With the introduction of SIM, a scalable solution is now available to support shopfloor teams with the lifecycle management of their devices and to streamline maintenance processes. SIM was developed for loT data with low to intermediate frequencies and enables a highly automated application management through a production-oriented user interface. Every shopfloor device that supports container technology can be integrated into SIM. Each component is set up as a microservice and managed by Portainer. IoT applications can be remotely deployed via the user interface, which also provides detailed insights about each specific device. This approach lays the foundation for effective IT asset management.
As a first step, a public cloud connector was released to query data from the shopfloor. Data is collected, for example via Softing’s edgeConnectors, then preprocessed, filtered, and transferred to the Digital Production Platform (DPP), Volkswagen’s proprietary cloud solution aimed at improving productivity in production and logistics across its plants.
Thus, SIM is a scalable solution which ensures that only the required information is forwarded to the platform and unnecessary costs are eliminated. In addition, due to the strategic decision to only rely on standardized interfaces, protocols, and technology like software containers, a vendor lock-in is avoided. This is enabled by Portainer’s agnostic support for any container runtime or orchestrator.