Water hardness analysis. - The Liquiline System CA80HA hardness analyzer has been launched by Endress+Hauser. This instrument provides precise online analysis of water hardness in drinking water and process water.

Tackling the global cyber threat! - The first Founding Members of the International Society of Automation's Global Cybersecurity Alliance (GCA) have been announced. They are Schneider Electric, Rockwell Automation, Honeywell, Johnson Controls, Claroty, and Nozomi Networks.

Humidity & Temperature website. - Process Sensing Technologies (PST) companies, Michell Instruments and Rotronic, have launched a new microsite focusing on their combined ranges of instruments for humidity and temperature calibration.

Streamlining sensor calibration. - A new in-line strain gauge amplifier from Mantracourt Electronics is set to streamline the calibration of a sensor thanks to its digital potentiometers and extremely simple and intuitive toolkit.

How does your salary compare? - It's that time of year again when Automation.com, ISA and InTech survey automation professionals about salary and career information.

Suppliers honoured. - Analog Devices (ADI) recently hosted its inaugural Supplier Day event to honour and recognise its suppliers. Held in Boston (MASS USA), the event brought together 100 of the semiconductor company’s top suppliers for a day of recognition, celebration and relationship building. A total of 18 awards were presented for outstanding performance and contributions.

Mixed performance in I & C market in Britain. - The GAMBICA Index is an indicator of the level of business for our Industrial Automation, Process Instrumentation & Control and Laboratory Technology sectors in Britain. The combined Index shows a 2.8% growth in 2018, continuing the overall growth trend, albeit it at a much slower rate than the record 8.5% in the previous year. Performance across sectors and customer segments has been varied, with uncertainty causing reduced investment in some areas.

Hot spots in London! - From today detailed information on the city's air pollution will be published on breathelondon.org, the website for a new collaborative project to paint a clearer picture of London's air quality. The readings are being provided by a network of AQMesh air quality monitoring pods supplied and installed by Air Monitors, part of the ACOEM Group.

Touch switch! - A new touch operated sensor launched by Omron Electronic Components Europe is a drop-in replacement for a mechanical switch, but delivers all of the reliability and flexibility of touch.

Mini-Distillation Analyser. - ISL's latest version of its robust and portable micro-distillation analyzer, OptiPMD, has been intriduced by PAC. OptiPMD combines 15 years of experience with the latest technology to offer a user-friendly solution that significantly reduces the need for training.

Powerful IoT sensor solutions./ - Sensera has signed a global agreement with Arrow Electronics, Inc. to distribute its high-precision, real-time location and location-aware smart wireless sensor solutions.

Surface defect identification. - AMETEK Surface Vision offers a precise and accurate method of detecting key surface defects of interest, utilising a new color classification option available in Surface Vision’s industry-leading SmartView® defect inspection system.

Consolidation testing of soils. - ELE International has launched the AUTO Soils Consolidator (ASC), which is the company’s latest addition to the ELE Soiltest PRO range of advanced soils testing equipment.

PAS Global Cyber Integrity Helps Secure Industrial Control Systems - Many industrial operations remain at risk of costly, disruptive cyber incidents. Despite their significant investments in defensive technologies, most companies don't do a good job of maintaining them. This is often due to an imbalance between investments in security technologies and the people, processes, and security management technologies needed to sustain them. The failure to keep cybersecurity solutions up to date often leaves plants vulnerable to exploits of unpatched vulnerabilities, obsolete policies, and poorly controlled privileges.

Solderless connectors extended! - Intelliconnect (Europe) Ltd has extended its award-winning range of solderless, field-replaceable connectors which provide solderless attachment to semi rigid cables to include .047" as well as its existing .085" and.0.141" cables. This innovative clamp connector series offers customers an alternative for assembling connectors to semi-rigid cable with no loss in performance or reliability.

PSU and battery charger range. - Anglia has added a comprehensive range of battery chargers and power supplies to its product line up following its appointment as Britain and Ireland distributor by leading Norwegian manufacturer Mascot.

Delta has appointed Dalip Sharma to the role of President & Regional Head for Delta Electronics Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA).

Structural health monitoring. - New from Leine Linde and available with full support from Mclennan, the ESR strain sensor is measurement concept that offers a novel alternative to conventional strain gauges through improved accuracy, signal quality and especially durability.

Test probes, clips and plugs. - Cliff Electronics manufactures test leads for a number of market-leading electrical test equipment OEMs. In addition, customers can buy a wide range of test probes, croc-clips and plugs manufactured by Cliff for use with their own test equipment or as replacements for lost or damaged items.

Electrical measurement window. - Fluke has introduced an electrical measurement window which provides immediate access to voltage and current sensors inside an energised electrical panel. This offers decreased maintenance costs and reduced downtime. Power quality and energy measurements can be made using the external access points without opening the panel door, thus offering safer access and speedy connections.

TSN integration for Bus. - The goal set by PI (PROFIBUS & PROFINET International) to integrate TSN as additional Layer 2 technology in the PROFINET architecture has been reached with the current PROFINET specification V2.4. The specification work has been completed and the three parts of the document are available for download on their website.

Switch for e-bikes! - E-Bike manufacturers are continually launching new innovations and technical advancements, such as manufacturer TQ-Systems who have initiated and established the market sector for premium class E-Bikes. They have technically revolutionized the market with its TQ HPR120S-Motor. An important component is the E-Bike sensor from ZF used for the measurement of the current riding speed.

