Universal Robots becomes the first collaborative robot manufacturer to develop an educational offering that provides an Industry-recognized certificate. This enables the cobot leader to provide a comprehensive collaborative robot curriculum for students that now launches as part of the Universal Robots Program for Education.
As collaborative robots emerge as the fastest growing segment of industrial automation, cobot curriculum developed by an industrial leader is increasingly sought after in schools and manufacturing industries. “With the Education Program we’re addressing a tremendous need to provide cobot training as part of an integrated course,” says Joe Campbell, senior manager of applications development at Universal Robots (UR). “This hands-on learning initiative will be instrumental in addressing the skills gap and get state-of-the art cobots into classrooms, offering students instant employability and manufacturers access to an upskilled workforce.”
The Education Program provides a clearly defined pathway for students to master cobot programming and deployment as part of an Industry 4.0 career in robotics and advanced manufacturing. Schools can now purchase the ready-to-go package that includes the complete curriculum, a UR cobot arm, and the hardware and software required to build actual industrial applications.
Accelerates student access to cobots
The 32-hour course has been developed with assistance from Ritch Ramey, coordinator of RAMTEC, (The Robotics and Advanced Manufacturing Technology Education Collaborative) overseeing robotics training at the 24 Tri-Rivers career centers in Ohio, representing the largest, most comprehensive robotics education center in the nation. “Being able to offer a complete turnkey training program with an industry-recognized credential gives schools increased access to both private grants and government funding when bringing cobots into classrooms,” he says. “It will make all the difference in the acceleration of student access to a real industrial robot that is both safe to operate in a classroom and easy to use.”
Upon completion of the course work, a student receives 32 course credit hours and a Universal Robots industry-recognized certification. The course can be taught in high schools, dual-enrollment courses, and in colleges.
In addition to the formalized core curriculum, the Universal Robots Program for Education Package consists of:
UR Cobot Unit (UR3e or UR5e)
24 course licenses
Gripper Demo Kit
UR Academy Hardware Set
One conveyor assembly including conveyor, encoder, two sensors, and I/O simulation test box
Ten 3D printed training elements for exercises
One 3D printed dual TCP
Six 3D printed workpieces
For institutions that already have cobots, a retro package is available with course curricula, classroom support hardware and software.
This news is a bit old dating from the end of September. Last year during “normal” times, there was a lull of a couple of months in news of upgrades and new things. This year during “not-so-normal” times, I’ve been flooded with releases, conversations, virtual events, and even some work.
This release discusses another virtual learning program. This week I reported on advances in the Honeywell Process training technology and program. In the days when I was traveling, I visited the Emerson training center for updates on its virtual training program. And there have been others—Bedrock Automation, Inductive Automation, and more. This release begins with the tease-line “Pre-pandemic reports had virtual learning growth approaching $330B in the next two years (obviously, that’ll increase).”
Indeed, I’m encouraged at the advances. I first saw computer-based education ideas when I attended a National School Boards Association conference in the mid-80s while an elected school board member. As a geek, I was less-than-impressed. Things have improved.
This release is from the IT side of the Manufacturing Connection—IT company Neotys has implemented an on-demand, virtual training program with IT company and training innovator OrasiLabs.
Performance tester revamps education, delivery with Orasi’s cloud-based learning platform
Orasi, a DevSecOps innovator accelerating software application delivery and adoption through automation, unveiled momentum details from its virtual training engagement with Neotys. With OrasiLabs, the train anyone, anywhere, anytime cloud-based hands-on learning platform by Orasi, Neotys implemented a flexible, scalable, hands-on virtual learning experience that empowered Neotys to increase revenue, and deliver training to teams, customers and partners, for its performance testing solutions.
When COVID-19 mandated Neotys to adopt a remote workforce culture, Neotys needed to swiftly augment its traditional, in-person training approach with a modern, virtual, on-demand model.
“Neotys’ global, mobile workforce demanded a more flexible, superior education experience than Zoom-style environments, which always seemed to fall short of the hands-on learning required,” said Bill Nicholson, VP of Customer Success in North America for Neotys. “Given the constant evolution of technologies we ask employees to know, use and train customers and partners on, Neotys needed a virtual training platform that made it easy for instructors to facilitate learning for anyone, from anywhere, at any time.”
