Bosch

The Yield uses IoT technology to take the guesswork out of growing food. Our unique capability is the ability to reliably and accurately measure hyper-local weather conditions at the farm, field, row and even plant level. This intelligence is then converted into crop-specific applications that help growers make better on farm decisions, such as the optimal time to plant, irrigate, feed, protect or harvest their crops. The Yield sells a managed knowledge service, leveraging core IoT infrastructure, to different customers.

For your project to be a success, I recommend you set out with the fully connected value chain in mind, but begin with a specific process that achieves immediate results. There are two tools in particular that I recommend you consider when seeking support to make your first projects a success: rules technology and big data processing. Rules technology and data analysis can help your experts to apply their domain knowledge without having to be IT specialists. Also, they don’t need to wait for the IT experts to be available in order to start – a real competitive advantage in this context and phase of the Industry 4.0 market.

The slow and the autonomous vs. the fast and the furious When cars start to drive themselves, the technological change will be tiny compared with the change in society. Since we won’t have to concentrate on traffic, we’ll have heaps of time to do other things, such as video conferencing with friends or colleagues, consuming media, shopping online, or simply relaxing. So it’s highly likely that at the same time, “speed” as a car feature will become less relevant. You used to do this by making eye contact with the human driver of the car, but now this has to be replaced by other methods, which need to be developed and established.

As part of a potential leasing model, homeowners allow the utility to install solar panels on their roofs and in return, the utility supplies them with green electricity at a price guaranteed over the long term. Utilities plan to actively engage in energy trading, so they sign an agreement with the operator of the wind and solar park in which they offer to market the energy the park produces. A utility provides end users with products such as a condensing boiler (mini CHP, etc.) or an energy storage system, plus service and maintenance. End users sign a contract with the utility to supply their gas and electricity and agree that the devices in their basements are controlled by the utility.