The Internet of Things - billions of interconnected sensors and devices
in factories, cars, trains and appliances - is moving into a new era.
By tapping the power of cognitive computing, businesses around the world
are moving from IoT vision and proof of concept to strategic
deployments aimed at driving real transformation. Schaeffler - one of
the world’s leading automotive and industrial suppliers, has signed a
multi-year strategic partnership agreement with IBM to do exactly that.
Schaeffler is pioneering the development of innovative ‘mechatronic’
solutions which combine mechanical, electronic and software capabilities
into individual components and systems which have the ability to
monitor, report and manage their own performance. The vision is for a
world where even the humble ball bearing has in-built intelligence and
sensory capabilities. Using IBM Watson’s cognitive intelligence
Schaeffler will interconnect these digitally enabled components and
create virtual models of entire industrial systems.
The result is a new industrial era defined by factories, machines and
parts capable of self-assessing, triggering actions and exchanging
information with each other, and with the people who manufacture and
maintain them. Schaeffler is leading the way and literally redefining
approaches for designing, producing and maintaining machines – making
them safer and more reliable.