Category Archives: Automation

Not so long ago, when automation suppliers talked about the future of manufacturing, cloud computing was central to nearly every conversation. Though the cloud remains poised to play a significant role in manufacturings future, there is a great deal more attention being focused on edge computing today.

If youre unsure about the difference between the two, the simplest way to understand edge computing is to realize that it is simply the placement of servers, or other computing deviceeven a microcomputer, on or near a plant floor device for data collection, analysis and storage. Cloud computing, on the other hand, involves sending plant floor device data to an offsite server for storage and analysis. Read more about edge computing here.

At this years ARC Forum, edge computing had a high-profile in several automation suppliers exhibits and was central to announcements by Inductive Automation, Bedrock Automationand Stratus.

SCADA/HMI at the Edge Last year at the ARC Forum, Inductive Automation announced its partnership with Cirrus Link Solutions around the release of MQTT modules for Inductive Automations Ignition product. Those modules were designed to decouple applications, such as HMI and SCADA, from plant floor devices and send the devices data to an MQTT server which could then be connected to various applications. By taking this step, Inductive Automation and Cirrus Link addressed the growing network traffic issues and negative impacts of too much direct data polling of plant floor devices.

Now, Inductive Automation and Cirrus Link are planning to release IgnitionEdge a set of three products designed for plant floor edge computing applications. The products include: IgnitionEdge Panel, which creates local HMIs for field devices; IgnitionEdge Enterprise for synchronizing data collected from an edge device to a centralized server, and IgnitionEdge MQTT to publish field device data through MQTT. Read more about MQTT.

IgnitionEdge products can handle up to 500 tags from PLCs and come with OPC-UA, Modbus, Siemens and Allen-Bradley drivers. The products are also cross-platform, meaning they can work on any platform from Windows and OSX to Linux and even Raspberry Pis.

Though the IgnitionEdge Panel is a straightforward product for creating local HMIs, an added benefit is its ability to buffer dataenabling one weeks worth of data to be stored on the device in the event of failed network connection.

IgnitionEdge Enterprise allows for the creation of a hub-and-spoke architecture so that it can act as a remote server to synchronize data from an edge device to a central Ignition server via the Ignition Enterprise Administration Module. In addition to its remote backup, restoration management, centralized monitoring of performance and health metrics, and remote alarm notification, IgnitionEdge Enterprise has store-and-forward capabilitiesmeaning that, like the IgnitionEdge Panelit can handle local data buffering to collect historical data for up to one week if the connection to the central several goes down. Once connections are restored, data will synchronize back to the central server.

IgnitionEdge MQTT essentially enables any device to become an edge gateway by converting the devices data into MQTT and publishing it to an MQTT broker, which can then be accessed by the MQTT Engine Module.

Arlen Nipper, president and CTO of Cirrus Link Solutions, noted a key aspect of IgnitionEdge as being its ability to enable devices to deliver the root authority on tag information. With the tag itself becoming the root authority for information about the device, this means that human tagging can become a thing of the past, he said, adding that, if a tag is manually changed, that change will be automatically reflected all the way back to the central server.

With IgnitionEdge, people can stop talking about how to adopt IoT and get on with doing it, said Don Pearson, chief strategy officer of Inductive Automation. Ignition Edge takes any field device and turns into a lightweight IoT-enabled device.

Cybersecurity at the Edge Bedrock Automation, which made a surprising entry into the automation market just two years ago with a unique approach to designing controllers, I/O and even the backplane, extended its embedded cybersecurity capabilities with the release of Bedrock Cybershield 2.0. A key addition to this upgrade is the incorporation of a certification authority into Bedrocks hardware root of trust.

Certification authority is a critical aspect for interconnected automation systems, particularly as operations technology (OT) and IT systems converge. Adding this capability into Bedrock Automations root of trust means that applications and developers can now receive certificates of authority (CAs) to incorporate Bedrock encryption keys into their software, giving their programs secure access to Bedrock controllers.

Software providers working with Bedrock Automaton on this include 3S,which isusing its IEC61131 configuration and runtime engines running over TLS (transport layer security) with authentication to the Bedrock system root of trust, and M&M with its Softwares Field Device Tool (FDT) for HART configuration. Albert Rooyakkers, founder and CTO of Bedrock Automation, noted that Inductive Automation and other SCADA partners will begin working with Bedrock Automations CAs later this year.

