Prioritising arc flash safety. - A range of thermal imaging and wireless testing tools designed to ensure safety is the top priority for engineers working in potentially dangerous arc flash zones has been developed by Fluke.

AI, Energy Transition, and Industrial Sustainability. - Industrial AI is a subset of the broader field of artificial intelligence (AI) and refers to the application of AI technologies in industrial settings to augment the workforce in pursuit of growth, profitability, more sustainable products and production processes, and operational excellence. Industrial AI leverages machine learning, deep learning, neural networks, and fosters Industrial Sustainability. (Peter Manos/ARC Advisory)

All-In-One DC UPS protects 24V systems. - The compact DC UPS UPSI-2406DP3 from Bicker Elektronik, reliably protects 24V applications against system failures and data loss in case of power failure, voltage dip or flicker. For the integrated battery pack for buffering the 24V supply voltage, safe LiFePO4 high-performance cells with high energy density and particularly long service life are used.

Quickparts has appointed Isabelle Nourry as Sales Director for Europe.

Air quality monitors certified. - An MCERTS certificate has been awarded for the ‘Airly Air Quality Sensor PM+Gas’ systems. This means that the Airly particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) sensors have been independently verified for qualitative and quantitative measurements, and comply with the British Environment Agency’s MCERTS Performance Standards for Indicative Ambient Particulate Monitors.

Improved VRU Protection. - Anritsu Corporation, in collaboration with dSPACE, has developed an advanced digital twin simulation environment designed to provide improved protection for vulnerable road users (VRU). At 5GAA meeting on October 23-27, 2023, in Detroit, USA, the two companies will demonstrate a road safety use case using the C-V2X 5G network for cooperative communications.

Industrial education robot. - ABB Robotics is expanding its education offering with the launch of the IRB 1090. The 1090 industrial education robot, authenticated by the globally recognized education institute STEM.org, is designed to upskill students and provide them with a competitive advantage in securing employment. The new education robot forms a key part of ABB's wider education offering, which includes additional industrial robots, as well as education packages, next generation controllers and market leading programming and simulation software.

Widest field of view Available for camera module. - The Lepton UW from Teledyne FLIR is the world's first micro-thermal camera module with an ultrawide 160-degree field of view (FOV) and is small enough to fit on the tip of a finger. The new ultra-wide module provides unbeatable size, weight, and performance for applications requiring a wide field of view, including fire detection, process monitoring, and people counting.

Chat search needs to face the music. - There's been some interesting feedback on the past few articles, about the worrying prospect of AI-powered search providing us with supplier recommendations. (Part 4)

Expertise for green hydrogen site. - ABB has been contracted by Danish company H₂ Energy Esbjerg ApS to provide basic electrical engineering for the power distribution from grid point of connection to electrolyzers, and for other process equipment at its 1 GW hydrogen production facility in Esbjerg and hydrogen distribution hub in Fredericia (DK). The plant, among the largest hydrogen developments in Europe, will produce up to 90,000 tons of hydrogen per year – the equivalent of about 1.9 million barrels of oil per year.

Connections for test and measurement applications. - Samtec has released its full line of vertical solderless, compression mount connectors that incorporate precision alignment features. Spanning DC to 90 GHz, the new connectors are well suited for use in high-frequency test and measurement applications and are available in full production quantities.

Connectors reduce depth required behind panels USB-2, USB-3.1 and USB-C connectivity options. - New additions to Cliff Electronics' Right-Angle FeedThrough (RAFT) connector range have been announced. Their RAFT connector range is ideal for connectivity in wall mounted boxes where the depth is not available for rear entry or where cable access is required from the bottom or top. They also reduce the space required for interconnection at the rear of rack panel systems and provide vertical connections for convenient top to bottom wiring.

What can we do about search engine recommendations? - "In the last two articles, I've looked at what the new AI-powered searches return when asked to recommend suppliers and what this means. Now I guess we have to work out what we can do about it." (Part 3)

Protecting Industrial Control Systems. - In honor of Cybersecurity month, learn more about digital safeguarding of industrial control systems—sophisticated strategies for protecting ICS from emerging cyber threats, focusing on real-time monitoring, anomaly detection and rapid response mechanisms. (ISA)

Routers and gateways. - A wide range of smart cellular routers and gateways for Industrial IoT and Enhanced Networking including 5G, LTE, 3G HSPA+, UMTS, EDGE and GPRS are available from Advantech. Built and optimised for critical infrastructure applications in the most challenging and remote locations and environments their simplified plug-and-play designs, with extensive remote management enables users to quickly configure, deploy and customise any installation from anywhere over an IP network.