“Given the shift to working remotely, and the pressing need for organizations to quickly educate employees, customers and partners on ever-changing technologies, virtual learning industry growth is on the rise,” said David Hand, VP for Orasi. “Demand is high for collaborative learning environments that speed retention and productivity, while reducing the inefficiency and cost of traditional teaching methods.”
OrasiLabs is an AWS cloud-native, comprehensive learning lab to train and collaborate with groups of any size, in any location, with minimal manual effort. It enables companies to deliver the highest quality content without wasting time configuring complex training environments. Employees achieve maximum knowledge retention and rapidly apply what they learn.
“OrasiLabs was quick and efficient to implement, as each student employee, customer or partner needed only a computer and Internet connection to participate,” said Nicholson. “Security was fast to establish, quality content was simple to provide, and the advanced over-the-shoulder teacher/student collaboration feature allowed students to immediately absorb information and foster ongoing communication.”
OrasiLabs revolutionized how Neotys manages training and development worldwide, expanding Neotys’ ability to bring and sell performance testing products to the market. Neotys has seen an increase in positive feedback for virtual training as compared to in-person training and a consistent rise in student ratings since it started using OrasiLabs. OrasiLabs saves time, reduces overhead costs and automates processes to simplify the delivery of application training, and provides an enhanced learning experience for everyone. Visit https://orasilabs.com/free-trial/ for a 14-day free trial.www.orasilabs.com.
Orasi is a DevSecOps innovator enabling the acceleration, security and adoption of software applications through automation. Working with world-class partners, Orasi provides solutions and services that offer full lifecycle support and integration to ensure confident delivery of transformative applications. Headquartered in Kennesaw, GA, Orasi works with hundreds of global brands, including Fortune 500 companies, in a variety of industries. Orasi has been recognized multiple times as a “Top Workplace” by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. For more information visit us at www.orasi.comor at Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.
Neotys is a leading innovator in load testing and performance testing for Web and Mobile applications. It has nearly 15 years of development investment into NeoLoad – the performance testing platform designed to accelerate Agile and DevOps processes. For more information about Neotys or NeoLoad, visit: neotys.com or contact [email protected].
Maurice Ashley immigrated to a tough part of New York City from Jamaica and later worked diligently to become the first African-American chess grandmaster. Later, he became a teacher of chess to inner city youth. His passion for teaching shines strongly in his interview with Tim Ferriss. I listen to almost an hour of podcasts a day while I workout. Another of my favorites is Wednesday with Seth Godin on Akimbo. Recently quoting Nobel-prize winning physicist Richard Feynman as saying I don’t understand people now. They just want answers given to them. They cannot think things through. Seth also tells of an experience with straight-A students where he showed them a gadget and asked them to explain how it worked. They couldn’t. They all just got out notebooks and pens ready to write down the answer. I riff off these for my latest Podcast.
Companies once upon a time gave me copies of their software to play with and try. Software has become so large and complex over the past 20 years, that I haven’t been able to play with software for a long time.
Enter an interesting idea. Imagine a version of a powerful SCADA, HMI, IoT software that you, yes you, can try out at home. Build a home automation system. Do a bill-pay routine. Let your imagination take you places.
For, yesterday, Inductive Automation announced the release of Ignition Maker Edition. This new software platform gives people free, personal access to the industrial-grade Ignition by Inductive Automation. Ignition is an industrial application platform with tools for building solutions in human-machine interface (HMI), supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Ignition is used in virtually every industry, in more than 100 countries.
Ignition Maker Edition is free for non-commercial users and takes just three minutes to install. It enables people to bring innovation home, allowing them to easily create their own “control rooms” for personal use. “I use Ignition for my home automation system and to manage my bills,” said Travis Cox, co-director of sales engineering at Inductive Automation. “Ignition is an ideal tool because it connects to anything and gives me the flexibility to customize the solution the way I want it. And I can access it anywhere.”
Ignition Maker Edition is not intended for industrial, professional, or commercial use. It was designed as a free tool for hobbyists, students, and individuals wanting to familiarize themselves with the Ignition platform. It is cross-platform, and uses trusted technologies like SQL, Python, OPC UA, and MQTT — allowing users to connect to just about any kind of database, PLC, and device.
