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What can be expected from IoTSWC 2019?

Posted: 25 October 2019 |

IoTSWC (IoT Solutions World Congress), the international flagship bringing together more than 350 exhibitors, including suppliers of IoT, AI and blockchain solutions, will host a congress with over 300 speakers who will discuss the benefits of digitalisation and analyse the challenges and new implications opening up in this era of smart connectivity.

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Organised by Fira de Barcelona in partnership with the IIC (Industrial Internet Consortium), the IoTSWC (IoT Solutions World Congress) will be held from 29 to 31 October in Gran Via venue in the framework of Barcelona Industry Week. It is considered the largest international event devoted to the industrial internet and, throughout its history, has complemented its offering with other converging technologies that are accelerating the digital transformation of sectors such as transport, manufacturing, healthcare, energy, utilities, construction, infrastructure, retail, and agriculture, among others.

IoTSWC 2019 will have international and institutional pavilions. In this regard, the presence of stands from Greece, Austria, Germany, Spain, Romania, Sweden, France, Baviera, Catalonia and Barcelona has already been confirmed; these will contribute a large number of companies to the event, many of them SMEs and start-ups linked to the IoT ecosystem.

A new feature of this year’s fair will be a specific area called IoT Solutions.Font, which will provide visibility for start-ups with original and innovative IoT, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Blockchain based products and services that have already been tested in the market and with potential for internationalisation. In partnership with Conector Startup Accelerator, about ten start-ups from all over the world have been selected, which, in addition to being exhibited at the trade fair, will take part in a competition to choose the best one. There will also be a networking activity involving investors, sponsors and visitors interested in finding out more about their solutions. The winning start-up will gain direct access to a Connector acceleration programme. The participating startups provide solutions ranging from cybersecurity to data analysis and enhanced fire extinguishing equipment monitoring.

Another attraction of the commercial section will be the testbed area, where there will be live demonstrations of a dozen industrial internet applications that stand out for their innovation and efficiency in process improvement.

This year, the following will be on display:

  • An application that measures driver behaviour to update the cost of insurance policies
  • Drones, sensors and blockchain that monitor the water quality of the Volga River
  • An autonomous electric car equipped with a cybersecurity system that blocks attacks that jeopardise the reliability or privacy of the vehicle
  • A solution to check gas distribution networks, reducing energy losses and preventing fraud, a platform that combines IoT, AI and 5G to provide predictive medical care and handle emergencies affecting the elderly and chronically ill
  • A system to inspect and repair wind farm turbines using drones
  • AI and the cloud
  • An assembly assistance system which accurately guides the employees of a factory through the different steps to be performed
  • An application to enable farmers to view the status of their holdings in real time and facilitate their decision-making
  • Software based on AI for submersible pumps used in oil wells.

In addition, the 200+ sessions of the congress will be divided into nine thematic areas: IoT enabling technologies, connected transport, manufacturing, energy and utilities, healthcare, buildings and infrastructure, open industry, blockchain and AI. The latter two have their own monographic forums: Blockchain Solutions World (BSW)and AI & Cognitive Systems Forum (AI & CS) with the aim of deepening these two technologies that enhance and reinvent the internet of things capabilities.

The list of over 300 speakers includes American analyst Joe Barkai and directors of major technological companies such as ABB, Dell, Ericsson, Google Cloud, Huawei, IBM, Hitachi, Microsoft, SAS, Wipro, Fiware, Honeywell, Amazon Web Services and Thingstream, as well as companies that use IoT solutions, such as Hugo Boss, Uber, Airbus, Sanitas, Carrefour Group, Daimler Motors, Ibercaja, Roca, SNCF Réseau, Maersk GTD and Brussels Airport.

IoTSWC will also host several sessions bringing together female leaders in the sector to address why it is crucial to attract and support women’s leadership in the industrial IoT sector, as well as promotion to management roles and gender equality.

The programme of activities is completed by four technology workshops to provide deeper knowledge on the fundamentals of AI, digital transformation, connected transport as well as about start-up companies in the IoT ecosystem. Participants will receive an official certificate from IoTSWC and the Industrial Internet Consortium. The training programme includes more than 25 events organised by companies and entities in the sector within the framework of the event.

The IoT Solutions Awards will be held on 30 October, an event which is convened annually and which recognises the best innovative technology, business transformation experience, success story in industries and the best testbed of this edition.