Evolution of Electrical Engineering
By: Rudra Patel
Tags: Innovation, Evolution, Modern Trends, IoT, Electrical Engineering

Electrical engineering is one of the few fields that make use of the majority of the latest tendencies in tech. Robotics, drones, 3D printing, computer vision, cloud computing — you name it, and it’s there. Let’s focus on the trends that have the potential to bring far-reaching changes to electrical engineering and make smart factories a full-fledged reality.

5G Communication

The 5G communication network enables increased capacity, eliminates delays, reduces energy consumption and provides a better connection to multiple devices. The next-generation network makes communication between devices effortless. Serving as a platform for sensors and other smart utilities on plants, factories, and cities. A seamless flow of data will speed up decision-making, predictive maintenance and any activities that require real-time data processing. We are making the first steps to the sixth generation network. It means that 5G tech will supposedly become cheaper and more available to industrial businesses.

Internet of Things (IoT)

We’re living through the stage of IoT, where millions of smart devices are connected to the global network. They are increasing awareness, processing power, energy independence, and more. Companies are striving to implement smart manufacturing through IoT: 73% of enterprises are investing in it, but only 6% consider their factories as digitized as possible. With more people and a variety of information being connected, we are moving beyond simple IoT to the phenomenon Cisco called the “Internet of Everything.”

It’s not about the connected physical devices anymore; IoE is the connection of four elements: people, things, information, and processes:

· people will become the nodes on the Internet

· things will become more context-aware

· data will become high-level rather than raw

· processes will work to deliver the right information to the right individuals at the proper time in the correct form

But there’s still a long way to go: Cisco predicts that we will reach a particular form of IoE in approximately ten years.

R+ Technology

The availability of 5G will bring more advances to the field of augmented reality. Actually, we are moving from AR to MR — mixed reality. This hybrid environment includes virtual objects into physical surroundings. The core difference lies in the tech behind these two Rs. Augmented reality uses a flat-screen while the mixed reality is headset-based (as for now). MR is said to change our interaction with the world. Just imagine engineers seeing the inside of engines and decision-making instructions right before their eyes rather than going through manuals.

In 2018, a Toshiba survey found that 82% of enterprises are looking to implement AR smart glasses in their processes during the next three years. Being able to see what you have to do is an advantage that cannot be underestimated. MR is already here, and it will become more widespread with the mass adoption of 5G and IoE.

Cybersecurity

Security remains a pressing issue, therefore, the smarter enterprises become, the more they should care about cybersecurity. By 2017, the number of cyberattacks on systems that control power generation, data centers, refineries, and gas pipelines exceeded in thousand in the US only. Hopefully, the latest tech trends will improve security to meet the evolving need of protecting networks of devices, automated facilities and especially volumes of gathered data.

Blockchain can be the answer as it allows secure information sharing and authentication without exposing data. Combined with the abilities of AI to predict threats and disclose vulnerabilities, it can fix security problems in the industrial sector.

Digital Twins

Digital Twins are the gist of the most buzzing technologies of Industry 4.0. Gartner states that at least 50% of big industrial enterprises will launch a digital twin initiative by 2022. But for digital twins to be efficient, businesses will need to combine IoT devices, mixed reality, and fast connection. They’ll need it to enable a real-time flow of data, protect this data and add human expertise to interpret everything.

The technology is already being tested in energy facilities, automotive manufacturing, and healthcare. For more extensive adoption, it has to become cheaper and slightly more investigated. Moreover, the complexity of building digital twins also requires experienced hardware and software vendors as partners for industrial enterprises.