Convergence and networking, machine-to-machine communications, industrial wireless, integrated safety and energy networks, plus the industrial Internet, are just some of the reasons factory connectivity is perhaps the No. 1 story in automation and control for 2013.
It may seem ironic to some that connectivity is industry’s biggest trend, and to some extent more important going forward than the nuts and bolts that make factories work. But increasingly, technological advances are putting the focus on how effectively systems work well together, and the ability for plants to communicate and make control/business decisions based on more and more data.
Hannover Messe 2013, the gigantic industrial technology event coming up on April 8-12, will be staged this year under the banner of "Integrated Industry." According to the show’s website, the lead theme signals the fair's key focus on the growing integration of all areas of industry: "Machines, industrial equipment, work pieces, and system components will soon be capable of exchanging data in real time."
“Hannover Messe is where international decision-makers and industry leaders go to gear up for today’s global competition,” said Dr. Jochen Köckler, member of Deutsche Messe’s Managing Board in a press release:
Under the buzzword "Integrated Industry," here they will find the latest smart technologies and solutions for future-proofing their production facilities. They’ll get to rub shoulders with all the relevant market leaders and make contacts with leading international subcontractors and suppliers of industrial automation, energy, drive, and production technologies.
In addition to various forms of electronic networking, the Integrated Industry theme encompasses the challenge facing all areas of industry as they cooperate across corporate and geographic boundaries. Keynote themes will be covered in no fewer than 11 tradeshows presenting the following topics: Industrial Automation - Motion, Drive & Automation (MDA), Energy, Wind, MobiliTec, Digital Factory, Compressed Air and Vacuum Technology, Industrial Supply, Surface Technologies, Industrial Green Technology, and Research & Technology.
“Integrated Industry is about making industrial production smarter and more efficient. It’s also about multidisciplinary cooperation between different industries and different enterprises,” Dr. Köckler said.
For instance, in the near future, intelligent materials will be able to tell machines how they should be processed, and components will be able to issue their own maintenance and repair requests. “Direct communication between the various systems involved in production will facilitate material and energy savings and make processes much faster and more efficient,” said Dr. Köckler.
For once I would say that a tradeshow theme, even given the marketing hyperbole, may actually live up to its advanced billing. Along with visits by Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the world’s most important industrial technology event will create a showcase for how factory automation and communications, energy efficiency, and more intelligent digital factories are likely the most important topics for automation and control in the years immediately ahead.
Hannover is the industrial show version of what CES used to be in consumer electronics, and before CES, COMDEX for computer everything. It will be interesting to see what new things come out of it.
My design, Completely agree with your perspective of the importance of energy conservation moving ahead. A problem that can and will be managed more effectively in the future.
"the world's most important industrial technology event will create a showcase for how factory automation and communications, energy efficiency, and more intelligent digital factories are likely the most important topics for automation and control in the years immediately ahead."
AI, that's an important point. How to automate the industrial environment/production facility for energy conservation is going to be the key buzz word in future.
"Under the buzzword "Integrated Industry," here they will find the latest smart technologies and solutions for future-proofing their production facilities."
AI, now a day's trade shows are like an integrated ecco system, where all the necessary sub systems are available under one roof/umbrella. I think that the best way to attract more peoples too. Majority of Customers/industrial peoples are looking for' a-z' solutions from a single place.
Another great story, Al. Not surprising to see this theme coming from the Hannover Fair. Having been there a couple of times, I can attest that the Hannover Fair is a stunningly large and technically impressive place to learn about industrial technology trends.
Great stuff and glad to hear that has been the focus of your teaching. It's amazing that machine control can control loops down in the milliseconds but some of the interactions between larger systems can be so coarse. You're way ahead of your time but it looks like we'll be making great strides in this area as technology and practice continues to evolve. Thanks.
You are singing my song, Al. Our undergraduate department has a title that is quite a mouthful, but Integrated Science, Business, and Technology (ISBT) is exactly what we have been teaching since the turn of the century. Our students learn how to punch holes through the membranes separating the silos in industry so that innovation can flow between them. Our grads have been finding awesome positions and with continuing stories like these, perhaps they are having an effect...
William, Thanks for your comments. It's interesting how knocking down the big silos within a plant (machine control, business systems, physical assets and natural resources) is becoming the focus for companies. Integrated industry to me is how to automate the integration of these major components that haven't necessarily been combined together in an unified way in the past.
I love the buzzword Al, "Integrated Industry". Perhaps as we get more examples of integrated factories, it will be easier for the general public and their representatives to recognize our automated future. While we were still building our telephone networks, it was easy to see how human operators fit into the system. But once the switching relays were shrunk down to an integrated circuit, those jobs were no longer available. As our industrial production floors continue to integrate, the physical "space" will also shrink. Maybe when a smartphone factory shrinks down to the size of a microwave oven the powers that be will begin to get the message...
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