Hitachi, Mitsubishi Electric and Intel Gets Approval to Develop the ‘Future’ Factories

Hitachi announces that along with Mitsubishi Electric and Intel K.K. (Japan) has received approval for Factory Automation Platform as a Service (FA PaaS) Testbed in the field of next-generation factories at the Industrial Internet Consortium.

The goal of this testbed is to test open IoT platforms that seamlessly integrate Factory Automation (FA) in the front lines of manufacturing and Information Technologies (IT) that support management and operation, in collaboration with Mitsubishi Electric and Intel. Hitachi will incorporate the results of these tests into the IoT platform “Lumada”, and create new solutions along with customers and partners.

As recent times are witnessing an impetus of quick product development and competitive market strategy, the manufacturing industry has to engage to match the dynamic change.

In this backdrop, there has been a growing expectation for overall optimization that uses data related to manufacturing in the increasingly global supply chain to connect the front lines of manufacturing with management, suppliers, and customers. This in turn has given rise to a need for secure connections between a variety of devices in FA environment and cutting-edge IT services (e.g., Big Data and the cloud) and for the accelerated development of applications in the field of next-generation factories.

These platforms include IoT data processing platforms that processes Big Data, IoT head end systems, and IoT gateways that securely connect the service platform layer with FA environment, and FA edge devices that provide functions unique to FA applications, and which also enable communications with FA devices in the field of next-generation factories.

In addition, the advantage of IoT platform tested in this testbed is that it can accelerate application development for next-generation factory by making available of integrated environment between FA environment and service platform layer.

Hitachi is in charge of IT related products (IoT data processing platforms, IoT head end systems etc), software which connects each devices in this testbed, and system integration of the testbed. Mitsubishi Electric is in charge of FA environment (FA edge devices, applications, PLC(3), and drive units), and Intel is in charge of IoT gateways, and supportive coordination with IIC. Hereafter, under collaboration with Mitsubishi Electric and Intel, Hitachi will complete tests of secure connections between FA environment and service platform layer, as well as tests of the effectiveness of testbed functions and the flow of operational data from the perspective of the front lines of manufacturing, by June 2017. After that, it will conduct “use case” tests with IIC member companies and customers.