After several years of stagnation, the industrial automation market is growing again. During the coming year, several new products and technologies will begin to emerge. Here are some of my technology picks for 2007.
Industrial wireless
Already widely deployed in commercial and business applications, broad industrial wireless adoption has been delayed purportedly because users remain paranoid about security. In 2007, there are vibes regarding major growth in industrial wireless.
Jack Bolick, president of Honeywell Process Solutions, suggests that wireless is ‘at the tipping point’, and his group has ambitious plans in this new arena. John Berra, president of Emerson Process Management says: "The technical obstacles to wireless communication in plants and factories are falling. We can put in more monitoring points at 1/10 the cost of wired sensors. This will open new doors in many old and new applications."
I am willing to bet that advanced and innovative wireless products, if introduced rapidly at a breakthrough price, would sweep industrial automation markets; end-users would gobble them up. It could spark a new phase of growth that will re-energise industrial automation.
Robots are coming
There are about 1 million industrial robots globally, with almost half that number in Japan and just 15% in the United States. In spite of its low-cost labour image, China is rapidly adopting robotics systems to increase competitiveness. Within the next few years, the views and definitions of robotics will change to include other forms of mechanised intelligence and industrial robotics will advance rapidly.
A couple of decades ago, 90% of industrial robots were used in car manufacturing. Today, less than 50% are in automobile plants, with the rest spread out among other factories, laboratories, warehouses, energy plants, hospitals and many other industries. US automotive manufacturing companies continue to utilise and develop intelligent robotics to provide significant new strategic options.
With rapidly increasing processing power and advanced intelligence, robots are dramatically increasing their potential as flexible automation tools. Robotic technology is converging with a wide variety of complementary technologies - machine vision, force sensing (touch), speech recognition and advanced mechanics.
The biggest change in industrial robots is that they will evolve into a broader variety of structures and mechanisms. In many cases, configurations that evolve into new automation systems will not be immediately recognisable as robots. For example, robots that automate semiconductor manufacturing already look quite different from those used in automotive plants.
Web services and applications integration
Production and business systems will increasingly be working together. Integrated applications access data from servers connected to industrial networks and production management systems. This provides access to plant-floor information, production, and business applications across the manufacturing enterprise in a consistent manner.
Web delivery of process and business data enhances collaboration between work groups and multilocation plants across the enterprise. Web services, supply chain management, customer relationship management, enterprise application integration and a plethora of other software tools and services will be integrated to facilitate optimal decision-making at all levels.
Integrated applications should access all data the same way, whether it comes from a server connected to a PLC network, an industrial network such as Foundation Fieldbus, Profibus or DeviceNet, a scada system, or a production management system. The overall system will begin to provide access to plant-floor information, production and business applications across the manufacturing enterprise in a consistent manner.
Conclusion
Much more than in recent years, new products and technology will come to the forefront in industrial automation businesses. The companies that succeed in this new age will be those that understand how to combine new technology and new thinking to gain sustained competitive advantage in global environments.
For more information contact Jim Pinto, jim@jimpinto.com, www.jimpinto.com
Jim Pinto is an industry analyst and commentator, writer, technology futurist and angel investor. His popular e-mail newsletter, JimPinto.com eNews, is widely read (with direct circulation of about 7000 and web-readership of two to three times that number). His areas of interest are technology futures, marketing and business strategies for a fast-changing environment, and industrial automation with a slant towards technology trends.
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