Driven by innovations developed for the Internet of Things and general computing, many industrial automation niches are experiencing signs of disruption. The question is: Is the industrial automation industry closer to a tipping point towards broad disruption when it comes to system architectures, software, and edge computing devices? Annually, Automation.com's Bill Lydon seeks to answer this question and more as he reports his Top Trends for 2020-2021. See what Bill says is shaping automation, control and instrumentation, and what is driving change into 2021.
Bill Lydon brings more than 10 years of writing and editing expertise to Automation.com , plus more than 25 years of experience designing and applying technology in the automation and controls industry. Lydon started his career as a designer of computer-based machine tool controls; in other positions, he applied programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and process control technology.
In addition to working at various large companies (e.g., Sundstrand, Johnson Controls, and Wago), Lydon served a two-year stint as part of a five-person task group, where he designed controls, automation systems, and software for chiller and boiler plant optimization. He was also a product manager for a multimillion-dollar controls and automation product line and president of an industrial control software company.