by Gary Mintchell | Jun 19, 2025 | Robots, Software
Everyone wants to be NVIDIA’s best friend. This friendship focuses on the world of robotics and simulation. In brief:
Flexiv launches the Flexiv-Isaac Bridge App, empowering developers to design, test, and deploy force-controlled robotics applications in hyper-realistic virtual environments.
The interesting thing is the force-controlled part. I remember an application I wrote about a few years ago where the developer of a robotic prosthetic arm had a design goal of being able to pick up a grape with squishing it. I watch these technologies closely anticipating even greater use cases that will help us all.
Flexiv announced release of the Flexiv-Isaac Bridge App, bringing high-fidelity force-control simulation to NVIDIA’s Isaac Sim. This partnership enables robotics developers and end-users to program, model, test, and deploy complex force-controlled, AI-empowered robotics applications in simulated environments that closely mimic contact-rich real-world conditions.
To highlight this new capability, Flexiv’s engineering team released a video in which a simulated Rizon 4 robot completed the classic Tower of Hanoi puzzle in Isaac Sim. The simulation exactly replicated the robot’s real-world movements and showcased its force-controlled “hole search” and compliant movement capabilities. This underscores Flexiv’s commitment to minimizing the sim-to-real gap to improve training, programming, and operational performance. Additionally, this demonstration emphasizes Flexiv’s drive to ensure seamless compatibility with one of the world’s most widely used virtual robotics platforms.
Isaac Sim enables developers to build hyper-realistic, detailed virtual environments, while Flexiv’s Elements programming system allows robotic applications to be effortlessly programmed and refined. With the Bridge App connecting these tools, customers are empowered to create applications, build digital twins of their facilities, design mission profiles, and run high-fidelity virtual tests before deploying robots in real-world scenarios. These simulations provide valuable insights into application performance, risk assessment, and operational efficiency.
By leveraging both Isaac Sim’s ability to generate real-world simulations and Flexiv Elements’ support for simulating real-world force-based actions, Flexiv aims to accelerate the application development cycle. With developers now able to refine robot movements and iteratively test applications from anywhere in the world, development costs can be significantly reduced, while remote support can ensure greater reliability in real-world deployments.
In its continued commitment to community-driven innovation, Flexiv has made its Tower of Hanoi codebase freely available on GitHub. This initiative encourages developers, academics, and customers to build upon Flexiv’s work, fostering a collaborative ecosystem that promotes creativity and customization.
By combining force-controlled robotics and effortless programming with NVIDIA’s cutting-edge simulation tools, Flexiv is revolutionizing development workflows. This leads the way toward safer, smarter, and more adaptable robotic systems that transform both application development and human-robot interaction.
by Gary Mintchell | Jun 18, 2025 | Security, Services
Speaking of Honeywell from yesterday’s post, here is another release, this one from their User Group meeting that are, of course, announcing AI use cases. They bring in another buzz word from the automation market—autonomy.
Announcements include:
AI-enabled cybersecurity solutions—Honeywell Cyber Proactive Defense and Honeywell OT Security Operations Center.
Expansion of the Honeywell Digital Prime platform to encompass an enterprise-wide set of solutions that effectively test and modify engineering projects before implementation.
Some details:
- Honeywell Cyber Proactive Defense, which is designed to enhance cybersecurity for industrial environments by proactively identifying and mitigating potential cyber threats before they manifest into attacks. By utilizing AI and behavioral-based analytics, the solution helps detect anomalies in OT cyber behavior by establishing a comprehensive baseline of system operations and then provides actionable insights designed to strengthen OT cyber defenses. The software also features deception technology, which uses decoys within the network to help divert attackers from valuable assets.
- Honeywell OT Security Operations Center, a vendor-agnostic and agentless service designed to provide industrials with advanced capabilities tailored to OT environments to monitor for early signs of a cyberattack. The offering integrates on-site incident management services, providing a 24/7/365 holistic view of the cyber threat landscape for users.
- Honeywell Digital Prime Ecosystem, which now features three core Honeywell offerings – Solution Enhancement Support Program (SESP), Enabled Services and Assurance 360 – in one platform. Through consolidation, users can now leverage deep domain knowledge to optimize control systems and improve maintenance and operational effectiveness across an entire organization. It will also offer near real-time performance insights that can help users achieve desired outcomes more quickly, while requiring less reliance on the technical expertise of an experienced workforce.
Honeywell Cyber Proactive Defense and OT Security Operations Center are now available globally. The expanded version of the Honeywell Digital Prime ecosystem will be available to customers in Q4 2025.
by Gary Mintchell | Jun 17, 2025 | Security
Cybersecurity companies have specialized in reports over the past few years. Some are merely surveys. Journalists and marketing people love surveys. I had a graduate level class on those things including statistical analysis. I’m not so sanguine. On the other hand, some reports are based on these companies looking into their scrubbed data looking for trends. To develop this report, Honeywell researchers analyzed more than 250 billion logs, 79 million files and 4,600 incident events that were blocked across the company’s global install base.
This one holds forth some interest.
In a growing wave of sophisticated cyber threats against the industrial sector, ransomware attacks jumped by 46% from Q4 2024 to Q1 2025, according to Honeywell’s 2025 Cybersecurity Threat Report. The research also found that both malware and ransomware increased significantly in this period and included a 3,000% spike in the use of one trojan designed to steal credentials from industrial operators.
We should not be surprised given all the international turmoil and state actors at this time. When the Russia/Ukraine conflict is settled, we’ll likely see more criminal activity.
Here’s the obligatory quote in every press release.
