Automation industries attain efficient production and manufacturing processes by eliminating issues related to their production with the help of every day changing technologies. An industrial robot exceeds any human performance based on precision, accuracy, and speed. These robots operate on various mechanical, electrical, and software systems to overcome the fatigue experienced by the humans. Various types of control devices are used by the industries to obtain full controlled, desired, and optimal performance from machines without the intervention of a single human body.
To achieve such desired speed and accuracy, automation industries use modern day hardware devices to control variables like checking the condition of electrical equipment, control of devices, communications systems, HMI (Human machine interface), and maintaining standalone computer systems. Such variables are necessary to be controlled in order to increase and improve productivity, cost, quality, flexibility, and safety.
Innovation in automation industry comes from applications rather than coming from the new technology. The reason for not using the latest technology lies in their utilizing method. Whenever a new technology comes into the market, companies use new technology in a customized way accustomed to their usage, instead of using it as a whole. Looking into the history, PLCs/DCS PCs/ dominated three decades in the automation industries becoming a commodity over these years. PLCs replaced the old relay logic and were easy to program and reprogram and showed great growth in the automobile industry.
At the same time, minicomputers replaced large mainframe computers, although they were not distributed properly due to their large clumps of computer hardware and cabinets. PCs were merely an extension of technology developed at that time and were widely accepted and used in the automation industry. The new trends in the automation fields are the latest control devices and communication protocols.
Industry 4.0
The fourth industrial revolution is the amalgamation of engineering and software combining core engineering and IT skills. It’s the next trend in automation where the devices talk to each other. This fourth gen comprises cyber-physical systems, internet of things, cloud computing, and cognitive computing. ‘Smart factory’ is the name given to the fourth revolution, where cyber-physical systems monitor physical processes and Internet of Things, cloud computing, cyber-physical systems communicate with each other and with humans in real-time.
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