Robotics insights The next stage in the evolution of robotics is mobility and autonomous operation. Modular individual transport (MIT) systems and automated guided vehicle (AGV) systems help manufacturers become more flexible and abopens up a new range of opportunities for manufacturing companies. Over the years, robot technology has improved in many ways – with increased payloads, […]
OEM digital transformation insights Manufacturing original equipment manufacturers can add value by providing service digitization for installation, repair, maintenance, remote service, spare parts and product improvement. OEMs can go to market more quickly with equipment and services by applying digital transformation, open standards and more intelligent controls, decoupling hardware and software and adding interoperability. In […]
Industrial wireless insights LoRa Alliance discussed advances in its LoRaWAN wireless standard along with technical specifications, recommendations and other progress. IDTechEx reviews 6G technologies, bands and possible solutions to 6G wireless technology challenges. An expansion of the LoRaWAN standard for the Internet of Things (IoT) low-power wide-area networks (LPWANS) was among highlights in the LoRa […]
DCS insights When it comes to distributed control system (DCS) upgrades, companies need to become more flexible and smarter in their overall approach because production is getting faster and more sophisticated. This is a challenge because a DCS is a closed system and does not take to upgrades easily. Embracing concepts and technologies such as […]
Analytics insights Sustainability has been recognized as an area of significant importance in the process industries, but many organizations face challenges accessing and connecting data from siloed systems. Advanced analytics software provides process manufacturing organizations with the power of a single platform to enable company-wide learning, best practice dissemination, and collaboration. In the expanding realm […]
Digital communication insights Digital communication has exploded in the last few decades and the trend will continue as hardware and software advances continue happening. Machine learning (ML), deep learning, cryptography and other advanced algorithms can be implemented into so many devices. Digital technologies have evolved in the past 20 years, and things that were unconceivable […]
Control Engineering top 5 articles online about DCS and SCADA posted over the last year covered SCADA migration, DCS changes, the top 10 modern SCADA system features and more. Also: See additional DCS and SCADA stories here. 1. HMI/SCADA systems: Upgrade your migration When upgrading human-machine interface (HMI) and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) […]
Obsolescence Insights To upgrade and separate the equipment, five systems controlled by a central PLC needed to be migrated to either ControlLogix or CompactLogix and have all communication transitioned to Ethernet. The team needed to map the three decades of piecemeal undocumented upgrades that were currently keeping systems operational. The largest system consisted of a […]
Edge computing insights Edge controllers provide computing and advanced communications capabilities, but may be too complex or expensive for smaller applications. Modern programmable logic controllers (PLCs) go beyond the real-time control of legacy PLCs, with edge computing features that can support data gathering and analytics needed for more flexible production and greater efficiency. More than […]
The Association for Advancing Automation (A3) announced two longtime industry leaders as the winners of the 2023 Joseph F. Engelberger Robotics Awards, the world’s most prestigious robotics honor. They will be honored on May 24, 2023, during the Automate 2023 show in Detroit. Roberta Nelson Shea, global technical compliance officer, Universal Robots, was selected as the […]