As we enter the so-called fourth industrial
revolution, which aims to finally close the
gap between distributed automation systems
and business systems, let’s take a quick look
back at some of the developments that got us here
and where they point for the future.
The PC revolution of the 1990s led to the
popularity of the Microsoft Windows operating
system (OS) and broad interest in using its
graphical interface to see what was happening on
the plant floor. But the automation industry had
expanded rapidly in the preceding decades, introducing
many new protocols and devices. To use
Windows, early SCADA and HMI developers had
to create a suite of proprietary software drivers to
communicate with every device the system might
encounter. It was a time-consuming and expensive
process and, in the race to expand the available
portfolio of supported devices, it generally led to
very limited driver functionality.
In response, Microsoft and a small group of
automation vendors—including Opto 22—developed
OLE for Process Control using Microsoft’s
Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) technology.
Now called Open Platform Communications,
OPC defined a common specification based on a
client-server model that allowed Windows-based
SCADA/HMI software to communicate indirectly
with plant floor hardware by means of an
OPC server, which housed all the drivers needed
to communicate with those devices. With OPC,
vendors could more easily develop software for
industrial systems and the quantity and diversity
of data that could be extracted improved.
But challenges remained. Taking advantage of
OPC required a Windows-based computer or
server to exchange operational data from plant
floor devices with the software that needed this
data. OPC Unified Architecture (OPC UA) was
developed to meet this challenge by making it possible
to run OPC at the edge of networks, directly
embedded into industrial processors and devices.
At the same time, we saw much greater
interest in closing the gap between automation
and business networks. As a result, automation
manufacturers began introducing edge-oriented
controllers and I/O systems. These devices offer
state-of-the-art, powerful CPUs that combine
traditional real-time control and sensing functions
with the communication, storage, security, and
data processing functions previously found only in
higher-level systems.
Together, OPC UA and these new edge controllers
and I/O systems significantly simplify the
task of communicating operational data between
plant floor systems and the software systems businesses
rely on every day.
This combination has brought us to where we
are today, with modern concepts like the industrial
Internet of Things (IIoT) and Industry 4.0. We can
clearly see the value and significance of opensource
protocols and software. We can work on
long-neglected capabilities like cybersecurity for
industrial systems. We can again draw on innovations
in IT to outfit control systems for the tasks
we need them to perform.
Our history points clearly to the future, where
edge computing capabilities and powerful software
running on these platforms are ushering in new
levels of industrial communications. As automation
professionals working on digital transformation, we
can see how edge devices and interoperability standards
are paving the way for companies to flourish.
