by Gary Mintchell | Nov 10, 2015 | Internet of Things, News
For those of you not attuned to developments in the business part of technology development (think Silicon Valley), various accelerators or other processes have developed to assist budding entrepreneurs. Here is one I heard about recently to accelerate (XLR8) development in the Internet of Things space.
The 2016 TechrIoT XLR8 is a six-month program providing best in class IoT companies of any stage with valuable resources to validate product engineering and design, assess market potential, access supply chain financing and connect with anchor customers and channel partners.
The TechrIoT XLR8 is a hybrid program that takes place both virtually (via online interaction) as well as via periodic in-person workshops in Denver, Colorado, over the course of a 6-month period.
Application and Evaluation Process -2 month application window, 2-week evaluation period
During a two month application period, applicant companies submit an introductory video of their company/product and answer a series of short questions online through the F6S.com platform. Submissions are qualified against an evaluation rubric hosted by Valid Evaluation through assessment of applicant companies on a range of subjects (ie. strength of management team, strength of market opportunity, previous fundraising traction, etc). Applications are then reviewed by a selection panel of IoT subject matter experts from around the globe during a 2-week evaluation period. An executive committee of this panel then selects 10 finalists for participation in the program and an announcement of participants is made public.
Now Accepting Applications here: https://www.f6s.com/techriotxlr8/apply
Applicants who are not accepted into the program receive a valuable report of how a number of IoT subject matter expert evaluators ranked them in each category of the evaluation rubric, identifying areas of opportunity to improve their application for future application windows.
Program Content
For finalists, specific content throughout the 6-month program is tailored to each company according to strengths and weaknesses identified in the application evaluation process. However, each company will participate in the following:
Phase One –Design Validation (8 weeks)
During this phase, participant companies will be mentored on product engineering and design quality. This phase includes valuable opportunities for in-depth, in-person interaction with global product design and engineering validation experts from within Arrow Electronics, a Fortune 150 global provider of products, services and solutions to industrial and commercial users of electronic components and enterprise computing solutions. With 2014 sales of $22.8 billion, Arrow serves as a supply channel partner for accelerator companies and brings technology solutions to a breadth of markets, including telecommunications, information systems, transportation, health and medical, industrial and consumer electronics.
Phase Two –Market Validation (8 weeks)
During this phase, accelerator companies will work virtually with the team at Innovation Pavilion, a national network of incubators specializing in linking emerging companies with global corporate entities, including Founder and Chairman Vic Ahmed, and a global network of IoT subject matter experts and mentors. Together, these mentors will work with companies to identify anchor customers and/or channel partners and tailor compelling value propositions and collateral material to attract them.
Phase Three –Customer Acquisition (8 weeks)
During this phase, participant companies will turn their focus to engaging with previously identified anchor customers or channel partners, again with the assistance of the 2016 TechrIoT XLR8’s mentorship network.
Phase Four – Demo Days (2)
The 2016 TechrIoT XLR8 culminates in a unique opportunity for the world’s best and brightest IoT startups—after completing a 6-month program of qualifying, validation and refinement—to pitch live in front of a room of potential customers and channel partners and investors ranging from angels and venture to private equity. These two critical Demo Day events, one in Denver and another in the Silicon Valley, will provide the ideal opportunity for participant companies to take their venture to the next level.
Key Dates
- Sept. 30 to Nov. 30, 2015 – Online Application Live
- December 1 to December 13 – Applicant Evaluation Period
- December 15, 2015 – Selection Announcement
- January 18th – Program Begins with a kickoff conference call for a program overview and assignment of “champions” for each company.
- January 19th to Feb 15th – Companies and Champions work independently to prepare
necessary documentation/demonstration materials to prep for meetings with Arrow and other Partners.
- Feb. 15th to Feb. 18th – Phase One In-Person Design/Engineering Validation Session with Arrow.
