The amount of activity in the robotic sector continues to amaze me. Companies continue to exploit the power of partnerships to extend applications rather than trying to invent it all themselves (most companies don’t have that sort of funding to invest in extensive R&D). This news brings Comau, a Stallantis company, and RoboDK, a spinoff from the CoRo laboratory at ETS University of Montreal. I can remember Comau from my earliest trips to the Robot Show in Detroit in the 80s.
The news is that the latest version of Comau Roboshop Next Gen software now fully integrates with RoboDK robotics simulation and offline programming.
Comau users can now enjoy the benefits of RoboDK directly due to RoboDK’s integration into Comau’s Roboshop Next Gen software suite. This integration allows users to easily simulate and program robots using advanced CAD to path features, import 3D Models, detect collisions, integrate with external axes such as turntables and linear rails, support multiple robot cells in the same project, improved integration with CAD/CAM software and use advanced simulation features such as conveyors and grippers. This allows Comau robot programmers to easily use Comau robots for advanced manufacturing applications such as robot machining or 3D printing.
In addition to these technical benefits, the collaboration also introduces support for Realistic Robot Simulation (RRS), providing accurate path and cycle time estimates. This advancement aims to provide businesses with a clear understanding of robot behavior and precise cycle time details, ensuring more efficient and optimized robot operations.
Kevin Rose interviews Chris Dixon recently. Dixon provides a good overview of the current status of blockchain. I really haven’t heard much about that technology for years. A speaker at a Siemens event maybe five years ago extolled the future of pharmaceutical supply chain data through blockchain. That may have been the last I heard. Check out the podcast for an update.
Meanwhile, according to research from Global Data, “The blockchain industry, although volatile and nascent, has made significant progress in a short span of time, driven by remarkable innovation. Global blockchain platform and services revenue is set to grow from $12 billion in 2023 to $291 billion in 2030. This growth trajectory reflects a more delineated and specialized expenditure pattern, with specific areas such as asset tokenization, blockchain development, and infrastructure services serving as primary drivers of market expansion.”
GlobalData’s latest report, “Thematic Research: Blockchain,” reveals a pivotal shift from the technology’s broad, indiscriminate application to more focused, strategic uses. The industry is witnessing a quiet but steady increase in blockchain adoption, concentrating on its practical benefits. This trend is supported by a growing understanding that blockchain’s applicability is not universal and that a robust digital infrastructure is crucial for its successful deployment.
Generative AI is all the rage. When it hits all the main-stream media, though, it be already past its prime according to the Gartner Hype Cycle. NVIDIA chips power the GenAI surge. It takes a lot of compute and a lot of electricity to power this technology. Especially so when everyone wants into the act.
NVIDIA has announced some pretty good sales and earnings. Not one to let an opportunity pass by, It has recently inked agreements (all the companies expect to accelerate digital disruption, of course) with these industrial companies:
Hitachi Collaborates with NVIDIA to Accelerate Digital Transformation with Generative AI
Schneider Electric Collaborates with NVIDIA on Designs for AI Data Centers
Siemens and NVIDIA Expand Collaboration on Generative AI for Immersive Real-time Visualization
Rockwell Automation to Increase Scale and Scope of AI in Manufacturing with NVIDIA
October 2003. We had a couple of issues of our new trade publication, Automation World, out into the world. There were two user conferences the same week that month. Foxboro (Invensys at the time) held its meeting in Houston. Emerson Process gathered users in Orlando.
Co-founder Jane talked it over with me. “I’m more acquainted with Emerson, so why don’t I go there, and you go to Foxboro?” OK. I found myself in Houston while she was in Orlando.
TLDR—I was in the midst of product meetings when my phone rang. Jane. “You’re got to get here.” What? “They want to talk with you.” So, I found a department store in downtown Houston to buy a shirt and underwear. Online, I found a way to fly to Orlando and then back home from there.
Marketing Director Bill Morrison conducted a person tour of everything at the exhibit hall. And thus began a 10-year relationship with many really smart and nice (at least to me) people. And I saw a lot of technology development over those years along with increasing market reach.
And Berra is the only other man I’ve run into who also played Bellomy in The Fantasticks in community theater.
After he retired, I asked John if he would write a column for Automation World, which he did until the month I left the magazine.
Berra’s book takes a look at his career in control and automation with the stories of companies he worked for and how Emerson Automation all came together. The central theme looks at overcoming challenges (Giants) leaders will face and must overcome. It’s interesting for those of us within the industry. It is also useful information for new would-be leaders about how not everything goes smoothly and what to do about it.
