The convergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT), called the Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT), is more than just a technological advancement. Driving a shift in the global economy, AIoT is fundamentally reshaping industries by enabling machines to sense, decide, and act autonomously.
The AIoT market is projected to surge from USD 5.09 billion in 2023 to USD 124.87 billion by 2033, growing at a 37.7% CAGR. AIoT is the present, solving tangible business problems with unprecedented precision.
Revolutionising multiple sectors: An industry-by-industry look at AIoT’s power
AIoT is a mission-critical enabler, directly addressing long-standing pain points and delivering significant business value across critical sectors:
- Water utilities: Aging infrastructure causes significant water loss and service disruptions. AIoT sensors monitor pressure, detect contamination, and predict pipeline failures in real time. This ensures sustainable, uninterrupted service and translates to cost savings and enhanced public trust.
- Benefit: Up to 30% reduction in water loss
- Oil and Gas: Equipment breakdowns in harsh environments lead to costly downtime and safety risks. AIoT enables predictive maintenance, gas leak detection, and automated drilling optimisation, enhancing safety and reducing operational disruptions.
- Benefit: 30–50% reduction in machine downtime
- Benefit: 20–40% extension of equipment life
- Pharma and healthcare: Stringent compliance and equipment inefficiencies strain operations, impacting product integrity and patient care. AIoT ensures cold chain integrity, reroutes compromised shipments, tracks vitals, and flags anomalies. This prevents spoilage, improves diagnostics, and enhances care delivery.
- Benefit: 15–25% reduction in pharma production facility energy consumption
- Cold chain storage: Temperature-sensitive goods are susceptible to spoilage and regulatory lapses. AIoT sensors detect irregularities, predict failures, and automate alerts, safeguarding food and pharma assets while ensuring compliance.
- Benefit: 10-30% reduction in cold storage system energy usage
- Agriculture: Unpredictable weather and suboptimal resource management reduce crop yields. AIoT-driven smart irrigation, soil monitoring, and drone-based inspections optimize inputs, boosting productivity and sustainability.
- Benefit: Up to 20% increase in crop yields while reducing water usage
- Livestock farming: Manual feeding and disease outbreaks impact animal health and efficiency. AIoT wearables and automated systems monitor vitals, detect illness early, and optimise feeding, improving animal welfare and lowering labour costs.
What’s missing in the industry today?
The current industrial paradigm often suffers from:
- Downtime, wasted resources, and compromised quality due to reactive approaches
- Obstacles to holistic insights and predictive capabilities due to siloed data
- Critical lack of widespread autonomous decision-making at the edge that necessitates human intervention
Way Forward: AIoT is building a smarter, safer, and more predictive future
A proactive, integrated, and intelligent solution that is currently underutilised across many sectors, AIoT is a strategic investment capable of delivering tangible ROI for:
- CEOs: AIoT offers enhanced operational efficiency, improved safety, and a distinct competitive advantage
- CTOs: Its benefits include significant reductions in operational costs, minimised downtime, optimised resource utilisation, and improved asset longevity
CEOs and CTOs must prioritise integrating AIoT into core operations and actively invest in AIoT platforms and expertise. The predicted surge in AIoT adoption from 1.4 billion active devices in 2023 to over 9.1 billion by 2033 underscores its rapidly expanding footprint. Embracing AIoT now is crucial for long-term profitability and resilience.