There’s something satisfying about measuring, knowing, and tracking. We’re obsessed with our wearables, and smart devices in our homes. No wonder we’re drastically changing our workplaces to accommodate this curiosity and see tangible benefits. Let’s dig into this month’s evolution in smart surroundings.

Smart people walk on smart floors

Smart flooring is gaining traction in factories because of its ability to gather vital data to protect employee’s health and safety. When someone trips, for example, alerts can be sent out immediately. It can also track people to see no one is in an area they shouldn’t be. They can be used for temperature control, weight monitoring so that expensive industrial scales are no longer necessary, and much more. The cost is currently still the main hurdle, and because floors are under constant abuse, the lifecycle of smart floors isn’t great. But when factories are getting smarter all around, the floor you walk on is a vital key in the data gathering puzzle. Read more about it on Thomasnet!

Condition monitoring: from knowing to predicting

Speaking of gathering data, IoT has become such a staple of the factory floor of the future that it’s almost impossible to imagine anything not being tracked, but there’s always more to find out. Boris Shiklo at IndustryWeek describes how you can use IoT-driven condition monitoring to track your machinery and equipment. The advantages are obvious, you can easily track whether everything is functional and whether the parameters are right. But you can take this type of technology much further, towards effective predictive maintenance and improved product quality. Don’t go too far too fast, but see where the data takes you. You can read more here about how to bring your equipment monitoring to the future.

Don’t let heatwaves bog you down

As the world is changing, extreme temperature swings cause the need for efficient air-conditioning to rise, because no one can be productive in a heatwave. Sony came up with a tiny pocket-sized air-conditioning device, controlled via an app, that can control your body’s temperature year-round. Even walking down the street during the hottest part of the day will become much more bearable if you can cool off this way, and it also prevents office discussions about the thermostat, because you can never please everyone. Sadly, it’s not available world-wide yet, but let’s hope it’s coming soon. Kristin Houser tells us more on Futurism.

Not robots, but cobots

Cobots are robots that work alongside and interact with people in a work environment, and have been around for a little bit. They help minimize the perception that robots are taking jobs from people and fill gaps that the current workforce simply can’t fill: not enough skilled workers, and high demands create a space where cobots thrive alongside people. Where manufacturing businesses sometimes have trouble, namely attracting young workers, cobots can offer a solution: the younger generations enjoy working with cutting-edge technology, and using the latest tech can modernize the entire sector, and get rid of its rusty reputation. So if manufacturing businesses experience these problems, and want to take their business forward, cobots may be the way to go. Read more on Manufacturing Tomorrow, where Mark Hughes shares the scoop.

Join us next time for more news, and don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter, there’s a lot more to share.