Industrial Internet “edgeware” provider Wi-Next has scored something of a coup by teaming up with IBM to add its analytics capabilities to its industrial quality control and maintenance systems.

The Palo Alto, California-based startup said the addition of IBM’s analytics capabilities, some of which are powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI), will help consumer product manufacturers and food processing firms to ensure their production lines can keep running at full speed by identifying problems before they occur.

If everything comes together, Wi-Next could well achieve one of the biggest promises of the Industrial Internet – a production line free from unexpected shutdowns. Another benefit will be more consistency, with each and every product rolling off the production line being identical and free from defects, the company added.

Wi-Next specializes in building sensors and software that can be attached to industrial equipment in the consumer goods and food processing industries. Its sensors can be fixed to all kinds of production lines, such as a factory that produces bottled water, where they can ensure each bottle is filled to the correct level. Those sensors are linked via a Wi-Next Wi-Fi node which delivers data to the Wi-Next gateway software control system, allowing for all factory floor processes and machines to be monitored in real-time.

Companies will then be able to link incoming factory floor data to their traditional database or ERP systems, or to cloud services via APIs. Once there, the data can be analyzed in real-time, giving companies a better understanding of what’s happening on the factory floor.

Being able to do so will have a big impact on manufacture’s bottom lines, claimed Wi-Next CEO Armando Pereira in a statement.

“Small changes in productivity equal large gains for the bottom line, and this is even more true in industries with low margins and high competition, such as with fast moving consumer goods and food service where the investment to achieve even a one-percent productivity increase or cost savings is relevant,” Pereira explained. “Thanks to this strategic partnership with IBM, Wi-NEXT will now provide a wealth of new data analytics to identify inefficiencies and make operational actions we have never seen before and with a clear and simple-to-understand return on investment for our clients.”

Wi-Next has offered its Industrial Internet sensor systems for some time, but the collaboration with IBM means customers can now tap into the powerful analytics capabilities of Big Blue’s BlueMix cloud platform, which offers Predictive Maintenance and Quality software, among other services. Pereira told Computerworld that IBM’s analytics services are unmatched due to the billions of dollars its invested in them.

Pereira added that companies can use IBM’s tools in the BlueMix cloud platform, or alternatively integrate them into the Wi-Next gateway software installed on their own systems, an ideal solution for those enterprises which don’t want to send their data to the cloud.

Image credit: Marcin049 via pixabay.com