Explaining the benefits of adding CAs to Cybershield, Rooyakkers said it extends BedrockAutomations embedded securityfrom the controller to the networks, applications and edge devices connected to it. At the ARC event, Rooyakkers provided insight into how this CA approach to cybersecurity will extend even to the people accessing the system via multi-factor authentication with smart cards, biometrics and role-based access management authenticated to the root of trust inside the machine. The biometric and smart card features will be available in subsequent Cybershield releases later this year.

With this approach, the person operating the workstation has certification authority to access the automation system and so does the workstation itself, said Rooyakkers. And with OPC UA, we deploy an open communications standard for Ethernet networks at the control and I/O. OPC UA server runs in the Bedrock Secure Power and UPS products with the client running in the Ethernet I/O module.

Certification authority adds to the layers of intrinsic security designed into Bedrock Automations electronic components and modules, which include strong cryptography, secure components, component anti-tamper, secure firmware, secure communications and module anti-tamper. From embedded cryptography to physical tamper resistance, the design of Bedrock Automations products address industrial security concerns with the objective of a nation-state defense posture, said Rooyakkers.

Companies can also personalize their own unique root keys with Bedrock Automations SCC.X controller, which allows for customer-specific root keys to be placed within the controller in the Bedrock factory at the time of order. Rooyakkers said these unique root keys not only provide an additional layer of protection for user IP, the system modules and applications can be defined by company, plant or other designations desired by the user.

Bedrock Automation also unveiled its new 20-channel discrete output (DO) moduleSIO8.20. Key features of the new module include:

Servers at the Edge One of the most frequently asked questions about the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is: Where do I start? And while there are plenty of entry points to IIoT, one of the most basic approaches involves shoring up your edge computing capabilities.

With a long history in the financial and telecom sectors, Stratus has been turning its attention toward industrial automation and is positioning its fault tolerant servers and high availability software for use across industry. Evidence of this can be seen in Stratus achieving a 40 percent increase year-over-year in revenue from industrial companies in the Americas.

Jason Andersen, vice president at Stratus, said that most of the business Stratus has done in industry comes from the process side, specifically oil and gas, water/wastewater, electricity, food & beverage and pharmaceuticals. He also noted that Stratuss primary customer in industry is someone in operations technology, not IT. We support the whole stack, so it avoids any finger pointing by IT, he said.

Explaining why off-the-shelf, general business servers are not the best choice for industrial automation applications, Andersen said that Stratus is often brought in to work with industrial companies because something broke [with a general business server] and it was painful for the company, or theyre looking to upgrade their operating software to enable failsafe operation and remote management of edge servers.

Another key aspect of Stratuss offering for industry, and which holds particular appeal for its OT clients, is Stratuss ability to perform predictive maintenance on its server and software.

Andersen said that most industrial computing today involves providing a platform for HMI and SCADA. But as companies look to do more with IIoT, theyll need more software at the edge and it needs to be protected thats where we come in, he said. We provide a smart connected hub for industry. Like Google Home or Amazon Echo for consumer usewe connect devices to the cloud. Were essentially selling an onramp to the future of IIoT, he said.

In terms of its use in industry, Alexander said Stratus servers and software are application transparent, meaning that they can support any industrial software applications. Current industrial automation partners include Rockwell Automation, Wonderware by Schneider Electric, GE Digital and Siemens.

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A Sharper Focus on the Edge - Automation World

Could domestic manufacturing equipment become a hot business if trade barriers suddenly pop up around the world? What happened

Shares of Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) jumped 10.1% in January, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence, after an impressive earnings report and improved guidance gave investors a bullish outlook on the future.

Fiscal first-quarter 2017 revenue was up 4.5% from a year ago to $1.49 billion, and net income jumped from $185.5 million a year ago to $214.7 million, or $1.65 per share. But it was really full-year guidance that got investors' attention. Management increased growth guidance by a full percentage point, and now expects reported and organic growth of 1% to 5%. On the bottom line, guidance was increased by $0.10 to $5.56 to $5.96 per share.

Image source: Getty Images.

