2013年9月17日 星期二

IT Technology for industrial controls applications

It is the author’s opinion that integration of the controls networking  and the IT network is inevitable. It became inevitable the moment the controls industry chose to use Ethernet as the medium with which to communicate data. The controls industry may choose to be dragged kicking and screaming into the modern automation  era, or it can gracefully embrace the change. Embracing means the controls industry would be able to leverage the myriad rich, existing technologies that have been proven foolproof in the IT world. To be dragged kicking and screaming into the modern communications era would do a terrible injustice to those who have worked diligently to bring it about. This could quite possibly add an entirely new facet to the fieldbus wars, which I hope have not been forgotten.
With that said, the controls world is going to be moving with an industry that has a definite consumer bias, with product development and release cycles of six months or less. In an industry where the average life expectancy of an automotive production line is eight years, it is impossible to expect the networking in an industrial setting to keep up with modern IT standards. Therefore, we turn our attention to the technologies that have existed the longest, with the most open standards and the very best support. These are the protocols we wish to use and keep, and this article highlights and explains some of these technologies.

refer to:
http://www.automation.com/leveraging-it-technology-for-industrial-controls-applications

2013年9月10日 星期二

Solutions for Intel latest endeavor


The following describes how Intel is enabling the transformation with its 4th generation Intel Core processor family based on the Haswell microarchitecture. Boasting up to 15 solutions higher performance, 2x faster image and signal processing, up to 60 percent faster graphics, newly flexible high-speed I/O, and enhanced security, this platform offers major upgrades over its predecessors. As we will see, the new processors deliver scalable, robust performance for applications ranging from machine vision to machine diagnosis, from building controls to operator panels, and even top floor administrative servers solutions. In addition, the platform’s new security and manageability features make it well suited for the highly connected, Internet of Things-enabled factories of the future.

Throughout history, new fanless embedded systems have transformed the manufacturing industry. From the invention of steam engines to the introduction of computerized controls, these technologies have led to enormous leaps in productivity and quality. Today we are at another turning point. The introduction of embedded systems and Internet of Things technology are enabling unprecedented data sharing and analysis, turning previously disconnected manufacturing systems into an efficient, highly responsive whole.

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