- Feb. 18th to April 15th – Companies and Champions work independently to incorporate
design/engineering validation feedback, update necessary documentation/demonstration materials to prep for work with subject matter expert mentors tailored to each company’s needs and stage.
- April. 15th to April. 18th – Phase Two In-Person Mentoring with Colorado-based or visiting
mentors.
- April 18th to June 14th – Companies and Champions work independently to incorporate
design/engineering validation feedback, update necessary documentation/demonstration materials to prep for work with subject matter expert mentors tailored to each company’s needs and stage.
- June 15th to June. 18th – Phase Three In-Person Presentations to Customers and Channel
Partners.
- July 15th – Demo Day in Denver.
- July 20th – Demo Day in Silicon Valley.
Call for evaluators and mentors!
Interested in qualifying and/or mentoring some of world’s best and brightest emerging IoT companies? Contact [email protected] for details.
by Gary Mintchell | Nov 9, 2015 | Automation, News, Technology
My grandson was asking about why can’t we build a better light bulb and design better batteries. He’s eight. If he keeps asking the big questions, he’ll have a good future.
I told him that there would always be problems to solve, that’s why we would need engineers and scientists. He asked, what kind of questions. I told him about the need to develop robots that could work with people. This technology will become increasingly useful to help an aging population cope with physical limitations. It will also help production when we (shortly) face a declining workforce.
I like to point to the work of Rethink Robotics. It recently announced that its Sawyer robot, the company’s second smart, collaborative robot designed for a wide range of factory environments, is available for purchase and is being deployed by manufacturers across the globe. Announced in March, Sawyer is a single-arm, high-performance robot created to handle machine tending, circuit board testing and other precise tasks that have been difficult to automate with existing robots.
Weighing only 19 kilograms (42 pounds), Sawyer features a 4kg (8.8 lbs.) payload, with seven degrees of freedom and a 1260mm reach that can maneuver into the tight spaces and varied alignments of work cells designed for humans. Its high resolution force sensing, embedded at each joint, enables Rethink Robotics’ compliant motion control, which allows the robot to “feel” its way into fixtures or machines, even when parts or positions vary. This characteristic enables a repeatability that is unique to the robotics industry, and allows Sawyer to work effectively in semi-structured environments on tasks requiring 0.1mm of tolerance.
Sawyer offers a unique combination of features that distinguish it from other conventional and collaborative robots, including compliant motion control, embedded vision with a built-in Cognex camera and Rethink’s Robot Positioning System, a component of the proprietary and industry-leading Intera software platform. Powering both Sawyer and Rethink’s first collaborative robot, Baxter, the Intera system makes deploying the robots far easier than typical industrial robots. While traditional robots typically take an average of 200 hours to program and deploy, Sawyer can be deployed in under two hours and can easily be trained by typical factory technicians – not roboticists.
Sawyer is purpose-designed for enterprise-level deployments, with a useful life of 35,000 hours of operation. The robot is IP54-rated, making it ideal for harsh factory environments. Since its introduction, Sawyer has been field tested extensively at leading manufacturers’ sites around the world, and is currently being deployed on production lines in many of those facilities.
The process improves the efficiency of the product line while allowing GE’s employees to handle the more dexterous and cognitive work needed to complete the task.
General Electric has been testing Sawyer over the past month and will deploy their first robot in a GE Lighting plant in Hendersonville, North Carolina. A prime example of true human-robot collaboration, Sawyer will be on a production line positioning parts into a light fixture as a GE employee completes the assembly. The process improves the efficiency of the product line while allowing GE’s employees to handle the more dexterous and cognitive work needed to complete the task.
“The ability to deploy a smart, collaborative robot like Sawyer provides a significant flexibility advantage to our production team, while still meeting our world class quality, precision and speed standards,” said Kelley Brooks, global advanced manufacturing & engineering leader at GE Lighting. “Utilizing this technology is an integral part of our Brilliant Factory initiative to connect all parts of the supply chain from product design, to engineering, to the factory floor and beyond in order to deliver customized LED solutions for our customers.”