“Industrial operations across critical sectors like energy and manufacturing must avoid unplanned downtime as much as possible – which is precisely why they are such attractive ransomware targets,” said Paul Smith, director of Honeywell Operational Technology (OT) Cybersecurity Engineering, who authored the report. “These attackers are evolving fast, leveraging ransomware-as-a-service kits to compromise the industrial operations that keep our economy moving.”
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) in the United States defines incidents as substantial if they enable unauthorized access leading to significant operational downtime or impairments. Industry reports show that unplanned downtime, caused by cybersecurity attacks and other issues like equipment failure, cost Fortune 500 companies approximately $1.5 trillion annually representing 11% of their revenue.
Survey finding:
- Ransomware still on the rise: 2,472 potential ransomware attacks were documented in the first quarter of 2025, which represent 40% of the annual total from 2024.
- Trojans exploiting industrial access: A dangerous trojan targeting OT systems – W32.Worm.Ramnit – accounted for 37% of files blocked by Honeywell’s Secure Media Exchange (SMX). This finding points to a 3,000% spike in the trojan compared to the previous quarter.
- USB based threats persist: 1,826 unique USB threats were detected via SMX in Q1 2025, with 124 never-before-seen threats – indicating a persistent risk via external media and USB devices. This built on a 33% increase in USB malware detections in 2023, following a 700% year-over-year surge in 2022.
The report expanded its analysis to include threats delivered through additional plug-in hardware – known as Human Interface Device (HID) – including mice, charging cords for mobile devices, laptops and other peripherals often used when updating or patching software for on-premise systems.
by Gary Mintchell | Jun 16, 2025 | Networking
Digi International had been one of two primary sources of serial-to-Ethernet converters. Then they went dark for years. They’ve returned to the public lately with a number of press releases. This one continues industry trends of enabling remote workers and security.
Digi International announced the launch of a full-suite solution for industrial infrastructure management, combining the new Digi Axess mobile app with the Digi Axess VPN Service for 24/7 secure industrial infrastructure access.
Designed specifically for field teams in industries such as oil and gas, water, wastewater, and irrigation, the Digi Axess mobile app enables instant oversight and rapid response, all from a mobile device.
- Instant configuration: Adjust sensors in seconds
- Instant alerts: Respond fast
- Mobile troubleshooting: Fix issues on the go
- Enterprise-grade security: Stay protected
- Always-on access: No more desktop dependence
The Digi Axess VPN service offers secure, scalable connectivity without reliance on public static IPs. Optimized support for the Digi Z45 Industrial Controller — minimizing risk and maximizing uptime.
- No public static IPs: Reduced cybersecurity exposure
- VPN tunnel failover: Stay connected
- Scalable + cost-effective: Deploy remotely with ease
by Gary Mintchell | Jun 11, 2025 | Process Control
Just as I was wondering about anything new in process control, this release about Yokogawa releasing its next-generation CENTUM VP Integrated Production Control System came my way.
They say that this celebrates the 50th anniversary of the announcement of the world’s first distributed control system and 10 generations of the current iteration.
Yokogawa Electric Corporation (TOKYO: 6841) announces the unveiling of the next-generation Release 7 concept and the launch of Release 7.01 of the CENTUM VP integrated production control system, a core product in the OpreX Control and Safety System lineup. This is the 10th generation of the CENTUM series, and its release coincides with the 50th anniversary of the announcement of CENTUM as the world’s first*1 distributed control system (DCS), on June 19, 1975.
Yokogawa has based its development of CENTUM VP Release 7 on the concept of enabling autonomous operations. With CENTUM, Yokogawa is helping its customers attain sustainability by improving energy efficiency, accelerating decarbonization, and providing a safe and secure working environment. While maintaining the reliability, stability, continuity, robust security, and comprehensive engineering and service network that have been hallmarks of the CENTUM series since its inception, Yokogawa adds the following three areas:
1. Expanded scope of control and monitoring—By securely aggregating a wide range of data scattered throughout the plant, the status of the entire plant can be monitored, and the scope of automated operation can be expanded, enabling safer and more secure operations.
2. Predictive monitoring through process condition monitoring—By extracting and identifying process-specific events related to operations and predicting deviations from expected values, operators can anticipate changes and take action, helping to achieve more stable operations and improve energy efficiency.
3. Reduction of operator workload—By presenting future scenarios that leverage operator knowledge and know-how, it supports the operator in making accurate decisions. In addition, autonomous control AI*3 can take over from operators to achieve long-term stable operation. This reduces operator workload and mental stress.
Main Features of Release 7.01
1. Enhanced security—This release adopts industry security benchmarks to strengthen the cybersecurity of the components that make up control systems and enhance the overall security level of the system.
2. Expansion of control and monitoring scope with CENTUM—By integrating OPC Unified Architecture (OPC UA) connectivity, the range of plant equipment and devices that can be controlled and monitored by CENTUM is expanded. In this update, OPC UA client functionality has been added to CENTUM.
3. Enhanced engineering capabilities for large-scale projects—To promote operational optimization by integrating various systems within the plant, a feature has been added that allows the merging and testing of multiple engineering databases related to CENTUM. This enhancement will enable high-quality and efficient engineering, contributing to the rapid startup of new plants and restart of upgraded plants.
by Gary Mintchell | Jun 6, 2025 | Automation
I am no longer a favored person by Emerson. But, then, I really don’t care to travel as much as I once did. Plus, the technology evolution and applications have slowed. If you haven’t seen any reports from the latest Emerson Exchange users group, I recommend this from my old friend Jim Montague at Control magazine.