Universal I/O: Just in Time for the Digital Transformation
A standardized version of I/O provides users and machine builders with the opportunity to scale systems quickly, but traditional I/O still holds an important role.
May 5th, 2021
Whether it’s called universal I/O, flexible I/O, intelligent I/O, configurable I/O, electronic marshalling, etc., the use of smart I/O enables more flexibility for I/O changes an increasingly common occurrence as industry shifts to more customized and manufacturing-on-demand production processes. A major driver behind the push for universal I/O comes from large corporations, like ExxonMobil, looking to ease the commissioning process and enable changes to a control system.
Sensor Fusion: The Swiss Army Knife of Digitalization
With the proper communication protocols and network architecture in place, smart sensor technology and the data it provides can be the bulwark on which digital transformation is built.
Jan 25th, 2021
If industrial control systems are the brains of a plant, then sensors are its eyes and ears. Simply put, without sensors there would be nothing for SCADA, DCS, or PLCs to respond to. That’s why increasingly intelligent or “smart” sensors packing more onboard processing power, the ability to monitor new variables, and digital communication capabilities are playing such an important role in helping plant operators and enterprise level planners alike to see better and respond to problems with more finesse.