Cisco and IBM are to collaborate to deploy IBM’s Watson artificial intelligence technology at the edge of IoT networks to provide analysis and insights into IoT generated data.
IBM and Cisco say they have joined forces to offer a new way to produce immediate, actionable insight at the point of data collection for companies operating on the edge of computer networks such as oil rigs, factories, shipping companies and mines, where time is of the essence but bandwidth is often lacking.
The various components will be marketed and sold together and will include Watson IoT Platform cognitive and real time insights from IBM with Cisco streaming edge analytics. IBM says this will enable real-time analytics to be performed at the edge and collection of data for longer-term analysis in the cloud.
They have named mobile network operator Bell Canada as a reseller of the offering and the Port of Cartagena and SilverHook Powerboats as initial customers.
Bell Canada CTO, Stephen Howe, said: “Many of our largest customers operate remote systems, requiring continuous availability and access to data to monitor critical performance factors and avoid downtime. Deploying the unmatched analytics capabilities of IBM Watson Internet of Things and Cisco networking intelligence with streaming edge analytics will help to further accelerate Bell’s leadership in Canadian IoT.”
The Colombian port of Cartagena is tapping into analytics on the edge to improve the port’s efficiency of assets including rubber tyre gantries, cranes and trucks, according to IBM. “Several years ago, the port started monitoring equipment conditions such as engine temperature, engine speed and run hours to improve efficiency and maintenance costs. Now the port is beginning to use the IBM Watson IoT Platform with Cisco streaming edge analytics to monitor an expanded set of conditions in the cloud,” IBM said.
“This capability, including predictive analytics, is expected to help the port to get ahead of equipment degradation and needed maintenance to keep machines running efficiently and avoid costly equipment failures.”
IBM says US powerboat manufacturer, SilverHook Powerboats, is using Cisco edge analytics and IBM Watson IoT analytics “to help race pilots react immediately to environment and engine multi variate conditions in real-time, indicating the need to throttle back in a split second, for example, to help prevent the boat’s systems from failure and to perform optimally.”
It claims that, in the past, without such instant insight into the critical data, the outcome of a malfunction could have been disastrous.