“UniversalAutomation.org is the beginning of a new era for industrial automation,” shared Schneider Electric’s Executive Vice President for Industrial Automation, Barbara Frei. “Current architectures have done a great job of advancing industry to where we are now, but to reach next-generation sustainability, innovation, and agility, we must embrace portable and interoperable software. Doing so requires a reimagining of our current systems and processes, and collaboration on a new scale, which the UniversalAutomation.org members have agreed to do.”
Members of UniversalAutomation.org will be working together to develop and adopt the next generation of universal automation solutions by collectively incrementing the runtime following shared source principals. According to the association, they are aiming to “unleash the full potential of Industry 4.0.” Through the process of decoupling software and hardware, sharing a reference runtime implementation of the IEC 61499 standard, and merging IT and (OT, they are expecting to pioneer a new category of industrial automation.
Until recently, the industrial world has mainly worked with closed proprietary architectures and hardware-dependent software. Harry Forbes from the ARC Advisory Group also expressed how “the real-time nature of industrial automation software makes commonality more difficult for industrial control.
“This new organization is the first time that multiple automation suppliers have collaborated on a common runtime environment,” he added. “This is very promising for the future of highly interoperable automation systems in both plants and factories.”
Companies and organizations that are a part of UniversalAutomation.org include the following: Aalto University, Advantech, Asus, Belden, Cargill, EAW Relaistechnik GmbH, ESA, ETP, Flexbridge, Georgia-Pacific, GR3N, Hirschmann, HTW Berlin, Intel, Jetter, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Kongsberg Maritime, Lawrence Technological University, Lumberg Automation, Phoenix Contact, ProSoft, R. Stahl, Shell, VP Process, Wilo, Wood, and Yokogawa. More are expected to join soon with the association continuing to recruit new members.
Members will have access to as well as the ability to shape the next generation of automation technology. Universal Automation is encouraging all entities that are interested in helping advance industrial automation to join the organization and partake in its work.
“UniversalAutomation.org is hitting the reset button on automation technology,” said Chief Marketing Officer Greg Boucaud. “Using the IEC 61499 standard for distributed systems, we can create a new, open industrial environment that will lead to a more sustainable, efficient future. UniversalAutomation.org will remove the barriers to innovation in automation by decoupling hardware and software and providing end users with the freedom they have been asking for—to easily integrate different technologies regardless of where they came from and fully optimize their automation systems.”
For more information, visit the UniversalAutomation.org website.