People can use it to automate the lights in their home, manage a personal weather station, or to build projects for other personal activities. The software is so flexible, it can be used to turn all kinds of ideas into reality. Users can add charts, tables, voice notifications, sophisticated logic systems, and more. Ignition Maker Edition gives users the power to create customized dashboards. Users can collect data, get real-time analytics, and manage multiple devices.
Ignition Maker Edition is nearly identical to Ignition and includes many of the same core modules that make Ignition so popular with industrial users. It includes the Ignition Perspective Module, which brings powerful new capabilities to phones and tablets. Other modules, also included, enable database connections, alarm notifications, OPC UA functionality, tag historian, reporting, and more. The software also supports MQTT modules from Cirrus Link Solutions.
Ignition Maker Edition is the perfect personal tool for those who use Ignition at work. “The same individuals who are using Ignition every day to optimize production lines, track energy usage, and monitor operating conditions can now apply all that knowledge to their personal projects,” said Colby Clegg, vice president of technology for Inductive Automation.
The release was announced today on Ignition Community Live, a weekly series of webcasts featuring Inductive Automation experts and special guests. A recording of the presentation about Ignition Maker Edition will be available soon at Inductive Automation’s Videos page and YouTube channel.
We might be on various types of stay-at-home orders globally, but companies continued to churn out new products and services for the industrial market. These cover the month of April. I’ve gotten behind, there has been so much coming out. These all deserve some time.
In this post:
ABB Launches Augmented Field Procedures
OPC Foundation Announces North American Director
Zebra Technologies Unveiled Results of a Field Service Study
Swift Sensors Releases Water-Resistant Power over Ethernet Bridge
Aveva Partners For Micro-Learning Service
ABB Ability Augmented Field Procedures
ABB has developed an augmenting technology aimed at digitalizing the field operator experience and improving interaction between field and control room operations.
ABB Ability Augmented Field Procedures will enable consistency when executing manual procedures, standardizing operating procedures and maintenance or repair techniques in the field, tightening field to control room integration and digitally recording notes to ensure operational knowledge is captured and utilized.
Unlike traditional paper-based operating procedures, the technology enables interactive execution of procedures using a mobile device to guide operators through each step in a consistent, effective, and safe way.
Operatives will be able to access hands-free, real-time data related to plant assets, processes or procedures using industrial tablets, smart phones and Microsoft HoloLens glasses, increasing real-time collaboration and enabling immediate data entry from the user interface in the field.
Created in collaboration with industry majors, the system can be used in any industrial environment, in greenfield and brownfield sites, for start-up, routine maintenance, and shutdown activities.
OPC Foundation Appoints Director of OPC North America
Michael Clark has been appointed Director of OPC Foundation North America. Clark will support OPC North American membership and function as a spokesperson for the Foundation throughout the region.
Looking for someone who can expand penetration into the process market, Clark is internationally recognized in the process automation sector for his expertise in Industrial Control System (ICS) fieldbus protocols. He also has been a contributor to the Open Process Automation Standard (OPAS) since its inception. He was Founding Director of BusCorp Inc., a Canadian-based consulting firm dedicated to design, implementation, commissioning, and training in the competencies of ICS networks and fieldbus systems. He has supported industrial sectors across the globe including, refining & upgrading, chemicals, food & beverage, gas exploration, offshore production, water & waste-water treatment, power generation, and nuclear remediation.
Zebra Technologies Studied Field Service Providers
Zebra Technologies Corporation announced study findings that reveal field service providers in the telecommunications and technical industries globally will increase the use of mobile technologies to optimize and transform workflows in the field.
The number of organizations that will implement predictive solutions as part of their mobile strategies is set to double in five years, according to respondents to Zebra’s three-part Future of Field Operations vision study on the telecommunications, manufacturing, construction, mining, and agriculture industries. Today, just 16 percent of organizations use predictive solutions to assign the right resource to the right task at the right time with the use of mobile devices, and this will jump to 32 percent by 2025.