Automation equipment is going to be a key growth driver of efficiency in the economy, and may be even more necessary if trade barriers start going up around the world. When financials start matching up with that bullish investment thesis, it could be a big driver of stocks like Rockwell long-term. I don't think this will suddenly be a double-digit growth company in the near future, but with these tailwinds and a 2% dividend yield, I think Rockwell Automation is a well positioned stock for the economic trends of the next decade.

Travis Hoium has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Travis Hoium has been writing for fool.com since July 2010 and covers the solar industry, renewable energy, and gaming stocks among other things.

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Rockwell Automation Surged 10% in January as Growth Picked Up Steam - Motley Fool

Port Technology International (PTI) is excitedto announce that Francisco J. Grau Cavanillas, MD of the Ports and Terminals division at Orbita Ingenieria, is a speaker for PTI's upcoming Terminal Automation & Training C-Level Networking Conference taking place from April 19-20, 2017, in London.

At the start of his career, Grau programmed PLCs and SCADAs, mainly in the Ford Motor Company factory in Almussafes, Valencia.

In 2003, he started to work alongside the Port Authority of Valencia on its automation projects, eventually becoming more involved in management and the ports operations.

Grau became one of the founders of Orbita Ingenieria in 2006, which sought to provide its founders and those involved in the company with an environment to develop their passion for engineering and address the challenges being faced in the industry through automation.

Orbita has sustained continuous growth over the last 11 years, growing from 12 employees at the end of 2006 to 130 today. This has allowed the company to create three different divisions in 2013, Factory Automation, Process Automation and Ports and Terminals.

During this time, Grau has gained expertise in team management and R&D activities and now holds aposition on the board of directors.

The ports and terminals division, 'Orbita Ports&Terminals',was created to develop the groups industry expertise, developed for many years in the Port of Valencia while expanding Orbita internationally.

Grau said: One of the key differentiating elements of our company is our broad industry automation approach, which enables us to provide know-how and experience from different sectors into the ports sector, and vice versa.

We started our international expansion in 2013, only fouryears ago, and I can say that I am very satisfied with the work that we have carried out these past years in getting the market to know our Company.

Graus work during this time has been to lead the strategic movements of Orbita Ingenieria in product development, marketing, and build a talented team, turning the vision into a reality.

In order to achieve this, Grau views Port Technology International as the best media partner companion available.

The Ports and Terminals divisions growing list of clients include renowned companies such as PSA, MSC and APMT.

Also included are terminals such DCT Gdansk and commercial and technical partners like Kalmar and Siemens.

Grau said of the Terminal Automation & Training C-Level Networking Conference: It will be a great opportunity to meet the industry leaders together in one single, high level event.

I would like to debate the issue of the growing software dependence and the consequent workforce adaptation in the Terminals.

"Also, I would like to hear the operators points of view regarding automation introduction plans in their terminals and compare this to last year, asking the question: has the commitment to automation increased?

I would also like to discuss topics related to the Internet of Things, big data and the evolution of automation in the Ports Industry over recent years.

Cavanillas has an Industrial Engineering degree from the Polytechnic University of Valencia with a specialisation in Electronics and Process Control.

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Orbita Ingenieria: New Age Terminal Automation - Port Technology International

By Michael Cabanatuan, San Francisco Chronicle

Photo: Tony Dejak, Associated Press

New legislationwould allow San Francisco and San Jose to install cameras that detect when someone is speeding and ensure that a ticket is issued.

New legislationwould allow San Francisco and San Jose to install cameras that detect when someone is speeding and ensure that a ticket is issued.

In addition to hours spent in traffic, NerdWallet considered days of precipitation, gas prices, insurance premiums, parking available and likelihood of getting into an accident.

The study indicates San Francisco is pretty hard on drivers. Check out where it lands among the top 10 and why. less

In addition to hours spent in traffic, NerdWallet considered days of precipitation, gas prices, insurance premiums, parking available ... more

New Yorkers spend $1,614.71 per year on car insurance - $500 more than the national average. They also spend 59 hours a year in traffic delays. However, the city's extensive rail system, bike sharing and other amenities help take the pressure off the already-jammed roads. less

New Yorkers spend $1,614.71 per year on car insurance - $500 more than the national average. They also spend 59 hours a year in traffic delays. However, the city's extensive rail system, bike ... more