Since I reported post 2003, I’d have liked more details. I understand he had to fit it into his theme, though. Even if you were an ardent Emerson competitor back in the day, it’s worth a read for the background of today’s market. And the leadership lessons are worth the price of the book.
MODEX is a material handling show, so it’s not surprising that robotics of various kinds should take a featured place. I’ve written about several lately. I have to say that ever since I was introduced to robots in 1984 that Schneider Electric is not a name that pops easily to mind when I think of the market segment. However, they introduced the Lexium Cobot (collaborative robot) last October and continue to work on it.
Schneider Electric announced the release of two new Lexium cobots (collaborative robots) at MODEX 2024, the Lexium RL 3 and RL 12, as well as the Lexium RL 18 model coming later this year. Controlled by Modicon motion controllers, which unify PLC, motion, and robotics control functionality on a single hardware platform and integrated into of EcoStruxure Machine Expert software, it offers a complete robotic solution.
Compatibility with EcoStruxure Machine Expert Twin, a digital twin software suite that creates digital models of real machines, allows for virtual test strategies and commissioning, as well as shortened factory acceptance testing (FAT).
Benefits of Lexium robotics and motion solutions include:
Fast deployment: Built on open automation standards and protocols, cobots offer flexibility, scalability, and easy third-party equipment integration. They can be easily applied to existing or new production lines in a variety of different industries.
Streamlined integration: Enhanced computing power, open software, and networking technologies facilitate quicker assembly, installation, and maintenance of robots. A centralized architecture with a unified programming platform using open standards promotes seamless interoperability among automation systems, machines, and robots.
Consistent output: Designed to handle repetitive tasks without errors or distractions, cobots can maintain Overall Equipment Effectiveness while manufacturing higher volumes of quality goods over shorter periods 24/7 without fatigue. This produces a consistent output with little variability over a given production batch.
Workplace health and safety: Cobots perform well in harsh environments and can handle riskier operator tasks involving heavy weights to reduce accidents and injuries.
I sincerely hope you are not tired of reading about generative AI, because that will be the news for the rest of the year as each company introduced it as part of their software solution. This one comes from Seeq.
Seeq unveiled the Seeq AI Assistant, a generative AI (GenAI) resource embedded across its industrial analytics platform. The Seeq AI Assistant provides real-time assistance to users across the enterprise, empowering them to accelerate mastery of the Seeq platform, build advanced analytics, machine learning, and AI skills and knowledge, and accelerate insights to improve decision making in pursuit of operational excellence and sustainability.
The Seeq AI Assistant provides organizations with the opportunity to further de-bottleneck their most precious resource – the people at the frontlines of their processes and decisions.
This paragraph is a bit confusing, but I think realistic. You can try out GenerativeAI and play with it, but as far as trusting—well, you’d better double check results.
GenAI is a type of artificial intelligence capable of generating new content, such as text, images, and code in response to prompts entered by a user. GenAI models are trained with existing data to learn patterns that enable the creation of new content. While GenAI is a powerful technology, it isn’t innately capable of generating information and guidance applicable within the complexity and context of an industrial production environment.
Completely biodegradable solution to replace conventional petroleum-based plastic bottle cap.
Material science plus manufacturability are providing some really cool sustainability products. One reason dire projections seldom come true—humans are problem solvers. It just takes longer than today’s news cycle to solve some of the problems. We will get there eventually. We always do.
This news comes from a company I’ve just heard about—Beyond Plastic, along with CJ Biomaterials and Techlong International.
Note: Previously I’ve written about PlantSwitch, a company producing plastic tableware from agricultural byproducts. Who’s next?
Beyond Plastic has introduced the first-ever completely biodegradable plastic bottle cap to hit the market. The closure is made from polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), a biopolymer created using bacteria fermentation. The new, eco-friendly cap looks, feels, and performs just like traditional petroleum-based plastic caps but brings transformative advantages — it’s recyclable, compostable, and biodegradable even in the most sensitive conditions. The Beyond Plastic bottle cap contains zero microplastics and causes no harm to the environment, unlike traditional plastics.
To make this vision a reality, Beyond Plastic has strategically partnered with two leading value chain giants to make this sustainable solution a success — CJ Biomaterials and Techlong International. “We are proud to be working with Beyond Plastic in the development of this game-changing bottle cap,” said Max Senechal, Chief Commercial Officer at CJ Biomaterials. “As a global leader in the manufacture of PHA, we are committed to introducing revolutionary, eco-friendly solutions to replace traditional plastics. This collaboration with Beyond Plastic is helping to transform the plastics industry with sensible, sustainable technology, and we’re excited about the progressive impact this will have on a commercial scale.”