Thermal imaging in harsh conditions. - An industry-leading protection design for thermal imaging cameras without the compromise of a wire grid has been revealed by AMETEK Land. This new, proven, protective housing has been developed for thermal cameras in challenging installation conditions and offers many distinct benefits around optical clarity, temperature accuracy, improved efficiency and lower maintenance.

I thought they'd waffle a bit about subjectivity .... - Chris Rand of BMON continues to test AI as a tool in automation resourcing. (Part 2)

Fifty years of analysis. - ABB is marking the 50th anniversary of its Quebec (CDN) factory which today manufactures market leading products for industrial analytical measurement and is one of the largest suppliers of optical sensors for detecting greenhouse gas emissions from space.

Industrial connectors for new market. - Anglia Components PLC has been appointed as the first British stocking distributor of Board to Wire, Wire to Wire, Board-In connectors and Terminals for Japan Automatic Machine Co. (J.A.M.) a leading manufacturer in the industrial sector.

Glass plant sees move from fossell fuels. - Ireland is an advanced market for energy storage compared to its size and as BESS projects expand, these will help to integrate more renewables into the grid and help the country to reach 70% of renewable energy by 2030. GridBeyond has implemented a battery energy storage system (BESS) for CareyGlass at their site in Nenagh (IRL). 

AI in the hot seat.... - "What manufacturers should I talk to before buying a programmable controller for factory automation?" Chris Rand of BMON tests AI as a tool in automation resourcing. (Part 1)

Advancing industrial cybersecurity. - This paper from the International Society of Automation (ISA), aims to address how policy makers and private-sector leaders can be best equipped to address the urgent need for improved critical infrastructure cybersecurity through globally relevant standards and conformance programs, as well as strong support for the community of engineers and automation professionals working every day to keep our facilities, processes, and communities safe.

Power supply for safety-relevant applications. - An integrable and space-saving DC UPS solution for applications in industry and medical technology has been presented by Bicker Elektronik. The 24V emergency power supply with the particularly safe and durable LiFePO4 battery technology bridges power failures, voltage dips or flickers and thus effectively avoids system failures and data loss.

Site security planning. - Teledyne FLIR has introduced an enhanced version of Raven, the latest iteration of its professional security site planning web tool. To provide integrators with improved functionality, Raven includes real-time collaboration capabilities between Raven users along with the introduction of more Teledyne product solutions.

Contactless charging and energy systems strengthens offer. - eless charging specialist Wiferion. Wiferion's technology will now be further enhanced by the capabilities of PULS, a technology-driven power conversion company based in Munich with a revenue of 250 million euros in 2022. Their customers will now benefit from a global presence in production and application support. The current operational Wiferion team will remain in Freiburg (D) as the PULS Wireless business unit.

Partnership to advance geospatial solutions. - GeoCue and Microdrones have announced that Precision Laser and Instrument, Inc. has joined its global distribution network. Precision Laser and Instrument, Inc. has been in business for 34 years, earning a reputation for excellence and unmatched customer service in the fields of construction, surveying, GIS/mapping, engineering and forensics through sales, service repair, rentals, training and technical support of top-quality laser, optical and positioning equipment, field supplies and accessories.

Immersive viewing experience. - Display solutions and embedded systems provider, Review Display Systems (RDS) has announced the availability of a range of immersive Near Eye Display (NED) modules. A range of high-performance micro-OLED and micro-LCD displays featuring ultra-high resolution, high brightness, high contrast and low power consumption are available in NED module solutions.

Monitoring of mobile harbour equipment. - Tony Ingham of Sensor Technology Ltd explains how monitoring the work rate of cranes, loaders and unloaders means their performance can be optimised and downtime for maintenance can be scheduled for minimum disruption to operational requirements.

Photoionisation detection makes safer batteries. - The risks associated with Li-Ion batteries are well known, but Photoionisation detection (PID) sensors, such as those from Ion Science, are able to detect potential problems before they occur in the manufacture and use of lithium-ion batteries, and the enormous variety of devices that use these rechargeable batteries.

Bringing colour into space! - A stereo vision camera that not only generates 3D point clouds, but also delivers 2D images in colour (RGB) thanks to an additionally integrated image sensor is the IDS Ensenso C. This enables realistic 3D images and supports subsequent processes – for example when the images are to be further processed to perform sorting tasks.

Cybersecurity in the Age of Industrie 4.0. - This article Henry Martel, Field Application Engineer, Antaira Technologies, looks at industrial cyber threats and delves into strategies to blunt attackers. It also examines how industrial Ethernet switches can help safeguard Industry 4.0 networks from intruders.

