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Fujitsu and Intel Reach Agreement on IoT Platform Collaboration
Begin field trial to raise manufacturing process efficiency at Shimane Fujitsu
Fujitsu Limited,Intel Corporation
Fujitsu Limited and Intel Corporation today announced that they have reached an agreement to combine Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd.'s distributed service platform technology with the Intel® IoT Gateway to build out comprehensive IoT solutions. By combining Fujitsu's cutting-edge technology with the Intel® IoT Platform, a blueprint for interoperable IoT solutions, both companies will create an optimal systems environment, thereby offering high-value Internet of Things (IoT) solutions.
The two companies initially seek to focus on development in the areas of manufacturing, retailing, and the public sector. For that purpose, from May 2015, they have commenced a Proof of Business (PoB (1)) at Shimane Fujitsu Limited designed to enable greater visualization of the manufacturing facility's operations.
Background
To form a global ecosystem with business partners having particular areas of expertise, Fujitsu is developing and offering IoT platforms and the technologies that underpin them. Intel, meanwhile, is offering its Intel® IoT Gateway as an IoT platform with interoperability that, while using existing systems, elicits valuable data.
Now, by combining the Intel IoT Gateway with Fujitsu's distributed service platform technology, the two companies are collaborating to provide even more efficient and highly effective IoT solutions to their customers.
Features of the Distributed Service Platform
Fujitsu's distributed service platform technology allocates service functions across an entire network, including both the network center and remote sites, enabling unified management. A cloud-based centralized-management mechanism is set up at the center, and this optimally distributes data processing in response to monitored information received from each gateway. This optimized processing, distributed through gateways, happens automatically and without human intervention, in response to service requirements.
To make the most of the distributed service platform using this technology, some processing needs to be handled at the gateways, rather than concentrating all of it at the center. The Intel IoT Gateway uses a tested combination of Intel processors and software with outstanding processing capacity, security, and certainty. Combined with Fujitsu's distributed service platform technology, this allows for system environments to be built quickly. In addition, the system can be expanded and revised to respond to real-time changes in data volumes, and optimize overall system costs.
Proof of Business at Shimane Fujitsu
As the first step in this collaboration, from May 2015 Fujitsu and Intel have initiated a PoB at Shimane Fujitsu with the aim of expanding the scope of visibility into the manufacturing facility's operations and reducing indirect overhead costs through data collection and analysis.
Shimane Fujitsu will collect post-shipment sensor data from products using FUJITSU IoT Solution UBIQUITOUSWARE(2), and conduct correlation analyses of the data with logs from production processes to further reduce costs. Initially, this will be used to bring a greater degree of visualization to the repair process of defective items undergoing reworking.
As part of this PoB, locations of products needing repair will be tracked, as well as their progress through the repair process, including wait times, in real time, which should help reduce the number of extra steps required until shipment. In the future, this information can be correlated with video analyses of operators and equipment in trial production processes, including trial logs, to further improve the reject rates of finished goods and reduce indirect costs. Further in the future, the goal is to expand the scope of visualization to cover the entire supply chain between different plants.
PoB at Shimane Fujitsu
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Future Plans
Fujitsu and Intel plan to take what they learn at Shimane Fujitsu and extend that to Fujitsu Group locations worldwide, and to roll out a series of IoT solutions for manufacturing.
In addition, they plan to begin a PoB of solutions for retailing and the public sector during fiscal 2015, and to provide solutions for those sectors.
Related Links
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[1] Proof of Business
A field trail to confirm the viability of a business.
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[2] FUJITSU IoT Solution UBIQUITOUSWARE
The package consists of UBIQUITOUSWARE core modules, which combine a variety of sensors commonly found in ubiquitous products, such as accelerometers and barometers, custom microcontrollers that directly control the sensors and analyze their data, and wireless communications using Bluetooth Low Energy , together with sensor middleware that learns and analyses data in the cloud and that can be used on multiple platforms, including Fujitsu's own IoT platform.
About Fujitsu
Fujitsu is the leading Japanese information and communication technology (ICT) company, offering a full range of technology products, solutions, and services. Approximately 159,000 Fujitsu people support customers in more than 100 countries. We use our experience and the power of ICT to shape the future of society with our customers. Fujitsu Limited (TSE: 6702) reported consolidated revenues of 4.8 trillion yen (US$40 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015. For more information, please see http://www.fujitsu.com.
About Intel
Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is a world leader in computing innovation. The company designs and builds the essential technologies that serve as the foundation for the world's computing devices. As a leader in corporate responsibility and sustainability, Intel also manufactures the world's first commercially available "conflict-free" microprocessors. Additional information about Intel is available at newsroom.intel.com and blogs.intel.com and about Intel's conflict-free efforts at conflictfree.intel.com.
Intel, the Intel logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the United States and other countries.
All company or product names mentioned herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Information provided in this press release is accurate at time of publication and is subject to change without advance notice.
Note: This press release has been partially revised. (May 14, 2015)
Date: 13 May, 2015
City: Tokyo
Company:
Fujitsu Limited / Intel Corporation
