| Talking Down to Machines
 Whether complex or simple, machines are integral to automation. But how integrated are they in factory-wide systems? Here, we explore the ramifications of reaching into machinery with networks.
What happens when top-down automation data reaches a machine controller—does it go any further? And, what happens when bottom-up data generated by the machine controller tries to move upward, past the machine controller into the automation system?
The automation world has become so complex that there are no simple answers. Taking a holistic view of manufacturing, every machine in a facility has the potential to become a tightly integrated entity in a smoothly running enterprise-wide system. And, taking a machine-by-machine view, every machine in a facility can just as easily work in isolation from any top-down system, quietly sequencing its switches and driving its motors as it pushes a workpiece or process along... Read more
Robots and Vision—The New Normal?
Vision-assisted robots seem to be springing up on packaging lines like mushrooms after a summer rain. We investigate the technological and economic factors behind this recent upsurge.
At the dawn of this century, vision-guided robots were a rarity in packaging operations. Small wonder—each of the component technologies had their own degree of complexity and cost, and getting them to work together presented an additional level of difficulty and expense. Despite the benefits in terms of speed, flexibility and precision that vision-guided robotic applications offered, relatively few end-users felt they could be justified, so while the number of applications grew from year to year, that growth was modest... Read more
Parallel Programming Makes Most of Multicore Processors
As automation systems get more complex, the underlying hardware must be flexible in order to accommodate engineers' needs.
For example, an engineer may develop a real-time embedded control system at the same time as its human-machine interface. Maybe the system also has a computation-intensive task such as high-speed motion control or machine vision... Read more
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