The Shape of Things to Come

When GE Digital first shared its strategic alliance with telecommunications giant AT&T at Minds + Machines 2013 in Chicago, the Industrial Internet was more aspiration than activation.

But, in a few short years, all that has changed.

In 2013, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) — along with Predix from GE, the cloud platform for the Industrial Internet — was in its infancy. Now, there are nearly 11,000 developers using Predix and more than 30 strategic partners that are developing solutions and leveraging the platform to advance the Industrial Internet. And the IIoT will continue to grow, with estimates indicating that GE machines alone will generate one million terabytes per day by 2020. 

This month GE Digital will again join forces with AT&T – this time at Shape, AT&T’s banner event focused on the power of technology to transform the way we live and work. We will be talking about how the Industrial Internet vision is turning into real value.

About 500 miles south of Shape in San Francisco, for example, GE and AT&T have been working to bring intelligent lighting solutions to the city of San Diego. The project is a partnership between Current (the division of GE that handles energy needs, “from socket to grid”) and AT&T to build out a solution that leverages sensors in city lights to optimize power usage and discern environmental conditions that need a response from city officials.

 The IIoT will continue to grow, with estimates indicating that GE machines alone will generate one million terabytes per day by 2020. 

For example, the smart lighting solution could power-down to a lower wattage if no one is around. Or, if cars are illegally parked or guns are fired, the appropriate authorities could be notified. These changes make the city more efficient, tax dollars more effective, and citizens safer. Read more about our intelligent lighting solutions in San Diego.

Intelligent environments make up just one IIoT use case that will be on display at GE Digital’s booth at Shape. On the topic of predictive maintenance, attendees can view a demo on chemical plant asset monitoring and diagnostics. This use case illustrates the power of data-driven, predictive analytics leading to better asset uptime/utilization of heat exchangers, which are a core component of a chemical factory. 

Attendees will also have an opportunity to look ahead to future waves of innovation and activation. Visitors to our booth can dive into virtual reality (VR) experiences that bring to life the potential of building apps on Predix. Called Predix in Action, these gamified VR experiences will take users into a virtual subsea oil and gas facility and the cockpit of a rescue helicopter to demonstrate how Predix can be applied in real-life situations.

So, come chat with us about these use cases and other innovations at Shape. We would love to kick around ideas with you about how the Industrial Internet could help shape your organization’s future.