equipment and makes failure detection more challenging. At W.A. Parish, IIoT sensors have been combined with process data to improve availability and reliability.

Continuous Improvement of the Asset Reliability Program

Equipment reliability at NRG means the difference between meeting its power generation commitment or purchasing from competitors on the open market. NRG has an existing well-developed predictive maintenance (PdM) program, which includes infrared thermography, oil analysis, and vibration analysis, but the company sought to supplement its monthly walkaround data collection with more frequent readings under differing load conditions.

To better assess equipment condition, additional data collection was required, so the NRG team decided to add continuous wireless asset monitoring that would provide more frequent data and allow earlier detection of developing failures. Going wireless was desirable because wiring the sensors into the plant's distributed control system (DCS) would have made the program cost prohibitive.

The PdM team also recognized the benefit of combining asset condition data with historical process data from its OSIsoft PI System. The combination of the two systems was useful to both the PdM team and process engineering. The PdM team wanted to use process data to have a more comprehensive ability to detect failures. The process engineering team wanted to use the data to improve plant performance by understanding the impact of process variability on asset condition.

With their mutual interests in mind, the two groups decided to form a multi-disciplinary team to define the requirements and establish goals for the usage of continuous asset condition data. The requirements that they defined were:

■ Cost effectiveness–wired systems were cost-prohibitive.

■ Integrate with the PI System.

■ Easy to deploy.

■ Easy to use.

After considering various wireless systems, NRG selected Petasense's vibration motes and Asset Reliability & Optimization (ARO) system to monitor 13 critical pumps and motors, including steam- and motor-driven boiler feed pumps and condensate pumps, and a startup boiler feed pump that runs only during startup and shutdown. Continuous monitoring of these pumps provided consistency in the vibration readings, as several of the pumps operate at variable speeds and loads. The periodic nature of walkaround systems makes it difficult to take readings under consistent operating conditions. By including process data such as flow, speed, and load from PI in the analysis, the PdM team is able to more accurately determine an underlying failure.

The vibration motes collect vibration and temperature eight times per day, which is sent to Petasense's cloud-based software to provide on-demand alerts to the PdM team of developing problems. This allows for improved efficiency, as an alarm prompts examination. The ARO cloud provides a simple, trendable Asset Health Score, as well as detailed diagnostic tools needed to diagnose the underlying cause of problems.

The biggest benefit to the PdM team was peace of mind that comes with continuous data collection. During the first five months collecting and analyzing data, the PdM team achieved its goal of zero missed starts during the peak summer months. After five months, the units were taken offline to balance generating portfolio with demand.

Developing Greater Insights from Data Collected

The team saw the frequent data collection as a way to improve plant performance. Each triaxial sensor provided multiple data points that could be brought in as tags to the PI Asset Framework. They uploaded all vibration and temperature data points collected from 29 sensors over a five-month summer run season.

With the combined historical asset condition and process data, the impact of process variation is visible on a single screen. For example, there is simultaneously visibility of the flowrate of water through a specific pump, and how it is impacting the vibration on that asset and overall power generated (Figure 1). This provides a visual and easy way to troubleshoot when vibration starts to increase–if there have been no process changes, they can determine that the asset may be developing a problem.

1. This example shows data within the OSIsoft PI System that includes the combination of vibration and process data on a single screen. Courtesy: NRG Energy

Another area that continuous asset condition data can improve NRG's PdM program is in determining whether a pump is running on its Best Efficiency Point (BEP). The BEP is defined as the flow at which the pump operates at the optimum efficiency for a given impeller diameter. When a pump is operating off its design curve, it will create problems such as premature bearing and seal wear, and cavitation.

As a pump is cycled up and down, it is often running off the design curve, meaning it is not moving enough, or moving too much, water. NRG can see by looking at the vibration during ramping between low and high loads whether the pump is off its design curve and modify operating parameters or alert operators to manage pump operation appropriately until the problem can be corrected.