PHA holds great promise as a solution to the plastic crisis, and greater adoption will necessitate extensive testing and experimentation. To date, integrating PHA into existing systems has not been a straightforward process. Adapting conventional equipment that is typically used for petroleum-based plastics to effectively accommodate PHA adds a layer of complexity.
“Providing a PHA resin is not enough, you have to be able to provide a full turnkey solution that includes the adapted machinery to work with the material as seamlessly as it would running traditional polymers. We approach this as a packaged and complete solution. We are thrilled to help Beyond Plastic on their mission, and we’re excited to see that with our equipment they’re able to make the right modifications that turn PHA into a real-world, viable solution for the marketplace, ” said Keith Boss, CEO at Techlong International, Inc.
“The success of commercializing PHA depends on many factors, one of which is having great partnerships with leaders that both support and promote your vision. That’s exactly what we’ve found with both CJ Biomaterials and Techlong. With their help, leadership, and knack for innovation, we’re poised to revolutionize the plastics industry, help businesses have a positive impact, and significantly reduce plastic pollution, creating a cleaner planet for generations to come — it’s a win-win-win scenario,” said Lance Collins, CEO of Beyond Plastic.
The Beyond Plastic bottle cap is made from polyhydroxyalkanoate, a biopolymer created using bacteria fermentation. The cap contains zero microplastics and causes no harm to the environment.
About Beyond Plastic
Beyond Plastic is creating a more sustainable and eco-friendly future using Mother Nature’s plastic. Our goal is to provide sustainable replacement plastic packaging options by pioneering the first 100% bio-based and 100% RCB — Recyclable, Compostable and Biodegradable — scalable solutions on the market. Beyond Plastic was established by Lance Collins, as a continuation project to Lance’s Carbon Negative ZENWTR beverage brand. The first water brand created using Certified 100% Ocean Bound plastic.
About CJ Biomaterials, Inc.
Headquartered in Woburn, MA, USA, CJ Biomaterials develops meaningful solutions that positively affect our planet, human health and well-being by addressing the challenges posed by plastic waste. The company invents and manufactures biopolymers and bio-based chemicals as part of a long-term vision to create a more sustainable future, by enabling true circular solutions that replace many non-recyclable, non-reusable and fossil fuel-based plastics and chemicals. CJ Biomaterials is a global leader in the manufacture of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs)–both polymers and associated basic chemicals. CJ Biomaterials, a business unit of CJ BIO, is part of CJ CheilJedang, a global lifestyle company with a vision to inspire a new life filled with health, happiness, and convenience.
About Techlong International Inc
Techlong International Inc is a worldwide leading supplier of equipment to the beverage industry. Customized to the needs of the customer our equipment offers the most adapted solutions, first-class product and sustainable packaging answers. Our Jeepine Compression Cap Manufacturing machines complement the other machines in our portfolio aimed at providing our customers with a turnkey bottling factory one-stop solution.
Are you the type of person who is known for getting things done? Is yours the first name that comes to mind when someone in the organization needs a report written or a light bulb replaced? Is “no” a seldom used part of your vocabulary?
In other words, do you always feel busy yet not accomplishing the work that would most boost your career or inner peace?
When you feel the need to focus on the things that really matter needing a way to say “no” more—or better stop being the name everyone thinks of first—then you need to dive into Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout by Cal Newport (author of Deep Work, A World Without Email, Digital Minimalism, So Good They Can’t Ignore You, and more).
We know what productivity is relating to our production and manufacturing plants. But knowledge-worker productivity cannot be readily defined.
Influenced through reading about the Slow Food movement in Italy, Newport thought about how our decades long obsession with productivity has led to what he calls pseudo-productivity—busy-ness just for the sake of appearing to be, well, busy.
He will show you a few calendar tricks to help you say “no” or at least something like “I’d be glad to help if you see where on my calendar I could get to it.”
How do I get to Slow Productivity?
Do Fewer Things.
Work at a Natural Pace.
Obsess over Quality.
If you do what you’re supposed to do and do it well, how can anyone complain?
Modular compute, switch, and I/O architecture enables interoperable standard for industrial PCs, PLCs, and distributed control systems.
Supports IEC 61499 and IEC 61131 for compatibility with a wide range of automation systems.
