Innovating For The ERA Of Industry 4.0

The dawn of industry 4.0 has brought about dramatic changes in the way we live and how large enterprises function today. Manufacturing companies can now connect data from different systems for better analytics and Honeywell is well-positioned to support and drive this trend further with its ability to combine advanced software with physical products to provide value to customers across a wide variety of verticals. Honeywell Technology Solutions (HTS) Bangalore centre is uniquely positioned to drive the change with the deep domain knowledge expertise combined with fresh talent availability, says Akshay Bellare, Vice President and General Manager, Honeywell Technology Solutions India.

HTS is an integrated technology incubation, development and engineering arm of Honeywell which supports Honeywell’s four businesses-Aerospace, Home and Building Technology, Safety and Productivity Solutions and Performance Materials and Technologies, globally and in India. With a network of state-of-theart labs and Centres of Excellences, it helps to drive innovation at every stage of the product lifecycle right from product conception to technology development and insertion, design, engineering and all the way to delivery. Excerpt:

- Soma Tah

Could you tell us about a few interesting products/solutions, where HTS’ Bangalore centre played a major role in development?

HTS’ engineering teams are critical contributors to Honeywell’s technologies that serve many industries, such as homes and buildings, aviation, defense and space, oil and gas, and chemicals.

The Bangalore centre has developed a set of advanced technology solutions for aircraft which includes voice assistants for pilots, augmented reality displays, and 3D printed components in cockpits is helping make air travel safer and more efficient for both pilots and passengers. One interesting Connected Aircraft technologies developed in Bangalore, for India, and for the world is ‘Honeywell SmartView’ which unlike the conventional primary flight display that shows only the sky and land in 2-dimension separated by a line- projects a 3-dimension rendering of the world outside with terrain, runways, and obstacles. It’s a more intuitive and familiar way of displaying position information because pilots don’t have to cross-reference and interpret multiple 2D displays. It also guides pilots into the runway with helpful symbiology.

Another interesting Connected Freight tech is ‘Sensor Tag’ which helps monitor high-value and perishable goods in transit, to prevent damage, loss and theft. Each individual package can be fitted with inexpensive, singleuse sensor tags that measure temperature, shock, tilt, light and humidity and transmit readings to a communications gateway.

Similarly, there are some interesting Connected Plant technologies, such as Honeywell ‘Trace’ and ‘Terminal Manager’ have also been developed in this centre.

How customers are changing in the age of digital and how do you respond to such changes?