Next Steps

Every summer run season comes with new challenges. NRG's PdM team will continue using wireless technology to provide more frequent readings and complement other systems. The more frequent nature of continuous wireless vibration data helps to provide insights that would be difficult to obtain with a walkaround program and provides confidence that there won't be any missed starts.

As NRG looks to IIoT technology to improve generating performance, the company is considering pushing live asset condition data to PI instead of batch data. This would allow closer monitoring and increase the value of collecting data–using data to move beyond failure prediction to operational improvement.

–Calvin Arnold is predictive maintenance supervisor at NRG, Mitch Levings is an engineer at NRG, and Juli Iacuaniello is marketing director with Petasense.

The post How NRG Energy Uses IIoT Technology to Optimize Asset Performance and Predict Failures appeared first on IIOT Connection.

This data-fueled transformation is critical, because how likely is it that maintenance personnel will schedule an electrical system walk-through for the exact moment a potential equipment issue arises? What's the likelihood that they even have the knowledge and tools to address the problem immediately? The chances for both scenarios are slim. Plus, close proximity to electrical equipment is the last place maintenance personnel want to be if there is a problem.

1. Without major changes to existing management platforms and processes, maintenance teams can use Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) technologies to predict and prevent problems. Courtesy: Eaton

Maintenance and inspection walk-throughs cannot be eliminated, but the advent of IIoT (Figure 1) can reduce peoples' proximity to, and time near, energized electrical power equipment. While specific inspection and maintenance requirements vary according to site, these exams may need to be conducted monthly or even weekly. An operator can now be more prepared for each walk-through and could choose to do fewer in person, or shorten the duration that personnel need to be in front of electrical equipment.

What does the digital evolution of switchgear look like? Data-driven technologies are rapidly changing the way the world works. And the more connected devices flourish, the more cybersecurity matters. Cybersecurity is essential to create trusted environments, providing confidence that connected devices operate securely throughout their lifecycle.

It is essential that suppliers embed security throughout the entire product development process. Strict procedures and cybersecurity protocols need to be integrated at every phase of product development that involves people, processes, and technologies.

Overcurrent Protection Becomes Intelligent

The fundamental function of circuit breakers has evolved to provide more than personnel and equipment protection; this foundational electrical component is also able to deliver data and analytics through embedded metering. Overcurrent protection for switchgear has moved from thermal magnetic circuit breakers to circuit breakers with microprocessor-based electronic trip units that enable communications, metering, monitoring, and control.

Modern circuit breakers are also able to trend information rather than just providing raw data that needs to be interpreted. In the event of a fault, circuit breakers can provide visibility into where and why a fault occurred, making it easier and faster to restore power.

The move from manual to remote operation of circuit breakers means people no longer need to stand in front of equipment (inside the arc flash boundary) in order to operate it. Years ago, maintenance personnel would need to manually push a button and pump charging handles to operate a circuit breaker. Now, maintenance personnel can remotely monitor and operate equipment over the intranet or internet.

Digital meters and protective relays today collect more data and make it easily accessible, and with far more accessible and in-depth data, there's a virtual breakthrough–the ability to gather critical data and manipulate equipment setpoints to facilitate switchgear maintenance. Intelligence also provides the ability to monitor harmonics, runtime, circuit breaker operations, under- and overvoltage, overcurrent, and short-circuit events. This means situational awareness can be achieved from anywhere.

There was once a time when getting data from a meter or relay required standing in front of the equipment, and logging current and voltage readings. Communication protocols were later developed that allowed meters to transmit data through various networks. However, the protocols were proprietary, and it could be difficult to get equipment to communicate, resulting in data that was often left stranded.

Thanks to today's manufacturer-agnostic platforms and improved data aggregation software, digital meters and relays can log historical data and enable remote access to troves of essential and easily usable data. It is now far easier to bring previously stranded devices into monitoring systems.

Remote HMIs Provide Dashboard Information

Human-machine interfaces (HMIs) have been used for years to operate equipment. The challenge has been in getting HMIs configured and commissioned in order to communicate with power system equipment. Now, there is little need to custom-engineer HMIs. Instead, interoperability and standardization right out of the box make it fast and easy to connect, monitor, and control power system equipment. Dashboards (Figure 2) can be easily created on modern HMIs through intuitive menu-driven and drag-and-drop interfaces to show the desired information, and can be updated as devices in the switchgear are added or removed.