Sawyer is also set to be deployed in Steelcase Inc.’s (NYSE: SCS) Grand Rapids factory, where it will work in tandem with the company’s welding machine. Sawyer will work to pick and place parts in pairs of two, enabling a completely autonomous welding process. The robot’s small footprint, long reach and higher payload capacity make it ideal for the Steelcase team. In addition to handling changes in parts and lines seamlessly, Sawyer’s IP54 rating allows the robot to work in manufacturing environments with liquids and particle hazards present.
“Having already deployed several Baxter robots successfully, we’ve seen the value that collaborative robots bring to the factory floor,” said Edward Vander Bilt, leader of innovation at Steelcase. “These robots are the game-changers of modern manufacturing, and Rethink Robotics is leading the evolving relationship between humans and machines that allow each to do what they do best.”
Sawyer is a significant addition to the company’s smart, collaborative robot family, which also includes the groundbreaking Baxter robot that defined the category of safe, interactive, affordable automation. Sawyer is available for purchase in manufacturing environments throughout North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.
“After announcing Sawyer in March, the worldwide demand we have seen for the robot has been overwhelming,” said Rethink Robotics President and Chief Executive Officer Scott Eckert. “Manufacturers around the globe understand that Sawyer opens the door for a wealth of new applications and opportunities to improve their business, and they are eager to get it onto their production floors.”
by Gary Mintchell | Nov 6, 2015 | Automation, Education, Operations Management, Workforce
Educating today’s young people both in essential skills required by modern manufacturing as well as on the careers available to them has become a strategic theme for technology suppliers and for manufacturers alike.
Phoenix Contact, a global technology supplier with US offices in Middletown, PA, has announced a partnership with a local community college to achieve just that.
HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College, has become the first American school to join Phoenix Contact’s EduNet program. EduNet is an international education network that brings together schools and industry in the field of automation technology.
Workforce Education
Phoenix Contact and HACC officials announced the partnership Oct. 5, 2015, during the dedication of a new automation lab at HACC’s Midtown Trade and Technology Center in Harrisburg. Phoenix Contact’s contributions through the EduNet program include donating equipment for the lab. This gives students hands-on access to several Phoenix Contact ILC controller and PROFINET starter kits, the same type of equipment they might use once they graduate and work on the manufacturing floor.
Instructors will also receive a curriculum and free training sessions throughout the year. This includes the opportunity to travel internationally to attend a conference where they can network and exchange knowledge with EduNet teachers from other countries. Registration for the conference is free, courtesy of Phoenix Contact GmbH & Co. KG, of Blomberg, Germany, while Phoenix Contact USA will help cover the cost of travel.
Phoenix Contact and HACC previously collaborated on other science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education initiatives. Most prominently, they designed and implemented a Mechatronics Apprenticeship program in 2011. Over a four-year period, apprentices simultaneously work at Phoenix Contact while pursuing an associate degree in mechatronics at HACC, at no cost to the apprentice.
In 2013, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Apprenticeship and Training Council and the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship recognized Phoenix Contact as an official apprenticeship and training sponsor and the first in the state to offer a mechatronics apprenticeship program. This means the program is available to any company that wants to start its own mechatronics program using the Phoenix Contact/HACC program as a model.
“As Central Pennsylvania looks to increase manufacturing jobs, STEM education is the keystone to developing a workforce with the skills to fill these jobs,” said Jack Nehlig, president of Phoenix Contact USA. “Our mechatronics partnership with HACC is a great example of STEM in action. To date, six students have graduated, and we have two more currently enrolled. We hope HACC is the first of many American colleges and universities who take advantage of the learning and networking opportunities EduNet can provide.”