Detroit has the least parking availability and highest car insurance prices in America, with .49 parking lots or garages per 1,000 commuters and an egregious $4,924.99 insurance premium - that's 3 1/2 times more than the average American's insurance costs. NerdWallet credits Detroit's high car theft rate as part of the reason for the expensive insurance. less

Detroit has the least parking availability and highest car insurance prices in America, with .49 parking lots or garages per 1,000 commuters and an egregious $4,924.99 insurance premium - ... more

NerdWallet blames Seattle's bad traffic on the weather. But they back it up with stats: In 2012, Seattle saw 150 days of rain, which causes hazardous road conditions and poor visibility. That's 40 more rainy days than the national average. We also spend 48 hours per year stuck in traffic, which is 46 percent more than the national average.

less

NerdWallet blames Seattle's bad traffic on the weather. But they back it up with stats: In 2012, Seattle saw 150 days of rain, which causes hazardous road conditions and poor visibility. That's 40 ... more

Here, drivers are 61.2 percent more likely to get into a traffic crash than the average American driver and the gas prices are 16 cents more per gallon than the national average.

Here, drivers are 61.2 percent more likely to get into a traffic crash than the average American driver and the gas prices are 16 cents more per gallon than the national average.

Chicago sees the most regularly torrential weather of the cities in the top 10 and its gas prices are the highest of the 25 worst cities for drivers with $4.16 per gallon.

Chicago sees the most regularly torrential weather of the cities in the top 10 and its gas prices are the highest of the 25 worst cities for drivers with $4.16 per gallon.

Miami drivers pay $1,750.10 per year in car insurance, which is 59 percent higher than the national average. There are also only .77 parking garages or lots per 1,000 commuters.

Miami drivers pay $1,750.10 per year in car insurance, which is 59 percent higher than the national average. There are also only .77 parking garages or lots per 1,000 commuters.

Los Angeles drivers suffer 61 hours of delays each year and 55.1 percent of the population travels during peak hours. Drivers also pay an average $4.01 per gallon for gas.

Los Angeles drivers suffer 61 hours of delays each year and 55.1 percent of the population travels during peak hours. Drivers also pay an average $4.01 per gallon for gas.

But, hey, at least they're not in Washington, D.C., where drivers spend 67 hours per year stuck in traffic - the most in the United States. Drivers in the nation's capital are also 97.3 percent more likely to get into a crash than the average driver. less

But, hey, at least they're not in Washington, D.C., where drivers spend 67 hours per year stuck in traffic - the most in the United States. Drivers in the nation's capital are also 97.3 ... more

But that isn't as bad as Boston, where drivers are 129.9 percent more likely than the average driver to wreck the car. Drivers here spend 53 hours per year in traffic. Good thing one-third of commuters use public transportation, but apparently that's not enough. less

But that isn't as bad as Boston, where drivers are 129.9 percent more likely than the average driver to wreck the car. Drivers here spend 53 hours per year in traffic. Good thing one-third of commuters ... more

Speeders beware: Legislation would allow automation crackdown

Aiming to get drivers to hit the brakes, San Francisco Assemblyman David Chiu introduced legislation Wednesday that would allow San Francisco and San Jose to install cameras that detect when someone is speeding and ensure that a ticket is issued.

Chiu made the announcement at a news conference in the lobby of San Francisco General Hospital, where five victims of car collisions are treated daily.

Speeding is the leading cause of pedestrian fatalities in the two cities, supporters said, and slowing traffic saves lives. While cameras at controlled intersections that detect red-light runners are legal in California, cameras that nab speeders are not.

If San Francisco had automated speed enforcement, the driver might not have been going so fast and my mother might not have been so seriously injured, said Jenny Yu, whose mother, Judy Szeto Yuen Man Yu, was struck by a car in the Richmond District. She suffered broken bones as well as brain damage that left her with multiple personalities and in need of constant care.

This crash took away moms ability to live a normal life. said Jenny Yu, who attended Chius news conference.

Also attending were other families of people killed or severely injured when they were hit by cars, Mayors Ed Lee of San Francisco and Sam Liccardo of San Jose, and transportation and health officials along with San Francisco Police Chief William Scott.

