Germany’s Hannover Messe industrial trade show began April 13, and the news coming out is already pretty exciting. In three separate announcements, Microsoft has made it clear that it is determined to make its Azure platform as ubiquitous in the IoT as Windows is for PCs, across enterprise, consumer and industrial markets.
Microsoft hit hard in the manufacturing space thanks to a new partnership with Fujitsu Limited. The collaboration will seek to bring innovation and efficiencies to the manufacturing sector by combining the capabilities of Microsoft’s software and Fujitsu’s devices, IoT services and the company’s new Web OS, announced last week.
The new collaborative product is based in part upon how Fujitsu converted its semiconductor manufacturing operations into its Akisai Plant Factory, a facility designed for M2M integrations from foundation to weathervane, where the company combines modern agricultural techniques with state-of-the-art manufacturing and information and communication technologies to create clean room areas that produce lettuce that is low in potassium so it can be consumed by dialysis patients and people with chronic kidney disease.
“We are proud to partner with Fujitsu to enable the next generation of manufacturing business models and services enabled by IoT along with advanced analytics capabilities like machine learning,” said Sanjay Ravi, Managing Director, Discrete Manufacturing Industry, Microsoft. “Fujitsu’s innovation will drive new levels of operational excellence and accelerate the pace of digital business transformation in manufacturing.”
Not to be pigeonholed into an industrial corner, Microsoft is also launching a project with Miele & Cie. KG, a high-end domestic appliance and commercial equipment manufacturer. The first phase will be a proof-of-concept on how best to apply Azure IoT services to smart appliances and home cooking.
The new offering allows users to browse recipes on Miele’s website and choose from various meals, which triggers a download to the user’s mobile device of how to make the meal at hand and the matching program is loaded onto the oven through Azure. The oven is automatically programmed to cook the specific meal using the proper mode, temperature, cooking time and humidity.
“This assistance system incorporates temperature charts, times and the machine’s special features, such as adding steam, to create the optimum roasting, cooking or baking results,” said Dr. Eduard Sailer, Executive Director of Technical Affairs, Miele. “This allows people to get the best results out of their cooking appliances.”
The joint project is officially still classified as a proof-of-concept, but the partners were very optimistic about the project’s long-term possibilities.
The third big announcement out of the first day of the show is about how Microsoft is plotting to help our robot overlords take power.
Well, not quite.
Microsoft and KUKA, an industrial robot manufacturer, have together created the Intelligent Industrial Work Assistant, built, once again, with Azure built into KUKA’s automation solutions. Precise movements and sensors allow the lightweight robot to work complex tasks, precisely and automatically, even while working with a human. The system was created by combining Azure, Kinect and the OPC-UA communication standard leads. The booth demo at Hannover illustrates the delicacy and skill of the unit by threading a tube into a small hole in the back of a dishwasher. As the task is completed, the robot’s movement data is transmitted to the Azure cloud, where progress can be monitored.
“Robots serve as the link between IT and production, between humans and technology,” said Dr. Christian Schlogel, CTO, KUKA. “It's exciting to be at the forefront of sensitive robotics and to create the technology to allow humans to interact directly, increasing efficiency and productivity.”
Edited by
Dominick Sorrentino