Pictured in the group photo are (from left to right):
Patricia Marrero, Director of Organizational Leadership, Phoenix Contact Services; Jack Nehlig, President of Phoenix Contact USA; Daniel Koprowski, Mechatronics Technician Apprentice; Irvin Clark Ed.D., Vice President, HACC’s Harrisburg Campus; Tom Lepp, Instructor, mechatronics and electronics, HACC faculty member; David Skelton, Vice President. Phoenix Contact Development and Manufacturing; Jerry Wise, Technical Training Specialist, Phoenix Contact Services; Marian Roldan, Vice President Human Resources, Phoenix Contact Services; and Sheila Ciotti, Campus Associate Dean, Academic Affairs, HACC.
by Gary Mintchell | Nov 5, 2015 | Automation, Networking, News, Organizations, Technology
ODVA, the organization that develops and promotes networking protocols such as DeviceNet and EtherNet/IP, recently held its 17th Meeting.
ODVA’s Board of Directors for its 18th term are:
- Rolf Birkhofer, managing director for process solutions at Endress+Hauser,
- Thomas Bürger, vice president of engineering automation systems at Bosch Rexroth,
- Michael Höing, executive vice-president of cross divisional functions at Weidmüller Interface,
- Fabrice Jadot, senior vice-president for innovation and technology and CTO for the industry business of Schneider Electric,
- Tony Shakib, vice president of business development for the Internet of Things Business Development at Cisco Systems,
- Masaru Takeuchi, general manager of controller business and automation systems for industrial automation business at Omron, and
- Jürgen Weinhofer, vice-president for common architecture and technology for Rockwell Automation.
Officers for the 18th term are:
- Katherine Voss, president & executive director.
- Joakim Wiberg, chief technology officer,
- Christopher Lynch, secretary, and
- Jürgen Weinhofer, treasurer.
ODVA’s Technical Review Board (TRB) are Mr. Rudy Belliardi of Schneider Electric, Mr. Paul Didier of Cisco Systems, Dr. Jörg Hähniche of Endress+Hauser, Dr. Ludwig Leurs of Bosch Rexroth, Mr. Shinji Murayama of Omron, Mr. Eric Scott of Molex, Mr. Dave VanGompel of Rockwell Automation, and Mr. Joakim Wiberg of HMS Industrial Networks. As ODVA’s chief technology officer, Joakim Wiberg will be the TRB chairperson.
Smart Factory
In a keynote speech given by Prof. Dr.-Ing Detlef Zühlke, executive chairman of SmartFactory, he announced that the 2016 SmartFactory Demonstrator will include a proof of concept implementation of ODVA’s machine data model. The proof of concept will be supported by ODVA principal member Bosch Rexroth, which is also an executive member of SmartFactory.
ODVA’s machine data model is a result of ODVA’s initiative for the Optimization of Machine Integration (OMI) which was first announced in 2011 in cooperation with Sercos International and the OPC Foundation.
The OMI initiative is focused on techniques to optimize the integration of manufacturing machinery with the industrial ecosystem. One of the key machine integration problems that OMI seeks to solve is the streamlining and standardization of heterogeneous communication interfaces, such as CIP and Sercos, in order to enable standard reporting methods and tools across machines and thus aid in the management of machines and the monitoring of their states.
To investigate and develop standards in this area, ODVA established a Special Interest Group (SIG) for Machinery Information with participants from ODVA principal members Bosch Rexroth, Rockwell Automation, and Schneider Electric along with invited experts from OPC Foundation and Sercos International. The SIG has now completed its first phase of work to define a standard approach to machine data models which will then be mapped to the structures in CIP, OPC-UA, and Sercos. The 2016 SmartFactory production cell sponsored by Bosch Rexroth will illustrate the benefits of this approach.
“The concepts and standards being developed as a result of ODVA’s initiative for the Optimization of Machine Integration are well aligned with the goals of the SmartFactory,” said Prof. Dr.-Ing Detlef Zühlke, executive chairman of the Technology-Initiative SmartFactory KL e.V. “The concepts for ODVA’s machine data model will be a welcome addition to the SmartFactory demonstrator in 2016.”