The legislation calls for a five-year trial. It would authorize the use of automated devices that measure speeds and trigger cameras that capture images of speeding cars and their license plates. Owners of cars found exceeding the speed limit by at least 10 miles per hour would then be mailed citations of no more than $100, including court fees.

Cameras would be placed on posts along some of the cities deadliest streets, focusing on areas where speeding is common. In San Francisco, those streets include stretches of Market Street and Geary Boulevard, said Paul Rose, a spokesman for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.

Traffic signs would be put in place warning drivers that speed cameras lurk ahead, and for the first 30 days after cameras are installed, drivers would be mailed warning tickets that do not include a fine.

Scott said the speed cameras are not an attempt to raise money, a complaint critics are sure to voice.

Lets be clear: Our goal is to save lives not write tickets, the police chief said.

But what will drivers think? Those interviewed at a South of Market gas station had a variety of thoughts.

Eeeeeew. I dont think thats good, said Jermaine Scott, 38, a San Francisco delivery driver who lives in Richmond. Thats real sneaky. But it could save lots of lives around here. This place has become a danger zone for pedestrians.

Proponents say automated speed enforcement has slowed drivers and deaths from traffic collisions by impressive amounts: a 53 percent reduction in deaths in Portland, Ore., a 31 percent decline in speeding in Chicago, and a 13.4 percent decrease in injury accidents near cameras in New York.

Some motorists, however, worried that cameras wont give drivers the benefit of the doubt and wont understand that they might have accelerated to avoid an erratic driver or a double-parked truck, or in advance of a hill.

Speed enforcement is a human job, Taj Turner, 36, a San Francisco salesman who lives in Oakland, said. I think its a horrible idea, especially in a city where a lot of people dont drive. Theyd be hurting Uber and Lyft and taxis, people who are just trying to make a living.

The legislation is sure to face opposition in Sacramento. Past efforts have stalled in the Legislature after criticism from the American Automobile Association and the trucking industry. Chiu said he hopes to persuade those groups to at least stay neutral.

Michael Cabanatuan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com

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Speeders beware: Legislation would allow automation crackdown ... - SFGate

Thursday, February 9, 2017

Were currently at 4.9percent unemployment, and its only because machines are not smart or cheap enough to replace us.

The motto of entrepreneurship incubators is disrupt your industry, which really means introduce technology to an established industry. Uber decimated taxis and public transportation, Amazon Now brought two-hour delivery to large metropolitan areas and Google is advancing its machine learning algorithms along with its consumer AI.

So far, these services have managed to improve our quality of life without negative impacts to our economy. However, the systems, infrastructure and technology that power these services are still in their infancy. Our economy is about to experience a change as dramatic as the industrial revolution.

Automation has been threatening to take our jobs since the cotton gin. And it has, but new, better jobs have come along. When agriculture was automated, our economy changed. No longer was it necessary to have 40percentof our workforce performing manual labor.

This freed up the necessary workforce to allow the industrial revolution to take off and manufacturing jobs took over as the American employer.

The industrial revolution was also a technological revolution. It allowed automation to build cars, air conditioners, or any product significantly cheaper while requiring less human involvement.

The economy adjusted. As these middle-class manufacturing jobs left our economy, we attempted to adjust. However, our middle class has suffered and continues to be in decline.

How long before automation takes a more significant role in our economy and lives?

Uber has become the ubiquitous transportation application. Since Ubers pricing became competitive its garnered more customers,and its service has become significantly more convenient. What most dont know is that Uber operates at a loss.

Every year, the company loses money but continues to be the most popular transportation app with no signs of slowing down. The long-term business plan isnt eventually paying drivers less; its eventually not paying them at all.

Uber is banking on self-driving cars to become commercially available in the next few years. An entire fleet of cars that need no sleep, are constantly available and run on electricity.

Retail companies havemade their logistical processes as automated and intelligent as possible. Amazon Now and Amazon GO are services that are recent, andboth function to connect a costumer to a product as quickly and as easily as possible.

Amazon Now is a two-hour delivery service, and its amazing. You can order 80percent of your grocery needs, anXbox controller and batteries and have them delivered to your door two hours later.

Amazons logistics process is the most advanced in the world, meaning that its the most automated. Amazon GO is a brick-and-mortar store that doesnt need cashiers. When a customer walks in, they scan their phone, grab the food they want and walk out.

