可以说是今年最大的兴奋Liveworx活动，本周在波士顿举行PTC的宣布ThingWorx 8的公告，这是其工业互联网（IIOT）平台的最新版本。但是，PTC高管们竭尽全力清楚地表明：它不再只是一个平台。除了扩展的平台功能外，ThingWorx 8还包括特定角色的应用程序，合作伙伴和客户的生态系统，更广泛的教育计划以及新的服务产品集合。
但是，该平台本身已经采用了更多的本地功能，包括对工业连通性的支持，对领先的云提供商的更深层云支持以及异常检测。PTC产品和市场战略执行副总裁凯瑟琳·米特福德（Kathleen Mitford）说：“它汇集了我们过去几年中我们已经进行的收购。”
PTC一直在忙于收购公司以获得重要的技术和能力，其中一些是最新版本的ThingWorx的关键。Thingworx本身是在2013年底获得的，将PTC定位为新兴IIT市场的主要参与者。PTC于2014年7月购买的Axeda技术将机器和传感器安全地连接到云。Coldlight于2015年5月收购，为发行提供了大数据机器学习和预测分析。
The most recent acquisition—Kepware Technologies—was completed at the beginning of 2016. ThingWorx 8 is the first time that Kepware has become an integral part of the platform, providing the native support for industrial connectivity, Mitford noted.
PTC战略营销副总裁Rob Patterson表示，尽管Kepware技术将继续在市场上分别出售，但ThingWorx工业连接的推出将使平台变得更加容易。
Anomaly detection—a result of the ColdLight acquisition—is not new to the ThingWorx platform, but the ease with which it can be deployed is. “We’ve made it very, very easy for any developer to place anomaly detection on a data stream coming into ThingWorx,” Patterson said. “What we’ve done now is made this a simple checkbox, and then that data stream has anomaly detection. We’re able to use some pretty sophisticated artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies to understand the data stream and what that normal heartbeat looks like. Then we channel the anomalies back to users. It builds a model of what that heartbeat looks like for every individual data stream.”
The augmented reality (AR) technology from Vuforia, acquired in late 2015, also plays a significant role in ThingWorx 8. It’s the core of ThingWorx Studio, which now supports native authoring and publishing of AR experiences for Microsoft HoloLens. ThingWorx Studio is a codeless authoring environment that enables content creators to quickly create, deploy and consume AR experiences. With ThingWorx Studio in ThingWorx 8, content creators and developers can use the codeless AR development capabilities of ThingWorx Studio to quickly create experiences for the Microsoft HoloLens.
AR本周一直是LiveWorx的热门话题，其中有几种用于制造的用例。帕特森说：“我们现在是AR游戏中的顶级玩家之一。”“对于任何数量的公司，它仍然引起人们的极大兴趣。”
ThingWorx超越其核心平台功能的重要方面是引入基于角色的制造应用程序，这可以帮助公司在IIT投资中迅速找到价值。米特福德说：“我们使用应用程序的整个目标是帮助我们的客户更快地珍视。”
As Howard Heppelmann, divisional general manager for manufacturing solutions at PTC, noted, the apps were built around three roles: the control engineer, plant manager and maintenance engineer. “We look at use cases to see what manufacturers customize,” Mitford explained. “Then we take those common customization areas and build them into high-value apps.”
ThingWorx Manufacturing应用程序可以迅速部署，提供基于角色的情报，以实现主动，更快的决策，允许无编码应用程序可扩展继续创新，并可以在一个小时内免费下载并在生产中部署。ThingWorx控件顾问是用于远程监视和故障排除机器连接。ThingWorx Asset Advisor旨在实时监视物理资产，自动检测异常，并触发警报以提高效率和质量；ThingWorx生产顾问提供了实时可见性，并洞悉生产线的性能和状态。
ThingWorx 8将于6月8日在市售。作为发行版的一部分，PTC客户成功已推出了新服务，以帮助公司在船上并迅速部署Thingworx。这些服务是客户成功组织的全面咨询，实施，采用，支持和成功管理服务的一部分，以加速ThingWorx的价值。