Fomenting profitable growth in the field of bin-picking applications. - Stemmer Imaging AG has successfully concluded the acquisition of the Spanish group Infaimon S.L. today. The company is acquiring 100 per cent of the shares in the supplier of software and hardware for machine vision and robotics after approval of the transaction by all the relevant antitrust authorities.

Keeping pipelines safe and clean. - In order to cope with growing demand, Ashtead Technology has invested more than €223k (£200k) in its CCTV pipe inspection rental fleet over the last 6 months. Recent examples of Ashtead Technology’s acquisitions include the iPEK Rovion ATEX crawler cameras and a range of MiniCam systems such as the iCam SOLOPro+ push-rod cameras with axial, pan & tilt and duo options, as well as the Proteus crawler cameras.

Enhanced free sample service. - Anglia has upgraded Anglia Live, its e-commerce website, adding easier access to free samples, faster searches and improved keyword searching.

IT/OT/ET Convergence in Action - Convergence between IT and OT is commonly acknowledged in the manufacturing industries. But as integrating product and process design becomes increasingly important, we’re also seeing digital models and other engineering technologies being added to the convergence mix. Designing and testing new products, systems, and even plants in a virtual environment makes a compelling case, particularly from a cost perspective. Speakers in the IT/OT/ET convergence session at ARC Advisory Group’s 24th Annual Industry Forum in Orlando, Florida shared their convergence stories.

Software successfully caps a problem! - TorqSense transducers are playing a vital role in packing leading edge medical test kits at Axis-Shield in Dundee (Scotland), which develops new diagnostic compounds that help with the early identification and management of critical illnesses.

Miniature programmable Hall Effect angle sensor. - With a diminutive 10 mm diameter housing, M8 threaded mounting and a 3.175 mm diameter flatted shaft, Variohm EuroSensor's new Euro-CMRT series Hall Effect angle sensors extend its recently launched CMRx range of miniature programmable non-contacting sensors.

Radar level transmitter for the water and wastewater. - The OPTIWAVE 1400 FMCW radar level transmitter for the water and wastewater industry has been introduced by Krohne. The new 24 GHz device offers the benefits associated with FMCW radar technology – high accuracy, reliability and measurement stability – at a competitive price.

Partnership to develop a "vein-to-vein" digital supply chain solution. - Werum IT Solutions has announced a strategic partnership with Blood Centers of America (BCA) to provide a standardized, scalable and compliant platform for the cell and gene therapy market. BCA is a member-owned organization comprised of over 50 independent blood centers throughout North America, representing nearly 40% of the U.S. blood supply.

SCADA offering strengthened by acquisition. - Emerson has completed the purchase of Zedi’s software and automation businesses. The addition of Zedi’s cloud supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) platform will further enable Emerson, to help oil and gas producers increase production and lower operating costs through cloud-based monitoring, control and optimisation.

Components application centre. - Omron Electronic Components Europe has launched a new Application Centre in Europe, as the next step in its long term Customer Value Generation Strategy.

Professor Robert Richardson Elected New Chair of ESPRC UK-Robotics & Autonomous Systems Network.

DIN-Rail Fanless Embedded Box PC. - The latest addition to its ARK-1000 series: the ARK-1220, a compact DIN-Rail fanless embedded box PC for industrial and/or outdoor environments has been announced by Advantech. The ARK-1220 adopts Intel Atom® E3940 QC processors with front accessible I/O ports on single bezel—targeting applications such as machine automation, intelligent factories, in-cabinet equipment integration, and IoT gateways.

Water testing. - SES Water has chosen the Matrix Gemini LIMS from Autoscribe Informatics to manage water testing results in its UKAS-accredited laboratory. SES Water is a water-only company and supplies residents in East Surrey, parts of West Sussex, West Kent and South London in Britain.

Safe wireless toxic gas sensors. - Emerson has introduced two new Rosemount™ 628 Universal Gas Sensors to measure carbon monoxide and oxygen depletion in addition to the existing capability to monitor hydrogen sulphide. These additions to the series enable a broader range of hazardous situations to be monitored using the Rosemount 928 Wireless Gas Monitor platform.

High-performance filter with switch or fuse. - The high-performance filter series FN 9262 (with fuse holder) and FN 9266 (with dual pole switch), have been developed by Shaffner for applications demanding high RFI attenuation performance.

Interfaces for industry modular storage systems. - The Commeo GmbH from Wallenhorst near Osnabrück (D) has developed a modular energy storage system that allows applications, from mobile robots to the power supply for industrial plants and factories, to run securely and uninterrupted. In a joint project, Commeo and Harting have developed suitable interfaces for the new system by interconnecting the batteries in a particularly efficient way with downstream units.

Tough trigger switch! - A new miniature trigger switch for heavy duty control applications including industrial and domestic power tools has been introduced by Omron Electronic Components Europe. Its innovative design delivers exceptional dust, shock and vibration resistance within a very small overall size.

Acquisition strengthens smart city strategy! - The ACOEM Group has accelerated its international expansion plans with the acquisition of Air Monitors Ltd, the exclusive distribution partner of ECOTECH® products in Britain.