Industrial Internet Consortium and OpenFog Consortium Unite
Consolidation is the name of the game for the past few years in the automation and controls market. We’ve seen companies on the acquisition trail. Not limited to for-profit companies, industry alliances and organizations have been consolidating as well. A few years...
Rockwell Automation Acquires Emulate3D for Simulating and Emulating Industrial Automation Systems
Once I was involved in the design, build, and installation of automated assembly machines. I have a feel for how much time and money could be saved through simulation of industrial automation systems. Further, I’ve observed Rockwell Automation’s attempts at...
Beware The Expert
I just finished Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s study of randomness, The Black Swan. Yes, I know, even its update was several years ago. But if you have not read it, I recommend the book. Often my reading uncovers things in flocks. In this case, I’m coupling Taleb’s view of...
Cybersecurity Updates for Industrial Control
Discussing industrial technology while ignoring cybersecurity is impossible these days. I just saw a survey that contends CEOs are more worried about cybersecurity than recession. Note—I have been traveling for meetings and finally got my schedule together to post...
Podcast: Whose Manufacturing News Do You Believe?
A new podcast was released to your favorite podcast catcher. I review a recent New York Times opinion piece and responses. Why don't we all take the initiative to evangelize our profession?
Public Perceptions of Manufacturing
Experts using scare tactics in order to drive page views and notoriety get daily publicity talking about “robots” taking manufacturing jobs away from people. They never even dig deeply enough even to find the broader “automation” that they really mean. I’ve written a...
Autonomous Vehicle Technology Advances
A couple of interesting items came my way regarding autonomous vehicle technology. Every year sees better applications and more powerful tech. Then note in the releases X-as-a-Service applications. This idea just keeps expanding into more useful areas. AI-capable...
The Future of Work
Mechanization, automation, and eventually digitalization have improved the labor experience of humans for millennia. The first voices raising an alarm about the future was work was the rebellion against centralizing production--moving it from the craftsman's shed or...
Long Delayed Beckhoff Automation News from SPS
I’m finally catching up on news from past trips. I stopped by the Beckhoff Automation booth at SPS in Nuremberg last November and chatted for about an hour over all the displays. Here is a sampling. TwinSAFE: modular, scalable and distributed safety applications The...
Roll Your Own SCADA or Control Device?
One of the most popular posts on my Website every month for years (written in January 2016) is about Raspberry Pi and Linux for HMI/SCADA. One of my important news sources is The Information. It is a subscription-based news source—mostly technology news. I saw this...
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