Articles and News

More observation improves accuracy and reduces error of all kinds in industrial and process industry applications.

By Carlos Millan, Oceaneering International For decades, automated guided vehicle (AGV) technology has delivered materials handling and logistics solutions to automotive companies. Automotive manufacturers, in general, have embraced the lean principles of advanced logistics and manufacturing solutions.

A forward decoupling algorithm can be used to cancel out MIMO interactions, making more traditional control methods applicable to complex systems.

By Nick Boughton, Boulting Technology Every plant has its unique lifecycle, which sees both equipment and employees evolve over time. This article explains the concept of virtual commissioning and its benefits when installing new plant equipment.

Legacy industrial devices are "insecure by design" and vulnerable to interruption from cybersecurity threats or unintentional network incidents. Risk is increasing as Ethernet networking becomes more

By Bill Lydon, Editor The HART (Highway Addressable Remote Transducer) protocol, adopted worldwide, provides digital signal and measurement data from smart field instruments in a wide range of control, monitoring, and automation applications.

Many factors come into play when selecting a new or upgraded control system, with careful consideration of each resulting in the best outcome.

OPC is a client/server protocol. The server has a list of data points (normally in a tree structure) that it provides. A client can connect to a server and pick a set of data points it wishes to use.

By Graham Smith, Curo Talent We’ve all heard of the wider IT skills shortage, but the lack of security skills in the industry is even more critical. This article explains the role of automation in IT security and how it could address the skills shortage.

All circuits to be worked on should be tested with a multi-meter prior to performing work to ensure that no voltage or current is present.

By Robert Glass, ABB Digitalization encompasses a transformation in the way industrial environments work. For the food and beverage industry, this means companies can better comply with legislation through a transformation in areas including connectivity, smart sensors, traceability, cloud computing and monitoring.

By Asael Sharabi, Emerson Automation Solutions Inventory is one of the most important assets of an organization, and its effective management is increasingly recognized as a key component of financial health and profitability.

The performance of conventional PID controllers in robotics falls short in applications which are nonlinear and uncertain. Almost all industrial processes are nonlinear and uncertain.

By Andrew Kling, Schneider Electric Hackers follow a process to launch an attack, and there’s a concurrent process for manufacturers to defend themselves from these attacks. By describing both of them, organizations can ensure they’ve addressed every element of their cyber risk strategy.

By Glenn Schulz, FDT Group and Katherine Voss, ODVA The following article describes efforts by the automation industry to develop next generation standards and technology, which enhance security throughout the lifecycle of industrial control devices in today’s connected world.

The best way to determine potential ROI is by tracking some vital key performance indicators or KPIs.

By Jonathan Wilkins, EU Automation A shocking amount of capital is tied up in inventory. Along with accounts receivable and accounts payable, inventory represents $1.1 trillion in cash – equivalent to 7 per cent of the United States GDP. This article explains the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in accessing this cash.

The output from a magnetic flowmeter is a linear signal that is proportional to the velocity of the flowing fluid.

The following article describes how ongoing technology developments by FDT Group will help optimize industrial organizations and their maintenance departments by enabling cloud-based enterprise data access, device diagnostics, mobility applications, and the use of augmented reality in asset management and predictive maintenance programs.

The following article describes how technology collaboration between two open, automation industry standards organizations is changing the paradigm for integrating control systems, applications and devices within a unified architecture – all aimed at optimizing information exchange throughout the industrial enterprise.