News & Blog
Current news, press releases and interesting facts about industrial automation
The I4.0 platform, Smart Factory, IIoT and standardization are defining the path into the future landscape of automation.
The current trends in industrial automation would not be possible without strong standardization. At the same time, however, the I4.0 platform and the Smart Factory are more than just based on standards—they also increase the pressure to drive standardization forward. For suppliers staying on the sidelines, the niche is getting smaller and smaller.
OPC UA – an overview over the central Industry 4.0 standard
In principle, technical standards are supposed to improve the efficiency and interoperability of technical devices and components. But frequently we find competing standards, in particular in the industrial sector. This becomes even more problematic in the era of Industry 4.0 and increasingly networked machines and systems. Enter OPC UA, a platform that is poised to overcome the old rivalries.
Machine operation: Mobile HMIs compared to stationary operation devices
The digitization and automation in the industrial sector have led to massive changes in the requirements for machine operation and consequently, in what is expected of machine operators. It used to be that stationary solutions such as pushbuttons, switches and simple display screens directly on the housing were sufficient; but today, we need full HD monitors with touchscreens and cloud-based high-performance HMIs (human-machine interfaces). As a result, operating a machine is not dissimilar from using a smartphone.
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