Maryland based IoT platform Zyter has launched Smart Factories, a solution to connect factory floor machinery, workers, and building systems through IoT.

The new offering is a component of the Zyter SmartSpaces IoT platform. Employed by Qualcomm as the foundation of its Smart Cities Accelerator Programme, the Zyter SmartSpaces Platform is designed to break down silos of information by integrating and consolidating data from IoT devices and applications in a seamless interface.

According to Zyter, Smart Factories gives manufacturers a 360-degree view of what is happening across the entire factory floor using a network of connected devices and sensors, including safety equipment worn by workers. 

IoT sensors send alerts and notifications on worker safety issues, authorisation breaches, machinery utilisation, and asset monitoring to the Zyter Smart Factories dashboard. Zyter Smart Factories translates this data to analytics to help manufacturers understand factory productivity and safety metrics, as well as gain insight into other metrics related to factory management, operations and efficiency improvements.

“Zyter Smart Factories meets the increasing demand from manufacturers for IoT technologies that help make the factory run more efficiently,” said Sanjay Govil, founder and CEO of Zyter, Inc. “With the analytics gained from complete visibility of the factory floor, machinery monitoring, and worker tracking, manufacturers can make more informed decisions to make their factories smarter, safer, and more productive.”

The new solution is designed to provide a continuous stream of real-time data from IoT devices on machinery, material and workers to enable factory managers to optimise production runs as well as monitor and quickly address events and incidents to avoid safety issues or loss of productivity.

It detects and alerts whenever workers remove hard hats, safety goggles, and other gear and also if workers enter unauthorised areas. The system sends machine malfunction safety alerts to notify supervisors and on-site medical personnel to preempt any potential worker injury.

Zyter Smart Factories provides real-time data on usage of high-value machinery in terms of running times, usage efficiency, energy consumption, and more. Zyter Smart Factories also has asset tracking capability to quickly locate manufacturing materials or mobile equipment, and send alerts if assets are being moved without authorisation.

The solution is also 5G ready, allowing manufacturers to upgrade from legacy hard-wired IT and Wi-Fi systems to a private 5G-enabled IT or cellular network that supports multiple IoT devices.