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Honeywell partners Aereon for oil and gas IIoT

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Honeywell and Aereon say they will collaborate on solutions to help industrial customers boost the safety, efficiency and reliability of their operations by leveraging Honeywell’s Industrial Internet of Things ecosystem.

“For years, manufacturers and producers have looked for ways to solve operational problems that were believed to be unsolvable – such as unplanned downtime, underperforming assets and inefficient supply chains,” said Andrew Hird, vice president and general manager of Honeywell Process Solutions’ Digital Transformation business.

“With the capabilities of the IIoT, we can find new ways to solve those problems. A key part is the creation of an industrial ecosystem that leverages the depth of knowledge and experience of a range of equipment and service providers such as Aereon.”  [Read more…] about Honeywell partners Aereon for oil and gas IIoT

Apple to expand manufacturing in America

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Apple CEO Tim Cook during a visit to the company’s facility in Austin, Texas, where the Mac Pro is assembled. Picture courtesy MacRumours.com

Tech giant Apple looks to have decided to expand its manufacturing operations in the US. The company filed a notification in the Federal Register apparently to that effect. 

A statement on the Federal Register website says that Apple already has authority to manufacture within the Mesa, Arizona region. “The new request would add finished products and foreign status materials and components to the scope of authority,” it says.

TechCrunch notes that the statement included a mention of Apple’s plan to build data centre server cabinets, which is not a consumer product Apple sells and, therefore, TechCrunch presumes, would be “used for building out its own data centers”.  [Read more…] about Apple to expand manufacturing in America

Industrial design: Prepare for product as a service

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Bob Hillier, managing director of product lifecycle management solutions provider Design Rule discusses the concept of PaaS and the software tools that can help OEMs make the move to this new sales model

Global power systems company Rolls-Royce recently celebrated the 50th anniversary of its “Power-by-the-Hour” approach to engine maintenance management.

Since its introduction, we’ve seen companies from the automotive, aerospace and industrial sectors following suit, making product as a service (PaaS) plans available to their customers.

Offering PaaS involves a complete transformation of the original equipment manufacturer business model. It returns ownership and responsibility to the OEM, which drives the need for more reliable and higher quality products being delivered.  [Read more…] about Industrial design: Prepare for product as a service

Siemens says it wants to strengthen its position as a ‘digital company’

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Siemens is expanding its open platform “Siemens Cloud for Industry” to form the basis of new digital business models for industrial companies. The new Connector Box is a Simatic IPC-based cloud gateway that transmits machine and system data easily and securely to the Cloud.

One of the largest engineering companies in the world – famous for making humungous, physical things for the real world – is increasingly enthusiastic about the digital world

Siemens says it aims to achieve double-digit annual growth in digital business every year through to the next decade. 

The company expects its software business, and its digital services and platforms to be the main growth drivers.

Its MindSphere cloud-based, open operating system was recently rolled out companywide, which has transformed many of the processes at Siemens.  [Read more…] about Siemens says it wants to strengthen its position as a ‘digital company’

Evolution of the machines: How connectivity is transforming the car

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By Andrew Till, vice president, technology, partnerships and new solutions, Harman Connected Services

The connected car revolution is here and soon we could see these machines evolving during their own lifecycle thanks to over-the-air software updates.

Connectivity is rapidly transforming the way we consume goods. It’s even challenging the very concept of ownership, as the template set by mobile devices spreads to other aspects of our lives through the Internet of Things.

One of the biggest potential markets for this new way of doing business is the automotive industry.  [Read more…] about Evolution of the machines: How connectivity is transforming the car

Predictions for the future of manufacturing

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Martyn Williams, managing director of industrial software expert Copa-Data UK, examines three of the most prominent automation trends of 2017 and discusses how these trends are changing manufacturing operations

As manufacturing facilities incorporate greater levels of automation, the demand for new technologies continues to grow.

Recent years have seen several trends create a shift in the way the industry operates.  [Read more…] about Predictions for the future of manufacturing

Industry 4.0: Comau signs deal with EII to develop predictive maintenance solutions

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Companies plan to jointly develop hardware and software solutions for the proactive maintenance of machines

Engineering Ingegneria Informatica and robot-maker Comau have signed a global cooperation agreement to develop and market solutions for predictive maintenance based on modular hardware and software and designed to acquire and analyze field data – through the internet of things, and big data analytics. 

The companies say these solutions are targeted at the manufacturing industry and in particular, and companies operating in the automotive, industrial manufacturing, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals and white goods sectors, and conform to the Industry 4.0 paradigm.

From a technical point of view, the solutions developed by the two partner companies seek to predict the potential occurrence of malfunctions or a full stop of the machines, and to intercept negative trends in production process quality, or predictive maintenance system.  [Read more…] about Industry 4.0: Comau signs deal with EII to develop predictive maintenance solutions

Boeing to acquire Liquid Robotics to ‘enhance autonomous seabed-to-space information services’

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Developer of Wave Glider ocean robot boosts Boeing’s ocean data collection capabilities

Boeing has reached an agreement to buy Liquid Robotics, a builder of autonomous maritime systems and developer of the Wave Glider ocean surface robot, to grow its seabed-to-space autonomous capabilities.

Leanne Caret, president and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space and Security, says: “With Liquid Robotics’ innovative technology and Boeing’s leading intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance solutions, we are helping our customers address maritime challenges in ways that make existing platforms smarter, missions safer and operations more efficient.”

In September 2014, Boeing and Liquid Robotics entered into a teaming agreement resulting in extensive integration on the Sensor Hosting Autonomous Remote Craft (Sharc), a version of the Wave Glider. [Read more…] about Boeing to acquire Liquid Robotics to ‘enhance autonomous seabed-to-space information services’

Bewildered by BYOD? Confused by cloud? Here’s a simple introduction

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Cloud-based automation software can make BYOD a secure and practical option for businesses. This kind of capability offers a tempting possibility for many businesses, as Howard Williams, marketing director of digital engagement specialist Parker Software, explains 

It might seem like they’ve been around forever, but smartphones have only been ubiquitous for the past five years. 

Before that, devices such as Handspring’s innovative Palm Treo series (pictured above)  were too far ahead of their time to take off.

The same rings true for bring your own device (BYOD), a concept that has existed for years but is only now able to be securely realised.  [Read more…] about Bewildered by BYOD? Confused by cloud? Here’s a simple introduction

Connected cars: Driving the future

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By Andrew Till, vice president, technology, partnerships and new solutions, Harman Connected Services

Of all the day-to-day aspects of our lives, transport looks set to experience some of the most dramatic changes as the Internet of Things progresses.

It will impact everything from the driving experience to the very concept of car ownership. And with those changes comes a huge amount of opportunity for car manufacturers, cloud providers and telecommunications companies.

The potential that the IoT holds for the automotive market is only going to increase as new technology reaches the market. It’s set to come into its own once we see vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications systems and cars with true “hands off” autonomous driving capabilities hitting the road, but even now the fundamentals are in place.  [Read more…] about Connected cars: Driving the future