Depending on their logistics process, Amazon might even have machines stocking the shelves as well.

Machine learning is the software side of automation. Google has been working on a project called Deepmind. Thissoftware learns any task by running billions of simulations, adjusting the variables its allowed, and without instructions, quickly learning the most effective ways to accomplish its goal.

This process allows it to approach problems in ways humans would never think of. Its most recent accomplishment is winning a game of GO, against the best player in the world. A step above Chess (as its believed you need a sense of intuition to win).

These systems can be taught to program, write papers and design complex structures, as well as take restaurant orders, provide better automated customer service, do research and design better versions of themselves.

Machine learning software can learn to write news articles by reading millions ofreports to understand human writing patterns. It will be able to quickly draft summaries for press conferences and speeches. Bias can even be programmed in.

Innovation and automation are an unavoidable future. Profit drives innovation, and no matter what the effect it has on the middle class, companies will not stop automating processes.

Our politicians are concerned with coal and manufacturing jobs that are already obsolete and fail to see the future thats looming.

Our economy is not prepared for a future in whichthe unemployment rateis constantly high or a people no longer need to work 40-hour weeks. Companies will continue to reduce overhead by cutting away the inefficient, prone to error fat that hinders profits.

Since machines run pretty lean, the only fat I see is us.

Hugo Salinas is a MIS senior and aregularcontributor to Cooglifemagazine. He can be reached atopinion@thedailycougar.com

Tags: Amazon GO, automation, Uber

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Automation is the unavoidable future of the economy - The Daily Cougar

Cruise Automation, a division of General Motors that makes autonomous car technology, has developed a mobile app to request rides in self-driving Chevrolet Bolt EVs.

The app is being used by Cruise employees on a test basis to request a ride in an autonomous Bolt EV from their home to the company's office in San Francisco. The test program was started a few months ago, according to a GM spokesman.

Information about the app was shared by Cruise Automation CEO Kyle Vogt in emailed statement that was released Wednesday along with a new video showing one of its autonomous vehicles successfully navigating the Potrero and Mission neighborhoods in San Francisco. This is the second video that the normally secretive unit, acquired by GM last year for $1 billion, has shared in the past month of its self-driving car exploits.

The video was captured from one of Cruise Automation's autonomous vehicles (this particular one is named Albatross) during a series of back-to-back test rides, according to Vogt. There was no additional planning involved in rides beyond what is typical, and the video was captured in a single take, he said.

More from Vogt:

The operator selected a random destination using the Cruise mobile app, pushed a button, and the vehicle started moving. Rides like this occur hundreds of times per day across our test fleets.

The video, posted below, is compressed to show a 23-minute tour that includes pedestrians, cyclists, and at least one car cutting in front of the self-driving vehicle as well as a combination of traffic lights, stop signs, and a construction zone . In other words, a complex environment.

The company's overall fleet for self-driving cars is growing, according to GM. In October, there were 30 self-driving cars in the company's fleet. Now there are more than 40 vehicles, which are being testing in San Francisco, Scottsdale, Ariz., and Detroit. In San Francisco, there are 25 autonomous vehicles being tested on public roads, according to GM spokesman Kevin Kelly.

General Motors has been more public and aggressive with its autonomous car ambitions in the past 18 months. The automaker announced a number of new initiatives last year that highlight its interest in self-driving cars and unconventional transportation options popularized by a new wave of startups, including a partnership and $500 million investment in ride-hailing startup Lyft, the creation of an engineering team dedicated to autonomous driving , and its acquisition of Cruise Automation .

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GM's Cruise Automation Is Testing An App to Order Self-Driving ... - Fortune

In todays fast-paced, ever-changing software world, manual tests are no longer cutting it. A new study revealed that more businesses are moving toward test automation to keep pace with their competitors. According to information technology, consulting and service provider Wipro Limiteds State of Quality 2016 study, there was an 85% jump in test automation over the last two years.

Today, applications are working, behaving and interacting with people, networks and each other in entirely new environments and in completely new ways. As a consequence, testing has also been through considerable transformation, according to the report.

(Related: How AI will impact development)

The sudden increase and interest in test automation is due to the digital transformation pressures almost every industry is facing today, according to Wipro. The report reveals the rise of agile, DevOps and Continuous Delivery are forcing testing to keep up with the pace of development. Automating tests can help companies cut down time and costs while maintaining agility.

