By John Conway, President of UniversalAutomation.Org
Perhaps the only constant we can expect in life, is that change is inevitable. All we can do is ensure we have the tools to adapt and acclimatise to new beginnings.
With this in mind, we must harness new ideas and technologies to advance the industrial sector, changing it for the better. We must utilise innovation and creativity to generate competitive advantages and bolster our position within the industrial landscape.
These developments will be possible through the deployment of new and advanced technologies. However, without changing the way we collaborate both in person and through our equipment, our capacity for change will always be limited. We must utilise digital collaboration to convert digital insights into tangible action.
Without this, we risk limiting the potential of industrial workers. Operators, engineers, and technicians would be capped in their ability to drive better outcomes and create more resilient and efficient business futures. We must look to universally automate all industrial manufacturing equipment to widen the scope for innovation and enable collaboration.
The change to Industry 4.0
To achieve the benefits that Industry 4.0 and the Industrial Internet of Things promise, next-generation automation systems must address:
- Data-enabled and software-centric innovation through IT/OT convergence
Industrial players must invest in software-centric and data-enabled innovation that enables actions based on the gathering and analysis of information that the traditional siloed industrial hardware alone is not able to offer. Only then, the promise of the Fourth Industrial Revolution will be fully realised.
UniversalAutomation.Org supports an event-driven software component design methodology, built on IEC 61499 technology, that integrates automation systems with IT data analysis tools.
There is evidence that shows this technology saves costs and enables shorter time-to-market. Using software-driven tools such as digital twins, we can simulate outcomes without having to invest in hardware to validate a proof of concept, saving valuable time and money.
- Plug and Produce Automation
Though “open” automation exists today, it does not go far enough. The existing locked-in industrial automation models no longer address the challenges of a more complex, volatile marketplace. Industry players need open, flexible, and efficient interoperable systems that are easy to integrate and that fluidly and easily adapt to change.
In such an environment, the concept of “universal” automation is gaining traction. Universal automation is an open and collaborative approach, introducing users to a world of “plug and produce” applications. It enables “à la carte automation” because software is decoupled from the underlying hardware. Cost and performance can then be optimized by assembling proven-in-use software components — without regard to brand.
As a result, an “app store” model for industry, consisting of asset-centric automation systems, can be leveraged to drive increased efficiency (“do not reinvent the wheel” but use best-of-breed proven-in-use software) and new business opportunities for users through software.
- Use reference implementation
In the IT domain, the use of reference implementations has enabled a quick adoption of new technology. The future of Industrial Automation should follow this trend as well. As a shared source, this reference implementation can radically increase the adoption rate of new technology and decrease compliancy testing between systems from different suppliers.
UniversalAutomation.Org shares the reference implementation of an IEC 61499 based runtime to enable other market players to quickly implement the technology while also ensuring interoperability and portability of automation solutions.
Developing the ecosystem
Implementing these changes and reaping the benefits of the next generation of industrial automation requires every company to develop a tightknit ecosystem of partners. Industry 4.0 automation cannot be achieved by a single firm or vendor. Industry players must unite to share expertise, technology, and innovation, which is exactly what UniversalAutomation.Org is designed to do.
Members of UniversalAutomation.Org come from the user community, the vendor community, software developers, academics, start-ups, and industry leaders. What they have in common is a shared vision of universal automation systems where application software is portable and seamlessly interoperates across vendor platforms.
About UniversalAutomation.Org
UniversalAutomation.Org is a non-profit association managing the reference implementation of industrial automation and shared source runtime.
To learn more, visit: https://universalautomation.org/
