Innovation lab believed to be first Cloud native dedicated to IIoT

A new innovation lab based in central London is believed to be the UK’s first Cloud native facility dedicated to the manufacturing sector.

Launched by Cloud engineering company Storm Reply following a six-figure investment, the industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) lab has already been successfully used by Kingspan’s Insulated Panels division and wire joiner manufacturer Gripple to digitise production lines.

The lab allows manufacturers to test solutions and create proof of concepts off-site, by recreating a manufacturing line using a carousel or ‘mini line’. This helps avoid common disruptions during testing such as production downtime.

Unlike other manufacturing R&D facilities which rely on particular hardware or Software as a Service (SaaS), Storm Reply’s lab is entirely Cloud native and develops bespoke solutions solely using Amazon Web Services (AWS).

In launching the lab, Storm Reply partner Rachel Grunwerg said: “Stopping a line to test a new solution is problematic, so manufacturers understandably don’t like shutting down just to test. We’ve developed this off-site approach organically because we wanted our customer projects to be efficient. It benefits everyone to play out tests locally.”

The lab has a wide range of industrial IoT uses, such as producing line data across multiple sites to improve operational efficiency, and asset monitoring and predictive (AMP) which helps to detect equipment damage earlier. The lab’s team can also produce digital twins and embed computer vision in lines – a cutting-edge way for businesses to detect product defects using visual AI. 

“Previously manufacturers had to accept they don’t know how efficient their line is, or work on a gut-feeling that they’re at capacity – but data eliminates that guesswork,” added Matt Mould, partner, Storm Reply. “Manufacturers are understandably wary of being locked into tech solutions, or projects which take years. So, they like that the solutions we create aren’t Saas products, and that they’re owned by them not us. We’re just as happy working on a week-long project as a multi-year one, which global consultancies wouldn’t even consider.”

Storm Reply employs 30 tech and manufacturing experts at its London base on Victoria Street, Westminster.

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