IT Technology for industrial controls

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

Security and reliability is an utter-most issue

A factory is only as strong as its weakest link, so every Internet of Things client in the factory needs protection from viruses, malware, and hacking to prevent costly interruptions to factory operation. The 4th generation Intel Core processor adds a number of features to its security portfolio, including McAfee’s Deep Defender technology, which resides between the memory and embedded system to perform real-time memory and CPU monitoring without impacting overall system performance. (McAfee is an Associate member of the Alliance.) As shown in Figure 5 (page 22), additional security elements include multiple solutions. TenAsys also offers the INtime RTOS family, which can run as a stand-alone RTOS or alongside Microsoft Windows as shown in Figure 3. Both products enable users to partition a multicore platform to run mixed fanless embedded systems, making better use of the processor’s advanced features to provide highly integrated  solutions. (Microsoft and TenAsys are both Associate members of the Alliance.)

refer to:

http://embedded-computing.com/articles/transform-factory-the-intel-core-processor/

Intel Core processor family is coming soon!

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.

The 4th generation Intel Core processor family is bringing the Internet of Things to the factory floor. With 2x faster signal processing, the processors support analytics applications like machine vision and equipment monitoring. Newly solutions secure communications tie together the factory floor, control room, and supply chain. And the up to 60 percent faster graphics and flexible I/O permit industrial equipment manufacturers to combine previously separate hardware, reducing cost and complexity.

refer to:

http://embedded-computing.com/articles/transform-factory-the-intel-core-processor/