by Gary Mintchell | Mar 17, 2023 | Process Control, Sensors, Wireless
A couple of news items recently pushed my way from the foundation layer of the famous Purdue Pyramid. This one comes from Honeywell, a company that usually talks to me about software and sustainability. This release concerns transmitters for condition-based monitoring of rotating equipment. This is an important layer of data generation for the famous Industrial Internet of Things.
Honeywell March 8, 2023 introduced Versatilis Transmitters for condition-based monitoring of rotating equipment such as pumps, motors, compressors, fans, blowers, and gearboxes that provide relevant measurements of rotating equipment, delivering intelligence that can improve safety, availability, and reliability across industries.
These are a multi-variant instrument based on the low power, long range LoRaWAN protocol known for low power consumption and easy installation. Easy configuration is achieved through a mobile application over Bluetooth.
They can seamlessly integrate with Honeywell’s Experion HS and other SCADA or asset management platforms. When used with Honeywell’s analytics software, this technology can predict equipment failures such as asset imbalance, misalignment, and bearing-related issues before they happen, helping to reduce unplanned downtime.
by Gary Mintchell | Mar 16, 2023 | Automation, Business, Embedded Control, News, Robots
Rockwell Automation invests strategically in a number of ways. It made an investment in PTC mostly to have access to ThingWorx and input into other technologies. It also acquired outright Plex and FiiX that gave it inhouse cloud capabilities. This investment is in READY Robotics in order to better integrate the various control technologies—something ongoing for many years that still requires development.
This investment and technology development should help machine builders and users if all that integration lives up to the promise (as a former machine builder and user, I can’t help the mild skepticism, we always hoped it would work).
Rockwell Automation Announces Strategic Investment in READY Robotics and Collaboration to Streamline Robot Implementation
Rockwell Automation announced March 2, 2023 a strategic investment in READY Robotics, a pioneering company in software-defined automation and a Rockwell Technology Partner.
READY Robotics’ ForgeOS platform enables operators to control and program the most popular brands of robots from a single user-friendly interface with minimal training. Using Task Canvas, one of many useful ForgeOS Productivity Apps included with the platform, operators can quickly create new automation tasks with a powerful, no-code, flowchart-based interface.
Rockwell and READY Robotics have collaborated to integrate ForgeOS with Rockwell’s line of Logix controllers and design and simulation software. The combination will simplify robot integration and accelerate time-to-market of industrial automation deployments. Rockwell’s investment will foster continued development of the ForgeOS platform, support its integration with Logix, and accelerate adoption across the Rockwell ecosystem of system integrators and technology and channel partners.
“We are excited to work with READY Robotics to help further simplify the use of diverse robotic systems in automation solutions for our customers. Linking the intuitive ForgeOS software suite with Logix control, design, and emulation capabilities allows a broader range of businesses to implement these powerful tools and spend less time getting their systems up and running,” said Matheus Bulho, vice president and general manager, Production Automation at Rockwell.
“Historically, automation has been hampered by software silos between robot vendors,” said Ben Gibbs, CEO and co-founder of READY Robotics. “READY’s interface alleviates this issue, eases deployment, and enables automation where it might have been prohibitive before, especially in high-mix operations. Our platform enables programming and control of over 3 million compatible robots deployed today.”
by Gary Mintchell | Mar 15, 2023 | Business, Commentary, News
So, the court system is now tied up by a law suit about what a chicken wing is. [Disclaimer: I have not eaten poultry since I was about five. I have no personal experience.] It seems a guy visited Buffalo Wild Wings. He ordered their “boneless chicken wings.” They were not wings, he exclaimed, they are nothing but chicken nuggets.
So, he sued.
Silicon Valley is filled with ultra-wealthy “libertarian tech bros.” They don’t need government. Just leave us alone with our money. One of these is Jason Calacanis. I used to listen to his podcasts years ago, but I grew tired. By the way, this same Jason is one of his friend Elon Musk’s advisors on how to fire most of the people at Twitter.
But then a big “oops” in Silicon Valley. The favored bank of these investors got itself into trouble and looked to be tanking. I read a post from that same Calacanis—the government must step in and save our bank.
So all the kids who were duped into over-priced university “educations” should pay back their debts to the very last dime. But we billionaires should be bailed out by the government.
Take your pick on your politics. I don’t care. Only that you don’t just knee-jerk someone else’s opinion. But, when things turn around to bite you in the butt, remember this old folk wisdom:
What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.
by Gary Mintchell | Mar 14, 2023 | Business, News, Operations Management, Software
Leaving politics behind (oh, how I wish we could!), carbon reduction is simply good business, good engineering, good for us all. And many leading industrial technology companies are working on solutions. This announcement on March 7, 2023 is from Aspen Technology (aka AspenTech).
Aspen Technology Inc. announced a new emissions management solution that gives asset-intensive organizations the ability to pinpoint and act on key operational areas with the biggest impact on their emissions reduction efforts. The new solution features AspenTech Operational Insights, a proven decision support capability that unites, correlates, analyzes and visualizes data from across an organization for fast, confident decision-making on those critical areas affecting emissions.
AspenTech’s new emissions management solution consolidates customer data and leverages operational technology (OT) applications in the plant, the enterprise and the entire value chain into a single, dynamic visual interface. As a result, customers can make decisions with the benefit of a “single pane of glass” view for carbon emissions, margin and abatement. In addition, the real-time nature of the solution eliminates the wait to review time-sensitive data.
by Gary Mintchell | Mar 13, 2023 | Automation, News, Organizations, Technology
The entire scope of technology going under Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), Extended Reality (XR), Metasphere, and whatever comes next has been hyped beyond the Gartner Hype Cycle. That brings out the skeptic in me.
Many trade show demonstrators have fitted me with a variety of glasses, goggles, hoods, hard hats with goggles, and many I’ve no doubt forgotten. Cool demos, all. But real applications? Nothing has really caught on. This news from the Augmented Reality for Enterprise Alliance included some use cases. What do you think? Do you see using them in your plant?
Well, maybe someday.
The Augmented Reality for Enterprise Alliance (AREA) published a new research report entitled 3D Mapping Solutions for Enterprise AR announced March 6, 2023. The new AREA research report reviews 3D mapping technologies and principles and defines parameters for choosing a 3D scanner for a specific use case.
3D models or point clouds can lower the cost, time, and developer training to view an object or environment with AR information such as instructions, warnings, or routes overlaid on the physical world. Despite its relatively young presence in the enterprise sector, AR technology has rapidly evolved into a powerful tool with broad versatility and a thriving community of experts.
AR technology is already being leveraged with 3D mapping data to provide strategic tools for site planning, instructional guidance, or real-time navigation. As AR technology advances, so will its capabilities to leverage 3D mapping data.
