Since the first mention of IoT and Industry 4.0, advances in technologies such as machine vision, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), deep learning (DL), and wireless sensors are continuing to forge a progressive path from automation toward autonomy.

Edward Wilford has gathered opinions from IoT Analytics’ advisors on the most important IoT technology trends to watch in 2022.

Smart manufacturing will come to the fore in 2022 as a holistic strategy that considers the entire process throughout a product’s entire lifecycle. It now takes advantage of greater connectivity and live data capture to improve the process.

Supply chains and the climate are more intricately linked than many may realize. Just eight global supply chains are responsible for more than 50% of greenhouse gas emissions. As temperatures rise and extreme weather becomes more common, the environment also impacts the supply chain.

The Industrial IoT, connected smart assets, and especially the Digital Twin are having the most immediate and significant impact on how companies implement technologies that enable smart manufacturing.

A team from the Essex Innovation Centre, a strategic partnership between the University of Essex and TWI, is currently working with fellow consortium members Generic Robotics Limited and Castalia Innovation Limited on the NeuRestore project which seeks to aid patients that have suffered a stroke, or other ailments that resulted in the loss of mobility, by improving their hand and arm movement recovery without the constant need for specialist physiotherapists.

Digital transformation is about changing where value is created, and how your business model is structured. More and more, value creation comes from outside the firm not inside, and from external partners rather than internal employees.

Recent disruptions to transport and their effect on supply chains have brought renewed attention to rail freight in Europe. Five critical digital technologies promise to make freight trains as easy to run across Europe as trucks.

Companies that push the boundaries of AI to sharpen predictions, boost efficiencies, and optimize the real-time pricing or stock control of their products are moving faster and further than rivals still conservatively wavering over the wisdom of using AI for these purposes.

Supply chains have been severely impacted by COVID-19. Leading organizations over the past 18 months “have developed the ability to rapidly adapt business models and supply chain ecosystems to live with a high degree of volatility and disruption.