3 Ways the Industrial Environment Is Tackling the IoT Revolution

Internet of Things (IoT), simply put, is a network of smart devices that are connected to the internet and are capable of sharing information and data with one another. On a more complex level, IoT helps connect various functions in an industry, right from manufacturing, logistics, and inventory and project management to cyber security and data protocols. There is both horizontal as well as vertical interaction between devices, thereby paving way for inter-industrial connectivity as well.

As IoT grows and exerts its influence over every aspect of our lives, there is no field that has come under its influence more than heavy industries. Manufacturing and production rely on massive and internet-connected equipment and processes that can share data, and make informed and cost-saving changes in workflow.

But for all the good things that come with IoT, there comes a fair amount of complex problems too. Compromised security, lack of interoperability between devices from various companies and too many technologies that enable IoT with no widely accepted technical standards are some of the issues plaguing IoT today.

Here are a few ways in which industrial operations are tackling the issues associated with IoT.

3 Ways the Industrial Environment Is Tackling the IoT Revolution

Internet of Things (IoT), simply put, is a network of smart devices that are connected to the internet and are capable of sharing information and data with one another. On a more complex level, IoT helps connect various functions in an industry, right from manufacturing, logistics, and inventory and project management to cyber security and data protocols. There is both horizontal as well as vertical interaction between devices, thereby paving way for inter-industrial connectivity as well.

As IoT grows and exerts its influence over every aspect of our lives, there is no field that has come under its influence more than heavy industries. Manufacturing and production rely on massive and internet-connected equipment and processes that can share data, and make informed and cost-saving changes in workflow.

But for all the good things that come with IoT, there comes a fair amount of complex problems too. Compromised security, lack of interoperability between devices from various companies and too many technologies that enable IoT with no widely accepted technical standards are some of the issues plaguing IoT today.

Here are a few ways in which industrial operations are tackling the issues associated with IoT.

Thermodynamic Theory of the Ideal Stirling Engine

Stirling engines are one of those devices that have fascinated many engineers (including myself) over the years, especially when we’re young and impressionable, before we’ve gotten too cynical about the world. It’s also one of those technologies that hasn’t really been widely adopted, despite YouTubers cries of "free energy," so it obviously isn’t the perfect solution for many problems, but for certain applications they really are neat engines. 

The Midé team has been recently putting in long hours to get a new Stirling project up and running for the US Marines. I chose the Stirling cycle engine for this application because of its naturally high efficiency and because it's an external combustion engine. To support this project I had a significant amount of research to do on the theory that govern Stirling engines – so that we could better design a solution for our military.  In this post I’ll share with you some of the basics I learned and provide a tool to help visualize the Stirling cycle. Hopefully this tool will help you double check some of the basic calculations you might like to do, as well as provide a handy way of plotting some of the properties for an ideal Stirling cycle. You can find the calculator on this page: Ideal Stirling Cycle Calculator

Thermodynamic Theory of the Ideal Stirling Engine

Stirling engines are one of those devices that have fascinated many engineers (including myself) over the years, especially when we’re young and impressionable, before we’ve gotten too cynical about the world. It’s also one of those technologies that hasn’t really been widely adopted, despite YouTubers cries of "free energy," so it obviously isn’t the perfect solution for many problems, but for certain applications they really are neat engines. 

The Midé team has been recently putting in long hours to get a new Stirling project up and running for the US Marines. I chose the Stirling cycle engine for this application because of its naturally high efficiency and because it's an external combustion engine. To support this project I had a significant amount of research to do on the theory that govern Stirling engines – so that we could better design a solution for our military.  In this post I’ll share with you some of the basics I learned and provide a tool to help visualize the Stirling cycle. Hopefully this tool will help you double check some of the basic calculations you might like to do, as well as provide a handy way of plotting some of the properties for an ideal Stirling cycle. You can find the calculator on this page: Ideal Stirling Cycle Calculator