Regardless of industry, with 85% of test cases being automated, it is safe to assume that aside from cost take out, enhanced test coverageand by implication, improved qualityis a major benefit, the company wrote in its report.

The report also found a growth in the amount of open-source automation tools available today, making it easier and cheaper for companies to apply automation tactics. According to the report, over the last two years, open-source tool demand has increased over commercial tools by 116%.

Other key findings of the report included web applications are dominating performance testing, there is waning interest in performance engineering, and there is increased focus on quality engineering.

Applications are at the heart of a digital enterprise, and with technologies such as cloud, analytics and mobility driving business needs, software testing has evolved into a quality engineering and assurance discipline, [ensuring] a resilient and seamless IT experience in an organization, said Hiral Chandrana, senior vice president and global head of business and application services at Wipro.

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Report: Test automation is increasing - SD Times - SDTimes.com

February 7, 2017

People generally make decisions using two ways of thinking: They think consciously, deliberate for a while, and try to use logic to figure out what action to takereferred to as analytical cognition. Or people unconsciously recognize patterns in certain situations, get a "gut feeling," and take action based on that feeling; in other words, they use intuitive cognition. In his February Human Factors paper, "Intuitive Cognition and Models of Human-Automation Interaction," Robert Earl Patterson found that current taxonomies used to classify systems or teams of humans and computers include only conscious, deliberation-type thinking and neglect the role of intuitive cognition. Patterson suggests that automated systems of the futuresuch as smart cars, homes, and devicesmay be improved if they incorporated both intuitive and analytical cognition. In the paper, he presents a new dual-processing taxonomy based on the work of Raja Parasuraman and colleagues in 2000.

"Intuitive cognition," Patterson states, "should be encouraged whenever automation fosters a quick grasp of the meaningful gist of information based on experience or perceptual cues, without working memory or precise analysis." For example, an individual interacting with computers that display the status of a system in pictorial form would engage intuitive cognition via those perceptual cues.

Patterson notes an advantage: "Intuitive cognition is relatively immune to time pressure and workload, unlike analytical cognition, which is slow in responding." This could be seen, for example, in a scenario in which experienced firefighters quickly extinguish a difficult fire using intuitive cognition they've developed from dealing with fires in the past.

To bring intuitive cognition into future automated systems, Patterson speculates, "the human and machine may need to train together in some fashion so the interaction can be based on learned unconscious pattern recognition."

In the long run, Patterson believes that a human-automation taxonomy that incorporates intuitive cognition will promote novel human-machine system design in the future. He and coauthor Robert Eggleston delve more into intuitive cognition in a paper to be published in the Journal of Cognitive Engineering and Decision Making in March 2017.

Explore further: Post-lunch napping tied to better cognition in elderly

More information: Robert Earl Patterson, Intuitive Cognition and Models of HumanAutomation Interaction, Human Factors (2017). DOI: 10.1177/0018720816659796

(HealthDay)Moderate post-lunch napping is tied to better cognition in older adults, according to a study published online Dec. 20 in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

In a study of healthy postmenopausal women, reproductive life events related to sex hormones, including earlier age at menarche, later age at last pregnancy, length of reproductive period, and use of oral contraceptives were ...

People who risk their lives to save strangers may do so without deliberation, according to an analysis of statements from more than 50 recognized civilian heroes, conducted by David Rand from Yale University and colleagues ...

A new study of 3050 twins finds moderately vigorous physical activity i.e., more strenuous than walking to be associated with better cognition in a 25-year follow-up.

Zebras developed stripes to avoid predators.

Even before infants understand their first words, they have already begun to link language and thought. Listening to language boosts infant cognition. New evidence provides even greater insight into the crucial role of language ...

As the planet warms due to climate change and hot days become more common, the US electrical grid could be unable to meet peak energy needs by century's end, researchers warned Monday.

Researchers at MIT and Brigham and Women's Hospital have designed and demonstrated a small voltaic cell that is sustained by the acidic fluids in the stomach. The system can generate enough power to run small sensors or drug ...

Unlock them with an app, drop them off anywhere, and nip past lanes of stationary car traffic: the humble bicycle is seeing a revival in China as a new generation of start-ups help tackle urban congestion and pollution with ...

