Page 3 - trends in automation

Can automation
equipment become
“intelligent”?
Dear reader,
Human intelligence is often viewed as the ability to solve
unstructured problems. In that sense, “intelligent” automation
equipment remains science fiction for the time being. However,
real progress is being made to equip automation components,
such as electric drives or fieldbus nodes, with information on
their identity (part number, production date, time in operation
etc.) and enable communication across a system so that it can
solve basic technical problems without the need for human
interaction. Nowadays a control system can, for example,
possess sufficient intelligence to detect that a colour sensor
has been replaced (perhaps because of damage) and then
automatically download the required operating parameters
to the new sensor without human intervention or support.
This reduces downtime and frees up time for the operator or
engineer to perform other value added tasks.
Smart and intuitive man-machine communication offers a
lot more potential in the automation world than may be
realised. The ability to solve day to day automation problems
is often limited more by a lack of understanding of the existing
capability of the equipment than by the technical limitations
of the equipment itself. In this issue there are some exciting
articles that explore what can be achieved. On page 11, find
out how Festo developed CogniGame, a revolutionary concept
in man-machine communication for the direct control of the
machine through thoughts alone. The article contains a further
example, referred to as the ExoHand, which offers intuitive
machine control through tele operation.
While the possibility of intelligent machines that are “self aware”
may still not be in sight, intelligent equipment which is able
to “self manage” is already a reality. We can do a lot to solve
automation challenges with less effort and which require less
know how. Together with leading European machine builders
and research institutes, Festo is participating in the “Smart
Factory” project that explores this potential. The basis for this
is information, communication and control capability that is
becoming more readily available in all industrial components; it
is dubbed the “4th industrial revolution” or simply “Industry
4.0”. Much more on this exciting topic can be found on the
following pages.
Yours,
Gary Wyles
Gary Wyles, Managing Director, Festo GB