the Internet will fuel future innovation. He adds, “Energy consumption—whether looked at for environmental impact or due to depleting traditional energy resources, society is and will be affected by energy consumption. With manufacturing consuming arguably one third of all energy produced, there will be a lot of attention paid to how automation technology can better manage energy consumption in a manufacturing environment.”

Truchard adds some words of advice for engineers of the future who will be innovating with these new technologies. “With a focus on green engineering and the trend toward integrating embedded technology into more aspects of an automation system, it may soon not be enough for an engineer to specialize in only one form of engineering. In the next five to 10 years, expect standard development platforms and high-level abstraction tools to revolutionize the way engineers design embedded automation systems. Engineers are already incorporating measurements and control algorithms into their mechanical models through digital prototyping tools. They are also programming embedded systems and reconfiguring FPGAs through high-level graphical programming languages. With increased measurement data, higher-level software tools and more capable embedded automation controllers, engineers are well-equipped to design the next generation of high-performance and high-efficiency production machines.”

Subscribe to Automation World's RSS Feeds for Feature Articles