Bats have long captured the imaginations of scientists and engineers with their unrivaled agility and maneuvering characteristics, achieved by functionally versatile dynamic wing conformations as well as more than forty active ...

Engineers at MIT have fabricated transparent, gel-based robots that move when water is pumped in and out of them. The bots can perform a number of fast, forceful tasks, including kicking a ball underwater, and grabbing and ...

Self-driving car prototypes appear to be getting better at negotiating California streets and highways without a human backup driver intervening, according to data made public Wednesday by California transportation regulators.

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Building a better model of human-automation interaction - Phys.Org

By Patrick Burnson, Executive Editor February 7, 2017

In a new manufacturing outlook report focusing on the automotive and industrial sectors, AlixPartners observes that many of the labor-cost advantages associated with near-shoring may be lost if companies fail to spend more on automation in the future.

The consultancy notes that automation capabilities have improved dramatically, and implementation expenses have come down. As a consequence this kind of technology can help manufacturers augmentor entirely replace functions previously performed entirely by humans.

To exploit those technologies, manufacturers will likely have to make capital-intensive investments, says Foster Finley, a managing director at AlixPartners in New York. But they should understand, too, that automation cannot replace a human workforce.

Instead, adds Finley, automation shifts the focus to a new set of critical skills.

As automation technology becomes more available and more affordable, companies will have to adopt longer-term views on developing and retaining talent aligned with the tactical use of robotics, he says.

The survey, which polled manufacturing and distribution companies in the U.S. and Western Europe, finds that 69% of respondents believe near shoring is a possible opportunity to meet demand from consumers, up from 40% in last years survey.

This increase in near shoring has led to labor challenges, however says Finley. Many respondents are having a hard time filling roles like product engineers and frontline supervisors.

Along with these labor issues, two-thirds of respondents said they plan to invest significantly in automation technologies.

So what we may expect is more spend in human resources with higher salaries and other incentives, at the same time companies will place greater reliance on technology.

Researchers note that automotive and electronics manufacturers have been the biggest adopters of automation technology thus far. But companies in other sectorssuch as pharmaceuticals, instrumentation and measurement devices, medical equipment, and pulp and paper will likely begin to shift more of their manufacturing capacity to robots in the coming years.

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AlixPartners examines automation in manufacturing and logistics management - Logistics Management

Creemore Springs Brewery Limited is an example of how manufacturers within the food and beverage industry are embracing automation to improve production quantity and quality.

In the video above, we take a look at how small to medium sized breweries like Creemore can maximize the impact of automation, turning a small footprint factory into a major production facility.

Our brewery had grown past the point where we were able to operate with just a limited group of people operating on tribal knowledge, said Geoff Davies, P. Eng, head of operations at Creemore Springs Brewery and National Supply Chain.

Through some process training and automation, we're able to more reliably operate the plant, with less chance of error and safety hazards. We worked with Trinamics, a local automation supplier, to install state of the art packaging equipment, Davies added.

Working together with Creemore Springs, Trinamics successfully designed and installed a uniquely customized case packer design, fitted for their smaller facility footprint.

We developed an intermittent motion case packer and tray packer system, which packages bottles at rates of up to 300 bottles a minute, with 98 to 99 percent efficiency, said Karan Sabherwal, senior mechanical project engineer at Trinamics.

The custom case packer design uses all servo drives, with more than 13 axes on each of the machines.

Electronic cams, designed to be similar to mechanical cams, are controlled through the servos and quarter feedback. This allows operators to control variables including velocity, acceleration and jerk, for smooth motion.

We're totally toolless and can do a changeover in five to 10 minutes, Sabherwal said. We use the greatest of Allen Bradley technology for our PLC controls and everything is Ethernet controlled now. Two machines in the Creemore plant talk to each other through PLCs and we have remote access modules, which in case of a break down, the customer will be alerted, they can give us a call and we can get online with the machine quickly to diagnose the problem and walk them through how to fix it.

Optical laser sensing and time of flight distance measuring are used due to the reflective surfaces of the bottles.

For more information, watch the video above and visit the Creemore Springs and Trinamics websites.

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VIDEO: Going Big on Automation in a Small Footprint Facility - ENGINEERING.com