2. Eaton's Power Xpert Dashboard was the first power management product certified to the UL 2900-2-2 standard for cybersecurity in industrial control systems. The user portal to Eaton's switchgear enables customers to monitor, diagnose, and control devices from outside the arc flash boundary. Courtesy: Eaton

HMIs also provide richer data in a dashboard view that can be accessed via the cloud, and far away from the equipment. The information coming from components and electrical equipment can be trended and analyzed so that problems are more easily identified and fixed before they lead to unplanned outages. Additionally, with richer data from equipment, HMIs are able to deliver on predictive diagnostics and make it available to maintenance teams on the ground, and operations and management teams many miles away.

Operating Equipment Via HMI Advances Safety

Intelligence is increasingly coming from the device level, such as the circuit breaker. Arc flash reduction maintenance systems have helped provide extra protection during maintenance by temporarily overriding programmed delays in the circuit breaker.

3. A dashboard view, such as that provided by Eaton's Power Xpert technology, can provide a reminder of needed personal protective equipment in real time. Courtesy: Eaton

These systems now can be enabled via an HMI dashboard. Further, the dashboard can provide personal protective equipment (PPE) recommendations based on enabled arc flash reduction maintenance systems. This means that personnel can be farther from equipment to activate safety systems. In addition, the equipment (Figure 3) can provide a reminder on the needed PPE in real time.

Sensors enable monitoring, data-gathering, and trending, which supports safety, uptime, and maintenance operations. Years ago, when there was a power outage, maintenance personnel would have to guess at the cause. Now, there's an opportunity to prevent the outage altogether by analyzing trends in the data.

Continuous Thermal Monitoring Streaming Data

Utilities concerned about loose electrical connections and related failures can use historical data to perform predictive diagnostics, without sending personnel to the equipment. When switchgear is installed, cables are run from the circuit breaker to the load. The cables are bolted to the back of the circuit breaker and could potentially loosen over time.

With the advent of infrared (IR) windows, maintenance personnel could avoid exposure to energized conductors, but were still potentially inside the arc flash boundary. Now, intelligent equipment can communicate information and trend data captured by temperature sensors, so maintenance personnel can predict an impending failure. The sensors enhance safety through remote monitoring, and save time by avoiding the need for regular IR scanning.

Intelligent electronic trip units make periodic preventative maintenance on circuit breakers a thing of the past. Maintenance personnel tasked with preventative maintenance on circuit breakers used to take the equipment apart, inspect it, and reassemble it. Intelligent trip units give far more information on circuit breakers than taking the equipment apart could ever yield.

Today, electronic trip units can monitor the number of operations, fault current, internal temperature, runtime, and the total health profile of the circuit breaker to provide real-time data on all these parameters and ultimately an estimate of when the circuit breaker will need to be serviced or replaced. With the ability to communicate information to a network, new actionable analytics about the circuit breaker and what's happening across the electrical system in real time and over time is possible. As with continuous thermal monitoring, intelligent trip units can reduce labor costs by eliminating unnecessary preventative maintenance actions.

Here are seven benefits of IIoT in power distribution:

■ Keeps personnel informed with critical data through integration into existing supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems and distributed control systems (DCS), or via equipment dashboards, enabling access to switchgear from anywhere.

■ Provides improved notification capabilities and enables personnel to address issues remotely, such as from a tablet, which means personnel can be farther from equipment and outside the arc flash boundary.

■ Helps spot energy usage anomalies and enable personnel to adjust equipment.

■ Further enables the shift from preventative to predictive maintenance with more data and built-in intelligence at the device level that can be shown on power distribution dashboards.

■ Enhances safety and reduces cost by avoiding unnecessary, calendar-based maintenance of all circuit breakers that could expose maintenance staff to shock and arc flash hazards.

