Tobias Maier

Product digitalization for OEMs: modular development of complex field products

OEMs want to digitalize machines and vehicles in the field while ensuring that functions operate reliably, even though the devices are often only rarely physically accessible. In the podcast, Tobias Maier and Mirko Spitalny explain, using the example of the “digital freight train” with Knorr-Bremse, how early prototypes are turned into robust IoT products. Three recurring challenges are at the center of the discussion: a missing or unpredictable energy supply, reliable data transmission in demanding environments with a lot of metal, and the ruggedization of the product for field deployment. To address these challenges, an energy-autonomous edge system with solar cells and batteries is implemented. For the safety-critical digital brake test, wagon-to-wagon wireless networking in the sub-gigahertz range is used, while LTE is employed as a complementary connection and only occasionally for functions such as firmware upgrades or position transmission. The foundation for this approach is a modular IoT toolkit with reusable hardware and software modules, for example for energy harvesting, battery systems, BLE for commissioning, wireless communication and device management. For IT and OT decision-makers, the episode shows how development effort can be reduced, iterations accelerated and digital products operated reliably over long life cycles.