GE launches integrated, industrial-grade platform for optimising assets at scale
GE’s Automation & Controls business introduced GE’s new Industrial Internet Control System (IICS) at its 2016 Connected Controls Symposium at the company’s Global Research Center in Niskayuna, NY.
IICS delivers new levels of productivity for industrial assets and processes by integrating controls with Industrial Internet analytics – at scale yet modular and flexible for industrial settings worldwide.
IICS allows GE customers to connect assets to the PredixTM platform in 15 minutes, creating an on-ramp to the world’s first industrial operating system. The system extends the reach of GE’s Digital Industrial leadership down to the level of individual controls to optimise outcomes, powered by 100X greater computing capability than standard control systems. IICS also empowers customers to innovate by developing business-specific apps powered by PredixTM.
Early IICS adopters report a +7% gain in asset performance and 22% increase in efficiency. By leveraging GE’s deep domain and controller expertise, the IICS solution empowers customers to improve operational efficiency, optimise production and unlock new revenue opportunities.
“IICS was designed to help our customers meet the demanding challenges they face every day in running their organisations with increasing efficiency,” said Jim Walsh, president and CEO of GE’s Automation and Controls business. “With IICS, we’ll be helping customers get more out of their assets – more productivity, more reliability and more profit.”
Jim Walsh, president and CEO of GE’s Automation and Controls business
GE’s has built on its world class RX3i and MarkTM Vie industrial control systems, embedded in industrial environments around the world, to create an innovative, next generation platform for the age of the Industrial Internet. The system utilises GE’s Field AgentTM technology as the gateway between the asset and the Industrial Internet. Field Agent provides a rugged, pre-configured solution for secure data collection and conveyance from the machine to fuel analytics that improve operations.
GE’s Industrial Internet Control System also includes:
- Industrial Cloud Platform – Provides real time process optimisation and control; minimalises disruption to deployed application; Creates new value over time without having to retrofit
- Secure Cloud Connectivity – PredixTM ready; Provides secure data collection; Enables advanced analytics; Form factors to meet the need
- Outcome Optimising Controllers – Real-time control; Defense in-depth security; Decreases time to market; Helps reduce unplanned downtime and enhance system performance
- Mix & Match I/O – Remote, real-time diagnostics; Wide range of communication options; Modularity-simple scalability; Drives improved availability and simplified maintenance
- Professional Services – Real Time control; Security at its core; Decreases time to market; Helps reduce unplanned downtime and enhance system performance
- Intelligent Apps – Real Time Control; Security at its core; Decreases time to market; Helps reduce unplanned downtime and enhances system performance
IICS features dual or quad core configuration which provides safe and secure communication with either cloud-based or locally hosted algorithms and applications.
Two structural innovations make the new solution “future proof” for customers, who want hardware assets to be long-lived but remain optimally functioning.
- Industry-first Hypervisor control technology that separates operations from software so that the software can be upgraded without affecting the physical controller, allowing the hardware to stay in place and up to date.
- ComExpress processor technology that allows the processor to be updated as needed, again without replacing the controller. This is critical to support the growing computational power available from the Industrial Internet, including GE’s Digital Twin predictive model for optimising assets with minimal interruption.
Over 70% of industrial companies believe it’s important to adopt an Industrial Internet of Things strategy. GE is uniquely positioned to equip customers for that strategy and to seamlessly and securely connect asset locations to the power of cloud and edge computing. IICS is a fundamentally new offering that delivers the next step in industrial productivity.
A member of the Trusted Computing Group, GE applies industry best practices in protection and detection across its suite of Industrial Internet Control System portfolio of solutions. Defense-in-Depth and attestation are central to GE’s strategy to protect industrial assets, processes and the information they produce. GE builds security into all the layers from the hardware to the cloud through a chain of trust approach.
Key elements include security penetration testing of the entire system, secure Development Life Cycle (SDLC) for all applications, data-in-motion encryption, based on Trusted Keys, trusted OS and Hypervisors at the hardware level, and Platform Firmware that blocks and reports tampered software.
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