IBM today announced that several new European clients have selected IBM Watson Internet of Things (IoT) technologies. New contracts signed with Spanish electricity grid operator Red Eléctrica de España, Italian elderly care provider Cooperativa Sole, Dutch telecommunications operator Tele2 and Israeli manufacturer of smart air conditioning Electra Group are examples of IBM’s commitment to transforming business and improving operations with the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enabled, IBM Cloud-based Internet of Things (IoT) technologies.
Red Eléctrica de España has selected IBM Watson IoT technologies as part of its Intelligent Asset Management initiative project. The electricity system operator’s objective is to plan and optimize the maintenance and replacement activities of their strategic transmission assets (like substations and transmission lines) with the support of the IBM Watson IoT platform. With an IoT analytics solution that is designed specifically to help Energy and Utilities improve asset maintenance and utilization, a team from IBM Global Business Services (GBS) has begun implementation of the platform and is working in unison with REE to develop asset degradation models and design optimization plans specific to the electricity system operator’s requirements. IBM’s technology and industry expertise combined with Red Electrica’s innovative project vision and knowledge will allow REE have a better management of their assets, resulting in operating efficiency optimization.
Sole Co-operativa has implemented IBM Watson IoT at Oasi Serena, its residence in Rimini, Emilia-Romagna on Italy’s Adriatic Coast. In a pilot project, a variety of ambient and wearable sensors that detect the motion, location and more of each resident have been installed throughout the facility, collecting and analysing data that is turned into insights which are used to alert nursing staff in real-time when residents’ daily activity deviates from the norm. This way, nurses can easily prioritise visits to residents who are in urgent need of assistance, day and night. The IoT-based solution has already increased operational efficiencies by 15-20%, with caregivers increasingly more able to focus on core tasks. In addition, these new data insights enable Sole Co-operativa to reduce risk factors and improve personalized patients’ assistance.
Tele2 Netherlands recently announced Mijn Tele2, a self-service app for its customers, powered by IBM Watson Assistant, in line with their aim to focus on client centricity. In addition to browsing for answers on the Tele2 website, its customers can now ask the Mijn Tele2 app questions about their account, mobile plan, data usage and allowance as well as upgrades through a chat function that is available in the Dutch language. MijnTele2 offers clear and quick answers and over time, with built-in machine learning functionality, the app gets even smarter: the more you ask, the more it learns. This service has been implemented after a pilot that showed that 82% of the users embraced the new way of navigating within the MijnTele2 app.
Electra Group is collaborating with IBM to create smart air conditioning solutions, which incorporate Watson IoT technology. IBM Watson IoT enables Electra’s customers to connect to their air conditioning units and control them when at home or remotely, via a bespoke mobile app that was created and is maintained by IBM. Additionally, Watson IoT technology enables Electra to perform maintenance checks on its smart air conditioning solutions to both detect defects and predict potential malfunctions, which results in time savings and cost efficiencies for the consumer goods manufacturer.
“IBM announced a $3 Billion USD investment globally to bring AI and the Internet of Things to market together in 2015,” said Bret Greenstein, Global Vice President of IBM Watson Internet of Things Offerings. “By bringing together the IoT with Watson AI, IBM is delivering on that investment and leading a global movement around IoT, not only helping clients make sense of exponential volumes of data from millions of connected devices, but also by helping clients to explore new business models, create service excellence, transform their industries and eliminate inefficiencies.”