■ Provides the detailed forensic data to determine the root cause of power problems, which reduces walk-through time and electrical exposure when adjusting and repairing power distribution equipment.

■ Delivers long-term power and energy usage information needed to make smart capital investment decisions. IIoT is an enabler to presenting data to cloud and edge storage systems.

Utility switchgear systems are designed to have a service life of decades with proper maintenance. As power systems are upgraded, expanded, or otherwise maintained, there is an opportunity to make targeted upgrades for more intelligent and IIoT-enabled systems.

The vast amount of information transmitted from IIoT-enabled equipment can make it intimidating to integrate new data into existing systems. However, with dashboard views, automatic reports via email or text, and insights coming directly from power system components, maintenance teams can still reap the benefits of IIoT-enabled equipment without making major changes to existing management platforms and processes.

Enabling a virtual maintenance walk-through of switchgear improves safety and productivity while reducing costs and labor. For utilities where maximum uptime is required, and an outage can have far-reaching consequences, the ability to remotely predict and prevent problems can result in a more stable operation and more satisfied customers.

–Adams Baker is product manager for low-voltage switchgear at Eaton.

The post Virtual Switchgear Walk-Through Creates Maintenance Advantage appeared first on IIOT Connection.

But at the same time, there is a light at the end of the tunnel as the Moderna and Pfizer vaccine are rolling out across the globe – and each person that takes the vaccine brings hope for a return to normal life.

Yet vaccine rollout in the United States has already been criticized as too slow. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar predicted earlier that that 20 million people would be vaccinated by the end of 2020 – yet at press time, less than 10 million people have received it in the United States according to a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) tracker.

The vaccines themselves pose another challenge to coordinated rollout – their temperature needs. Pfizer's vaccine needs to be kept extremely cold – minus 70 degrees Celsius. And Moderna's vaccine needs to be minus 20 degrees Celsius, about the temperature of a regular freezer.

That's where satellite technology comes in. Satellite Internet of Things (IoT) company Orbcomm has offers a cold chain telematics solution, which its customers – shipping companies – are using to deploy the vaccine. The end-to-end product allows shipping companies to monitor the temperature of shipments at the level of a trailer, container, or even a pallet.

Orbcomm supplies a piece of hardware that connects to a refrigerated device, which passes information by satellite or cellular connection to Orbcomm's application. The application is integrated into customers' systems, and so managers, dispatchers, and drivers can monitor temperature in real-time and adjust the temperature if needed.

Other IoT products can track and report temperature, but satellite connectivity as part of an end-to-end solution is what sets Orbcomm apart, Chris MacDonald, Orbcomm senior vice president and general manager for the Americas tells Via Satellite. Orbcomm has a satellite constellation of its own OG2 and OG1 satellites, uses third party satellite networks, and works with multiple cellular providers for access to terrestrial networks. This allows shipping companies to keep eyes on the vaccine, or whatever they are shipping, with continuous communication, even in the most remote areas beyond the scope of cellular networks.

"It provides visibility redundancy," MacDonald says. "If there’s a weak cell signal or a busy cell signal – which we see more and more in busy metropolitan areas, cell networks go down due to many people utilizing it – our devices will route over to our satellite constellation, and offer a service independent of either of either signal."

Orbcomm has offered this product before the pandemic, and more than 2 million of its IoT devices are in use tracking assets worldwide. MacDonald says Orbcomm was already working with pharmaceutical transport companies and specialized shipping, but the company has heavily focused this product for food safety in the past.

Orbcomm is working to hone the product to fully meet pharmaceutical compliance, which is more strident than food safety standards. Where some pharma applications may want updates every 15 minutes, and food service may require an update every 20 minutes or every hour, COVID vaccine shipments need to be monitored constantly. Now, Orbcomm can even provide data at the level of the actual product, by using either Bluetooth connectivity with a sensor, or Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) connectivity within the trailer.

"The trailer becomes more of a smart trailer with multiple avenues of communication paths. RFID, Bluetooth, cellular, and satellite could all be coming out of one trailer," MacDonald says of the different modes of connectivity working together.

