Home | Control Design

SDA bridges IT and OT for the next generation of industrial machinery

This diagram shows how data flows from the production line into digital twin clients. Data from production floor devices is collected through standard industrial protocols, such as OPC UA and then structured and contextualized by the unified namespace (UNS). A message queuing telemetry transport (MQTT) broker distributes live data from the UNS to the Unity-based digital twin clients on compatible devices for accurate visualization of the production line. Time-series and SQL databases store historical data that Unity can access as needed. The supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system obtains the same data as the UNS in parallel and operates on it before supplying its data to the UNS, offering additional process visibility and control. Cloud-based services like Amazon Web Services or Azure can be used to host the UNS, databases and other backend components so that Unity clients can access the digital twin securely over the internet.

Data Acquisition & Monitoring

Unity gaming engine powers digital twin technology

Cole Switzer

E Tech Group helps large global manufacturer use real-time data flows from the production equipment

Are You Ready For Tomorrow - businessman working with virtual reality at office.

Robotics

Future-proofing your skills: A preview of Automate 2025 and the CSIA Conference 2025

Mike Bacidore

Level up your automation game with these must-attend conferences for robotics, AI and digital transformation

Time-Sensitive Networking

Defining and understanding time-sensitive networking

What is time-sensitive networking? Find out with this quiz

Hand putting hexagon piece to fulfill the part of R&D icon for Research and Development

Development Platforms

How are PLC R&D teams affected by software-defined automation?

Mike Bacidore

SDA can help to manage both logic control and data processing

Hands of robot and human connect artificial intelligence AI circuit board to virtual smart chatbot with a command for automation generate, learning technology artificial intelligence machine, AI.

Control

Artificial intelligence tools will give engineers more time to tackle higher level projects

Anna Townshend

While AI-generated code should be used responsibly, it could change the future face of the engineering workforce

NexCobot in collaboration with German partner Sysgo and BotFellows has developed a high-safety-level robotic dynamic safety collaboration space.

Functional Safety

How to expand the fieldbus and enable functional safety of a robot

Tobey Strauch

NexCobot uses two levels of control to create a dynamic functional safety environment

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Development Platforms

Protocol and standard adaptability makes SDA impervious to obsolescence

Mike Bacidore

Abstracted from hardware, software-defined platforms eliminate the need for single-source automation and can run on any compute device

Businessman hand touching virtual panel of virtual panel of computer network topology

Data Acquisition & Monitoring

Which topology should you choose for your application?

Can you correctly choose between bus, ring, star and mesh topologies?

Docker platform word cloud 3d illustration

Development Platforms

Software-defined automation leverages containerization to adopt best practices for continuous integration and continuous deployment

Mike Bacidore

SDA's ability to facilitate multiple vendor sourcing options could be advantageous

Computer engineer is typing console script code by hand

Control

How can generative AI simplify complex PLC programming?

Anna Townshend

Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) tools help large language models improve code program organization units

Man is holding teach panel to control a robotic arm, which is integrated on smart factory production line

Sensors

Industrial safety sensors protect workers, equipment and processes

Charles Palmer

Proximity, pressure, temperature, gas and chemical, smoke and fire, vibration, motion, safety light, optical, radar, lidar, relay, wearable, load, force, vision and environmental...

Products

I/O

Siemens I/O system

Siemens

March 21, 2025

Siemens offers the scalable Simatic ET 200SP I/O, which is a highly flexible, modular system. It can exchange I/O data from the connected I/O modules with a higher-level programmable...

Time-Sensitive Networking

Phoenix Contact Wi-Fi modules

Phoenix Contact

March 20, 2025

The WLAN 1121 and WLAN 1021 from Phoenix Contact offer the latest Wi-Fi 6 technology (IEEE 802.11ax) for high performance, security and reliability. With its modern industrial...

Connectors

Mencom receptacle

Mencom

March 19, 2025

Mencom offers a range connectors for sensors and actuators in industries such as automation, manufacturing, military, aerospace and transportation. The receptacles are engineered...