by Jared Weiner | 01/03/2019

 

Despite its vast potential, the IIoT is still in its infancy. According to results from our 2018 survey of the industrial automation community, just 40% of respondents indicated their organization is currently deploying IIoT capabilities, as shown in the graphic below, with another 19% expecting to begin deploying such capabilities within the next year. However, approximately 80% of respondents believe their organizations will be utilizing IIoT-related functionality within three years at the latest.

For the IIoT to reach its full potential, manufacturing and other industrial organizations must achieve a level of automation far exceeding that which is present in today’s industrial environments.

Accordingly, demand for advanced automation systems has risen as manufacturers increasingly seek to attain IIoT-related objectives. Position sensors, which enable the monitoring and precise control of advanced robotics and other automated industrial systems, play a critical role within these systems. Many advanced IIoT-related functions, such as the use of analytics, are also dependent upon position sensors, which can generate a tremendous volume of operational data given their placement within industrial machines. Preventative maintenance, for example, is enabled by real-time position sensor data and allows operators to proactively address pending failures before the system fails, thus avoiding the production losses that follow an unplanned shutdown.

As the IIoT continues to gain momentum, demand for position sensors and other intelligent sensing components will rise correspondingly.

More insight 
How will end-user preferences shape market growth? Which regional and economic factors are influencing market dynamics? Which suppliers command the greatest shares of the various position sensor sub-markets? VDC’s recently completed research program, The Global Market for Position Sensors, explains.

This multi-volume program includes detailed analyses of three position sensor sub-markets:

• Proximity Sensors, Photoelectric Sensors, and Limit Switches;
• Linear Displacement Sensors; and
• Rotary Position Sensors

Each volume is available now! Please contact us for more information.