“Certain types of data are typical to machine-to-supervisory communication. This data can be placed into logical groupings such as base machine context, conditioning monitoring, energy, safety, machine diagnostics, machine states, production recipes and product information,” stated Dr. Ludwig Leurs, co-chair of ODVA’s SIG for Machinery Information and engineering manager of Ethernet convergence for Bosch Rexroth. “The SmartFactory demonstrator will allow the SIG participants to prove out the concepts in ODVA’s machine data model before completing final specification for the model and its mapping to the protocol standards.”
“The concept of ODVA’s machine data model is groundbreaking because it applies the concept of “Things” as conceived in the Industrial Internet of Things to the machine itself,” said Katherine Voss, ODVA president and executive director. “The alignment of SmartFactory with the Industrie 4.0 initiative, and thus the Industrial Internet of Things, makes the 2016 SmartFactory demonstrator an ideal venue to illustrate the benefits of ODVA’s concept of the machine.”
ODVA’s machine data model will be integrated into the Bosch Rexroth production cell for 2016 SmartFactory demonstrator that will premiere at Hannover Fair 2016 on April 25, 2016.
The Technology Initiative SmartFactory KL e.V. was founded in 2005 as a non-profit association to establish a network of industrial and research partners which initiate and implement together research and development projects ranging from base technologies to the development of marketable products.
Today SmartFactory is a manufacturer-independent demonstration and research platform and unique in Europe.
by Gary Mintchell | Nov 4, 2015 | Events, Safety
I’m wrapping up my coverage of the EHS Today Safety Leadership Conference held last week in Greenville, SC. I covered the Technology Track sponsored by Rockwell Automation.
Steve Ludwig, safety program manager at Rockwell Automation, presented on the impact of the evolving workforce on safety.
Workforce changes
“We are facing a shortage of skilled workforce, and it is a global issue,” began Ludwig. “The average age of skilled worker is 56, and this demographic is prone not to delay retirement. Add to this the fact that birth rates have declined for the last 35 years, so we do not have the usual situation of increasing population to fuel economic growth.
There are now more inexperienced workers who are more at risk. This is not just a situation for your plant, but also for the plants of all your suppliers. Businesses face supply chain interruption, reputational / brand risk. Businesses face not only an aging workforce that may be prone to injury, but also a younger, less experience workforce that tend to have more frequent acute injuries.
When Ludwig asked attendees, “How do we improve with a changing workforce?” most responded that they were proactively going out to schools to recruit and evangelize manufacturing. They were also assuming much responsibility for helping train young people.
Connected enterprise for safety
Jeff Winter of system integrator Grantek discussed connecting the enterprise for safety. He noted a problem that continues to exist is that dashboards rely on manual data collection and input.
There are three “Eras” of safety technology–initially just preventing access; then detecting access (something that increased both safety and productivity); today controlling access (integrated safety into machine, about as productive as you can get).
“EHS must get a chair at the table when data collection and analysis are being discussed in the plant or company,” he concluded. Winter continued with this advice, “Ask for data on actions such as emergency stops, intrusions, shut downs.”
Beyond lockout, tagout
Turning to electrical safety specifically, Jimi Michalscheck business development manager for safety looked at going beyond Lockout Tagout (LOTO). His point was how to balance safety with production. He posited a system of engineered safety control, which he called a new way of addressing LOTO.
“If you haven’t designed an alternative, then you must use LOTO (OSHA). To prevent unexpected restart of the equipment during service from causing harm to employees.”
Engineering safe alternatives. Think of your machine as simple components. For example, a case packer. Notorious for frequent need for getting into it, so also for citations. Using Alternative Protective Measure (APM), design the machine in components. Task specific, area specific, documented (know that the service area is protected for the reach of the worker). APM developed must provide the same or greater level of protection as LOTO in order to comply with CFR1910.147.