“With increased focus on streamlining workflows and getting tasks done right the first time, service providers in the telecommunications and technical industries are increasingly equipping their front-line workers with mobile technologies such as rugged tablets, mobile printers and handheld mobile computers,” said Alex Cooper, Director of Government and Critical Field Service Strategy, Zebra Technologies. “Faster mobile connectivity, combined with purpose-built rugged devices and advanced applications, will enable enterprises to keep essential services uninterrupted, safe, and efficient.”
In the study, 76 percent of respondents from service providers say their field operation strategies now focus on mobile devices instead of desktops, especially with 86 percent agreeing that the availability of faster 4G and 5G networks will drive greater investments in new field operations technologies. The use of mobile devices will quickly boost productivity with 87 percent in the study indicating that they expect to see positive impact within the next year.
While the study indicates email (62 percent), real-time database access (60 percent) and dispatch management (57 percent) are ranked as today’s three most important applications, about nine in ten service providers plan to expand their use of remote monitoring and reporting as well as advanced analytics and machine learning as part of their mobile strategies over the next five years.
Swift Sensors Adds Water-Resistant Power Over Ethernet Bridge
Swift Sensors Inc., a supplier of plug-and-play cloud-based wireless sensor systems for Industrial IoT, has released a water-resistant Power over Ethernet (PoE) bridge for use in manufacturing plants, restaurants, and other spaces where water, cleaning solutions, and other chemicals come into contact with monitoring equipment.
“Many of our industrial customers have requested a water-resistant PoE bridge, specifically for use in wet and harsh environments,” said Ray Almgren, COO of Swift Sensors. “Our new bridge delivers a ruggedized and cost-effective IoT networking solution for applications such as industrial manufacturing, pharmaceutical manufacturing, food and beverage manufacturing, wastewater treatment facilities, refineries and restaurants.”
The Swift Sensors PoE Standard Bridge 1011 is built to withstand washdown procedures and exposure to chemicals. Key features include:
an IP54-rated dust- and water-resistant enclosure to protect against ingress from all directions.
a space-saving, mountable design and form factor used in Swift Sensors 1020 and 1030 bridges.
a single cable for power and ethernet to eliminate the need for additional hardwiring and to ensure a consistent power supply.
Compliant with Active 802.3af and 802.3at PoE standards for use in PoE systems.
256-bit AES enterprise encryption to deliver the same level of security found in all Swift Sensors bridges.
This strategic partnership with Axonify makes AVEVA the first leading digitalization company to deliver microlearning solutions for industrial operations staff. This is part of an overarching framework designed to help companies build competence, improve worker performance and drive behavioral change. The training program drives measurable outcomes for organizational competency needs, all enabled by three key aspects:
A single integrated platform from one vendor encompassing simulation for training with rich extended reality capabilities, and tools for designing learning and development programs
Flexible deployment enabling customers to choose cloud, hybrid, or on-premises implementation.
Harnessing of AI to fill knowledge gaps with personalized training.
For your personal development, I just finished and highly recommend a rather big (530 pages), but readable, book on thinking–Surfaces and Essences: Analogy As The Fuel and Fire of Thinking. The authors are Douglas Hofstadter and Emmanuel Sander. You may remember Hofstadter from an earlier book, Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid.
Don’t let the size scare you off. It is quite an enjoyable read packed with everyday examples and ending with the fascinating examples of mathematicians pursuit of solving quadratic equations and the development of Einstein’s thinking as he came up with his many theories that explained gravitation and mass-energy unity.
Analogy is the selective exploitation of past experiences to shed light on new and unfamiliar things belonging to another domain. Analogy-making is the lifeblood of cognition. It is also is the wellspring of creativity. As they explore analogy making, they touch on the education establishment’s tendency to believe in teaching things–especially science and math–with formal logic rather than analogy. This latter is ironic because so many advances in math are accomplished through analogy and not through formal logic.
This book’s summary of research and story of stories added to my knowledge and experience about how importance of story over lists of facts. Even in science and technology. Partly because sometimes what we take as facts really aren’t. I am betting that you all have developed new technologies or applications because you’ve visualized them first and then proceeded to search for the appropriate solution.
Go dive into the story. It’s fascinating…and life-changing.