Hot-swappable modules can be replaced or upgraded while the system is running, minimizing downtime and maintenance costs.
I am trying to understand this one. Reading it for the third time, I guess the Open Process Automation Forum decided that one of its defined components among its “standard of standards” needed to be a standard. Although this “open, modular process control system” sounds eerily familiar. I hope it does help move the industry forward.
PICMG, the consortium for open hardware specifications, announced the release of InterEdge, a modular architecture for process control systems (PCS). The IEC 61499 and IEC 61131-compatible InterEdge specification promises to revolutionize the industry with an interoperable, multi-vendor alternative to proprietary Industrial PCs (IPCs), Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), and Distributed Control Systems (DCSs).
Given that the OPAF initiative was begun by ExxonMobil engineering leaders, this quote is informative:
“Business needs evolve at an ever-increasing rate,” said Francisco Garcia, Americas Regional Instrument Lead at ExxonMobil Technology & Engineering Company and member of the InterEdge technical working group. “InterEdge delivers an interchangeable base hardware standard for industrial manufacturers looking to adapt to changing business needs. As a result, providers can deploy and scale dedicated physical assets and focus on value-added software and services.”
And from the press release:
InterEdge defines a vendor-neutral, open standard for edge computing and I/O module hardware. It segments hardware into Compute Modules, Switch Modules, and I/O Modules. All of these modules are connected via a common backplane, enabling easy customization and expansion of industrial automation functions.
By replacing proprietary edge devices, InterEdge eliminates vendor lock-in, simplifies integration and maintenance, and enables online upgrades, all of which contribute to significant cost savings.
Sees Boundless Automation as Industry Inflection Point to Address Data Barriers & Modernize Operations
Advanced software-defined automation architecture to integrate intelligent field, edge and cloud, unlocking a new era of productivity
Global automation leaders convene to learn about Boundless Automation at Emerson Exchange in Düsseldorf
I seem have become sort of persona non grata by the new marketing regime at Emerson Automation group. However, I picked up this news from it’s meeting last month in Düsseldorf, Germany. I found this statement by automation President and CEO Lal Karsanbhai interesting. It reflects the underlying philosophy I wanted to address when Dave and Jane and I started Automation World back in 2003. The world requires suppliers to go beyond proprietary control and leverage all the data for higher level decision making.
“After decades of implementing evolving automation strategies, manufacturers recognize the need to extract greater value from data that is locked in a rigid and now outdated automation architecture,” said Emerson President and CEO Lal Karsanbhai. “The proliferation of data and the development of advanced software are moving us to an era of unprecedented productivity. Rich data and advanced software are converging to form the next major inflection point in the industry.”
Acknowledging the foundational problems we’ve identified for years, Emerson says it is “poised to transform industrial manufacturing with the next-generation automation architecture designed to break down data silos, liberate data and unleash the power of software with Boundless Automation.”
I applaud Emerson’s strategy, although I do wish it had been done along with the standards efforts of OPAF. But only a couple of competitors seem to be serious about that one. Further, I continue to find companies in my research still trying to break down the silos. I thought we had accomplished that 10 years ago. I guess not. We still have complex networks of Microsoft Excel spreadsheets and every department for itself on data definition and retention.
To address this challenge and help customers achieve their operational improvements, Emerson is introducing a vision and actionable strategy to push more computing power closest to where it’s needed and establish the blueprint for a modern industrial computing environment. This environment includes flexibility to deploy software across the intelligent field; a modern, software-defined edge; and the cloud. All three domains will be connected through a unifying data fabric, helping to maintain data context, improve its usability and increase security.
Emerson’s modern, software-defined automation architecture will break down hierarchical networks, securely democratizing and contextualizing data for both people and the artificial intelligence (AI) engines that depend on a continuous flow of information.
Here are the components within Boundless Automation:
Intelligent Field: An intelligent field will simplify access to more data from more sources and a greater diversity of applications. With smarter devices and new connection technologies like 5G and APL, customers can streamline both connectivity from anywhere in the world, and integration across the new architecture
Edge: The new OT edge creates a modern, secure, low-latency computing environment, putting new software tools and actionable data closest to its user. This enhanced edge environment establishes a platform for IT and OT colleagues to innovate and collaborate more than ever before.
Cloud: The cloud will power complex operations and engineering capabilities on-premise and across the enterprise by providing infinite analytical computing power, enterprise collaboration, attractive lifecycle costs and on-demand support and service.