He emphasizes that the goal is to have complete visibility on the status of the vaccine. "It's visibility to be able to monitor compliance, but it’s also visibility to people," he says. "The driver, for example, has visibility to temperature in the cab so he or she could react to the temperature going out of range. It's essential to have multiple sets of eyes on the shipments."

MacDonald says the COVID-19 vaccine is among the most precious cargo that Orbcomm's technology has supported for deployment, but the company is no stranger to disaster relief. Orbcomm's technology supported vaccination for the bird flu and other critical flu vaccination deployments, and assisted with disaster relief for Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, and Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Texas.

"We've worked closely in the past with the American Red Cross because when national disasters come, they tend to take cell networks down. With our satellite offering, we’re able to have maximum uptime," MacDonald says. "We've been at the forefront in Puerto Rico and in Houston to get resources, food, and water into these places. We’ve been able to help regenerate life in some of those areas."

MacDonald says that as vaccine deployment is rolled out to more groups and then the general population, it will make last-mile transportation more important. More transportation will need to specialize, to have this type of connectivity in order to roll the vaccine out to local drugstores or elementary schools, for example.

As the trucking industry in North America has gone through an economic adjustment in recent years, the industry is now investing in equipment, its workforce, and avenues of growth, MacDonald says. He sees connected transportation solutions like Orbcomm's cold chain telematics product as part of the rebound in North American transportation.

"Many of our shipping companies already have the solution in place. UPS and the FedEx Custom Critical division have really been at the forefront, and pharma and bio transport [companies] are set up for this. To them, it’s just another load," MacDonald says. "Some of the other carriers, the IoT technology has opened their eyes to a new avenue for their business to explore. As we roll out the national and international disbursement of vaccination, I think you’re going to see a lot more players emerge to be able to support and transport the vaccine, provided they have full IoT connectivity." VS

The post Satellite IoT Tech’s Role in Vaccine Distribution appeared first on IIOT Connection.

The Air Force completed a successful test flight that demonstrated the ability of two fifth-generation aircraft and an unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) to communicate in their secure native languages without the need for legacy tactical data connections. (Air Force)

The Air Force completed a flight test that demonstrated the ability of two fifth-generation aircraft and an unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) to communicate in their secure native languages without the need for legacy tactical data connections, according to a Dec. 9 U.S. Air Force press release. The test flight also marked the first time the XQ-58A Valkyrie, an unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), conducted a semi-autonomous flight with the F-35 and F-22.

The success of the test flight is the next step toward an Air Force element of the military Internet of Things (IoT). The test flight occurred at Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona and involved an F-22 Raptor, F-35A Lightning II, and an attritableONE XQ-58A Valkyrie. The F-22 and F-35A communicated through gatewayONE, according to the release. 

"The gatewayONE payload really showed what's possible and helped us take a big step towards achieving (Joint All-Domain Command and Control)," Lt. Col. Eric Wright, a 59th Test and Evaluation Squadron F-35 pilot, said in a press statement. "This critical capability provides additional connections between our advanced fighters and other forces and battle managers across all domains. The future is promising, and gatewayONE will allow the F-22 and F-35 to connect to and feed data sources they’ve never before accessed. Those future connections will bring additional battlefield awareness into the cockpit and enable integrated fires across U.S. forces."

GatewayONE allows battle managers on the ground and air to manage operations. Using this platform, the position data of each platform was pushed outside of the aircraft's close proximity formation, according to the release. The communication occurred not only between the ground and air but also between the aircraft. 

The success of the test flight is the next step toward a military Internet of Things (IoT). The test flight occurred at Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona and involved an F-22 Raptor, F-35A Lightning II, and an attritableONE XQ-58A Valkyrie. (Air Force)

"If fifth-generation platforms are going to be quarterbacks of a joint-penetrating team, we have to be able to communicate with those quarterbacks in an operationally relevant manner and enable data sharing between them, to them, and from them. For years people said it couldn't be done. Today the team turned another page toward making the impossible possible," Preston Dunlap, Air and Space Force's chief architect, said in a press statement. "In just 12 months, the team has opened the door to a world where we can put the power of an operations center into the cockpit at the tactical edge."

