Developers assembling parts. Image: Leonardo da/Shutterstock
GE and Bosch have decided to team up and merge their connected technologies, to establish an open-source platform for companies to develop industrial internet of things (IIoT) projects.
Recently described as the next economic evolution, the financial gains for IIoT applications is expected to be substantial, with low estimates suggesting $79,500 per capita in the US by 2030.
Now, two of the biggest players in manufacturing and engineering , GE and Bosch, are hoping to be at the forefront of this revolution.
Announcing the signing of a memorandum of understanding, the pair revealed that they are to create stack-based open-source IoT software as part of the ongoing Eclipse Foundation, an open source software initiative.
To do this, the pair will integrate parts of GE’s Predix operating system with Bosch’s IoT suite to cover functionalities like messaging, descriptions and authentication.
One such implementation of this IoT suite was announced recently at IFA 2016, when Irish start-up Drop revealed its technology was to be included in its range of IoT ovens.
Both companies have said they intend to use the open-source software to grow a larger ecosystem around this technology stack, which IoT platforms can be built upon.
Not all secrets revealed
The end goal from an open-source perspective, the pair said in a joint statement, will be to give companies a leg up to tackle IoT projects they might not have tackled before without this available technology.
“No company can realise the IoT on its own. It is very important for Bosch to engage in business ecosystems and open-source communities,” said Rainer Kallenbach, CEO of Bosch Software Innovations.
“The collaboration with GE Digital is another important milestone for Bosch’s connectivity strategy.”
That said, some aspects of GE’s and Bosch’s technology will remain closely guarded secrets of both companies.
For example, GE’s executive director of platform evangelism at GE Software, Greg Petroff, has said that the company will still protect its Predix security components.