High power, low vibration stepper motors. - EAO Ltd has introduced two new stepper motor drive families with the ability to deliver the higher torque factors necessary to make motion smoother and more precise and slash equipment positioning cycle times.

Interference measurement. - Enhanced functionality to Anritsu's Field Master™ spectrum analyzer LTE and 5G measurement options has been announced. As the rollout and densification of 5G networks accelerates, degradation of network performance resulting from interference in the TDD uplink is becoming more prominent. The latest Field Master software release provides a dual display of the LTE or 5G Frame structure with automatic placement of gates on the Uplink slots alongside the RF spectrum of the gated time slots.

Revolutionary fibre optic comms. - ODU's Expanded Beam Performance is an advanced fibre optic solution what offers high- end transmission characteristics with extremely low loss levels over many mating cycles. The outstanding optical performance remains unchanged even under mechanical stress, environmental influences and harsh ambient conditions.

EMC regulations preparedness uncertain. - A new survey from Schaffner reveals continuing uncertainty around the industry's readiness for the changing EMC regulations regarding the extension of compliance testing of devices down to 9 kHz. With responses from companies across multiple sectors, the survey reveals that many of those who will be most affected by the change are uncertain about their ability to comply, with many needing longer to take the actions needed.

Life science co-operative board announced. - Collaborating through Emerson's One-Click Technology Transfer™ Board, Emerson customers FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies, Merck and Pfizer will lead the development of strategies, solutions and guidelines to convert today's life sciences manufacturing recipe transfer process into a digitalised production platform. Digitalising recipe technology transfer will reduce the time, effort and risk of managing, sharing and translating information to help get new drug therapies to patients faster. Emerson will also open a dedicated research centre to accelerate the development of One-Click Technology Transfer software in the Singapore life sciences manufacturing hub.

Power consumption in plants. - STEGO Elektrotechnik has introduced the Smart Sensor Current ESS 076, which revolutionizes efficiency and spending in industrial plants. This smart sensor offers solutions to a wide range of challenges faced by plant operators. As an IO-Link sensor, the ESS 076 enables the rapid adjustment of parameters and the transmission of real-time data. With its additional 4-20 mA interface, the ESS 076 can be integrated easily into current projects.

Battery industry recycling. - ABB has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreement with British-based clean technology group Altilium* to jointly explore how the integration of automation, electrification and digital technologies in plants across Europe can support the scaling up of battery materials recycling. Altilium is developing green processing technologies and building infrastructure at scale for the recycling of metals and electric vehicle (EV) battery waste, with the aim of ensuring a domestic supply chain of low-carbon battery materials for the automotive industry.

How Are You Using ISA/IEC 62443? - ISAGCA (ISA Global Cybersecurity Alliance) would like to get a better idea of how its stakeholders are using ISA/IEC 62443 with a brief survey that takes no more than 10 minutes to complete. The ISA/IEC 62443 series of standards define requirements and processes for implementing and maintaining secure industrial automation and control systems (IACS) and set best practices for industrial security.

Automation & control trends. - In this edition of Automation.com's 8th Annual Industrial Automation & Control Trends Report, Bill Lydon reveals how advances in more than a dozen technology areas are enabling digital transformations and corporate resilience. Supplementing Bill's thoughts on the trends driving industry forward is the Insider Insights section—a collection of views from technology suppliers who are helping to empower manufacturers and shape the future of industrial automation.

Informatics & LIMS for India. - Elab Informatics has been appointed as distributor of Autoscribe Informatics prestigious Matrix Gemini LIMS in India. Elab Informatics has focused on growing its Lab Informatics consulting services uo to now. This agreement enables Elab to also sell and support Matrix Gemini LIMS software in addition to offering configuration and informatics consulting services to clients.

High speed for UV light. - Ametek's Vision Research has introduced high-speed cameras capable of capturing images in the extended light spectrum of UV, visible and Near-IR wavelengths. The cameras have over 70% Quantum Efficiency (QE) at 300nm, as well as unprecedented QE at other points of the UV light spectrum, allowing researchers to potentially capture images using just the camera and a UV lens. Previously, images in the UV light spectrum were only available with the aid of an image intensifier.

Gas analyser & sampling system allow carbon capture pilot project to proceed. - Several abortive attempts were made to monitor potentially hazardous methane gas in a boiler's emissions feeding a pilot carbon capture unit at a natural gas combustion plant in southern Arkansas (US). Engineers from Aqualung Carbon Capture eventually contacted Signal Group looking for a solution.

Quarterly automation supplier financials year-on-year analysis - Q1 2023. - In this Insight, ARC Advisory Group includes the most recent quarterly automation supplier financials for major automation suppliers that publicly report their results. (Rajkumar Paira).