The XQ-58 Valkyrie completed the test flight alongside the F-22 and F-35, which was also the first semi-autonomous flight for the UCAV. However, while the gatewayONE payload was integrated on to the UCAV, the communications were lost shortly after takeoff. 

"Testing is all about pushing the limits of what's possible, finding out where the toughest challenges are, and adapting creative solutions to overcoming difficult problem sets," Lt. Col. Kate Stowe, gatewayONE program manager at the Air Force Lifecycle Management Center, said in a press statement. "The real win of the day was seeing the gatewayONE establish a secure two-way translational data path across multiple platforms and multiple domains. That's the stuff ABMS is all about."

The post Fifth Generation Flight Test Demonstrates Military IoT with XQ-58A and gatewayONE Platform appeared first on IIOT Connection.

SABIC introduced two new radar absorbing LNP STAT-KON compounds for automotive radar sensors. The new grades, based on polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) resin, may be used for integration with radomes manufactured using PBT material, which can provide superior resistance to automotive chemicals. They complement and extend SABIC’s existing radar absorbing LNP STAT-KON compounds, which are based on polyetherimide (PEI) resin for withstanding higher processing temperatures or on polycarbonate (PC) resin for general applications that require high durability and a balance of physical properties. The high radio frequency (RF) absorption of these compounds can help increase detection range and improve signal resolution. Through materials innovation, SABIC is contributing to the growth of automotive radar and the design of next-generation sensors.

“Radar sensors are a critical component of the ADAS suite, in part because they can operate in conditions such as poor visibility that impair LiDAR and camera functioning,” said Jeff Xu, LNP Product Manager, SABIC. “To support technology advancement in the radar sensor market, which is rapidly growing, SABIC continues to develop specialty materials that can enhance sensor accuracy and reliability. Our growing portfolio of LNP compounds offers high absorption of radar waves as well as potential cost benefits compared to radar absorbing materials designed for military applications.”

Press release from SABIC dated December 2, 2020

The post Sabic Launches New Compounds for Automotive Radar Sensors appeared first on IIOT Connection.

The current Commissioners consists of CEOs and leaders from top-tier OEMs, academia and the public sector, including:

• Dr. Jared Cohon, President Emeritus, Carnegie Mellon University (Commission Co-Chair) and Chair of the Board on Energy and Environmental Systems of the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine;
• Jim Hackett, Senior Advisor and Former President and CEO, Ford Motor Company (Commission Co-Chair);
• Thierry Mallet, Chairman and CEO of Transdev Group (Commission Co-Chair);
• Jason Grumet, Founder and President of the Bipartisan Policy Center;
• Richard Kramer, Chairman, CEO and President of the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company;
• Steve Mollenkopf, CEO of Qualcomm Incorporated;
• José Muñoz, Global COO, Hyundai Motor Company/President and CEO, Hyundai Motor North America and Hyundai Motor America.
• Frederick W. Smith, Chairman and CEO of FedEx Corp.; and
• Cox Automotive.

The Commission is still recruiting global experts and leaders.

With the mission to reshape transportation policy in favor of exponential outcomes for consumer safety, global opportunity and infrastructure resiliency, the Commission will encourage and harness the benefits created by an interconnected transportation system. Founded in research and advocacy, the Commission will provide new data and methodologies to drive innovative policy that optimizes across five areas for a cleaner environment, enhanced security, economic opportunity, safety, and access.

Alisyn Malek, co-founder and former COO of May Mobility, a startup focused on connecting communities with autonomous transportation, has been appointed Executive Director of the Commission. She emphasized, “The Commission’s role is to research gaps in our current understanding of how technology could help us move forward on our five areas of focus. With this insight we will advocate for policies that create the appropriate framework for the transportation of the future. It is vital for standards to be created that allow these new technologies to truly deliver on their promise of safer roads, reduced emissions, and greater economic opportunities for all sectors of society.”

