GE betting on the ‘Industrial Internet’ with ‘Predictivity’ platform, partners with Amazon Web Services

By Meghan McDonough June 18, 2013

GE_Software.Aviation.InFlight — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Today’s technology is simply amazing. You can adjust the temperature of your home with your phone, and the thermostat will even send reports of how much energy you’ve used and when you turned the heat on. General Electric has learned from consumer uses of the Internet and is working on what the company calls the “Industrial Internet.” GE took a big step forward with its plan today by announcing the new Predictivity platform and a partnership with Amazon Web Services, Accenture, and Pivotal.

So, what the hell does this all mean? GE’s vision of the Industrial Internet revolves around the idea that by 2020, industrial machines, like jet engines and MRI machines, will be connected to the Internet and will send a constant stream of information gathered by embedded sensors to their owners. For example, sensors on a jet engine could inform maintenance technicians when a piece is veering unevenly based on data from sensors on other engines. GE CEO Jeff Immelt told AllThingsD that the Industrial Internet is the next big thing because the sensors could be used to find the greatest points of jet fuel efficiency, which could save hundreds of thousands of dollars. The whole concept is predicting what’s going to happen to a machine based on historical data. Sorting through and making sense of all that data is a massive task that’s only going to grow as sensor use becomes more widespread.

This is where GE’s Predictivity software comes into play. It’s based on the Hadoop software platform and is using Proficy Historian HD, which is software that deals with historical data management. All of this data will be connected through Amazon Web Services, bringing all of these data management tools into the cloud and making it easily accessible to industrial clients. The goal is to increase efficiency. By predicting a machine’s future through analytics, GE will help businesses eliminate downtime and reduce waste. The analytical data could even help develop better ways to use GE’s industrial products.

This isn’t necessarily technology we’ll personally see in action, but the Industrial Internet and the wrangling of big data may end up making our next plane flight shorter or (even better) cheaper.

Topics

Meghan McDonough

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Meghan J. McDonough is a Chicago-based purveyor of consumer technology and music. She previously wrote for LAPTOP Magazine…

Computing

Best deal ever? Get 80% off PureVPN and an Uber Eats voucher

A close-up of a computer monitor displaying a generic VPN.

Everyone should sign up to a virtual private network, so if you're looking for VPN deals, here's one that you wouldn't want to miss -- two years plus three extra months of PureVPN's Max Plan at 80% off for just $4 per month, for a total of $108 for 27 months. That's $16 in savings per month for dependable online protection, and to top it off, you'll be getting an Uber Eats voucher worth up to $30. We're not sure how much time is remaining on this offer though, so if you're interested, you're going to have to sign up for the subscription immediately.

Why you should sign up for PureVPN Max Plan
A VPN is a necessity in this digital age because it will protect your data from being accessed by cybercriminals. It will also help you get around any geoblocking restrictions as you can have your device appear as if it's located in another part of the world. PureVPN is one of the best VPNs for these purposes, as it uses a global network of more than 6,500 servers that are located across dozens of countries.

Computing

Razer’s most boring product is also one of its best

The Razer Iskur V2 gaming chair in an office.

Razer isn't exactly known for subtlety. This is the company that released a Bane-like RGB face mask, a headset with haptic feedback, and most recently, a mouse pad that has RGB lighting from corner to corner. The Iskur V2 chair is an exercise in subtlety, however, and a change of pace that pays off for Razer in a big way.

There's nothing special about the Iskur V2 at first glance. It's a gaming chair fit with the usual racer-style back and some green trim to let you know it's a Razer product. But there are no motors promising immersive haptic feedback, and no RGB leaving you tethered to a wall outlet (yes, Razer has done both in a chair before). The Iskur V2 is just a well-designed, comfortable chair, and that's exactly why it's so impressive.
Out of the box

Computing

Best OLED monitor deals: Get an OLED screen from just $450

Marvel's Spider-Man running on the Samsung Odyssey OLED G8.

Up to a couple of years ago, OLED technology only really existed in OLED TVs and very-high-end monitors that cost thousands and thousands of dollars. Luckily, the prices have come down quite substantially, even on the best OLED monitors, especially as the market gets more saturated with options. That means that if you tend to use a monitor for the majority of your content consumption, such as gaming, then you can grab an OLED monitor for a great price and experience amazing visual fidelity and reproduction.

To that end, we've gone out and scoured all the major retailers and brands to find our favorite OLED monitor deals out there and compiled them below. That said, if you haven't quite found what you're looking for, or feel you aren't ready for an OLED monitor, be sure to check out some of these other great monitor deals.
LG UltraGear 27-inch gaming monitor -- $660, was $1,000