The Commission is being housed within SAFE, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that enhances energy security and supports economic resurgence and resiliency by advancing transformative transportation and mobility technologies. This is SAFE’s first global initiative.

“Effective policies and regulations will be essential if we are to realize the benefits of the new transportation technologies. In the course of our research on and advocacy for connected, autonomous, micromobility and electric vehicles, SAFE has identified a need to reassess the potential of this technological revolution in the context of current policy and the need for policy change, especially in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. As a nonpartisan, technology neutral, third-party organization, SAFE is ideal for housing the Commission,” said SAFE President and CEO Robbie Diamond.

Jared Cohon added, “Like the internet and its impact on business and society, the emerging transportation technologies have the potential to be transformative. The Commission comes at a critical time and with the critical mission of shaping the future of these technologies for maximum social benefit.”

“For over a century Ford has believed that the freedom of movement drives human progress,” said Jim Hackett. “This progress can only continue if we modernize the way policy and regulation work with the emergent innovation that is taking place today in this new era of transportation. I look forward in joining other leaders across the globe to help imagine and design the future of mobility.”

Thierry Mallet explained, “Mobility is not just about moving around, it’s about connecting (with) people, about accessing your local resources more easily. The Commission, with its broad focus, is bringing together an unprecedented group of leaders in this space to focus not on our individual elements, but to consider how do we truly improve daily mobility for the common good.”

“You need strong and broad coalitions to affect change in policy,” Jason Grumet said. “The Commission is set up to be successful in shaping transportation policy with the wide array of interests represented among its participants.”

Richard Kramer included, “With mobility at an inflection point, we have a unique opportunity and responsibility to shape and strengthen transportation policies for the future. Goodyear is pleased to be part of the Commission on the Future of Mobility as one facet of how we are enabling mobility to make life’s connections easier for fleets and consumers.”

José Muñoz added, “Globally, the transportation landscape is changing. The Commission on the Future of Mobility plays an important role bringing leaders together across the public and private sector, to articulate a vision that ensures we are pursuing solutions that protect and prosper local communities.”

“As a global transportation company, FedEx depends upon and provides the mobility and connectivity upon which the world economy is built,” Frederick W. Smith said. “The Commission will be instrumental in exploring transformative technologies in the transportation space and their effect on the communities we serve.”

“As a key long-term enabler in the automotive ecosystem, Cox Automotive always has an eye on the future. The Commission delivers on the cross-industry collaboration necessary to unlock the transportation technology solutions to power a safer, more sustainable tomorrow,” Cox Automotive said.

Source: Alisyn Malek; Commission on the Future of Mobility

Posted by D. Lozowski

The post Future of Mobility Commission is Launched appeared first on IIOT Connection.

GX graphic. Photo: Inmarsat.

Inmarsat and Orbcomm have extended their Internet of Things (IoT) partnership through at least 2035 to collaborate on product innovation, IoT satellite service distribution and telematics devices, the companies announced Tuesday. 

Inmarsat is working with Orbcomm, an Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT) hardware and software company to develop its OGx service. The OGx network, which is expected to be available in 2022, will incorporate Inmarsat's current IDP service, and will be supported by Inmarsat's L-band constellations, including the current I-4 constellation and the upcoming sixth generation (I-6) constellation. 

The companies are developing two offerings for the service, a high data rate service and a service geared to remote monitoring and remote sensing applications that supports a daily message for multiple years on a satellite terminal utilizing a single AA battery. As part of the partnership, Inmarsat will also distribute Orbcomm's OGx telematics devices targeting Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and Value-Added Resellers (VARs).

"Through our enduring strategic partnership with Orbcomm we are seeing an extensive global market opportunity for our L-band IoT services, which enable increased business value to industries with remote operations," Rupert Pearce, Inmarsat's CEO commented. "As the digital world continues to evolve, together Inmarsat and Orbcomm will play a pivotal role in providing unparalleled network connectivity and best-in-class IoT solutions that will enable nearly every type of industrial asset to be smart and remotely connected."

The post Inmarsat and Orbcomm Extended IoT Partnership Through 2035  appeared first on IIOT Connection.