Univer​sa​l​Au​to​ma​tion​.org wil probleem van vendor lock-in bij industriële automatisering oplossen

Leve­ran­ciers, eind­ge­brui­kers, systeem­in­te­gra­tors, OEM’s, start-ups en instel­lingen voor hoger onderwijs uit de industrie gan samen­werken om inter­o­pe­ra­bi­li­teit en over­draag­baar­heid van indu­striële auto­ma­ti­se­ring te verbeteren.

Lees hier het Engels­ta­lige pers­be­richt over de start van Univer​sa​l​Au​to​ma​tion​.org:

Indu­strial leaders and pioneers have joined together to form Univer​sa​l​Au​to​ma​tion​.org (UAO) and advance the world of indu­strial auto­ma­tion. For the first time, vendors, end users, OEMs and academics will share a common auto­ma­tion software layer across their auto­ma­tion tech­no­logy regard­less of brand. This tech­no­lo­gical colla­bo­ra­tion will drive the devel­op­ment of an ecosystem of portable, inter­o­pe­rable, “plug and produce” solutions, creating an entirely new category of indu­strial automation.

Porta­bi­lity is already a reality in other market sectors. For example, mobile appli­ca­tions are developed to run across different smartphone vendors,enabling rapid advances through collec­tive inno­va­tion. Until now, the indu­strial world has worked diffe­rently, with closed prop­rietary archi­tec­tures and hardware-dependent software. Univer​sa​l​Au​to​ma​tion​.org will create a new era of openness and colla­bo­ra­tion, decou­pling software and hardware by sharing a reference runtime imple­men­ta­tion of the IEC 61499 standard.

“We are excited to be part of Univer​sa​l​Au​to​ma​tion​.org because it promises to be a complete game­changer,” said Jac Opmeer, Principal Auto­ma­tion Engineer at Shell Global Solutions B.V. “It opens up a new world of possi­bi­li­ties for orga­ni­sa­tions like ours. Unlocking valuable data currently buried in prop­rietary systems, making the connec­ti­vity and deploy­ment of new tech­no­lo­gies like AI quick and simple. As part of Univer​sa​l​Au​to​ma​tion​.org we are actively colla­bo­ra­ting with and suppor­ting like-minded orga­ni­sa­tions to create an exciting new open era in opera­tions and automation.”

Univer​sa​l​Au​to​ma​tion​.org will provide the basis for inter­o­pe­rable and portable auto­ma­tion software that can run with almost any Universal Auto­ma­tion-compliant hardware, creating an entirely vendor- agnostic ecosystem for auto­ma­tion software devel­op­ment. By merging both the infor­ma­tion tech­no­logy (IT) and opera­ti­onal tech­no­logy (OT) worlds, the orga­ni­za­tion seeks to unleash the full potential of Industry 4.0.

“The creation of Univer​sa​l​Au​to​ma​tion​.org is the dawn of a new era within auto­ma­tion tech­no­logy; over the course of the next five years, it will create a sea change for the future of auto­ma­tion software devel­op­ment,” said Dmitrii Drozdov, Chief Tech­no­logy Officer at Flex­bridge. “We are delighted to be a part of Univer​sa​l​Au​to​ma​tion​.org, driving the devel­op­ment of a “plug and produce” system which will help the industry keep up with the incre­a­sing demands of flexible manu­fac­tu­ring. There is no doubt that as members continue to join the orga­ni­za­tion and reap the benefits of colla­bo­ra­tion and openness, that industry-wide change will follow.”

“Univer​sa​l​Au​to​ma​tion​.org brings together vendors and users of tech­no­logy, opening up the oppor­tu­nity for conti­nuous dialogue between members to share their knowledge. We’re excited to work with other members to enhance and develop our research and help combat the chal­lenges currently facing industry,” said Valeriy Vyatkin, Professor of Elec­trical Engi­nee­ring, Aalto Univer­sity. “The IEC 61499 standard will help industry have a common platform for different types of software func­ti­o­na­li­ties in auto­ma­tion, allowing orga­ni­sa­tions to achieve a certain level of reli­a­bi­lity and predic­ta­bi­lity, as well as incre­a­sing flexi­bi­lity of produc­tion plants.”

“Wood is excited to be part of defining the future of auto­ma­tion and trans­for­ming profi­ta­bi­lity and produc­ti­vity for the customers in our indu­strial markets. UAO tech­no­logy will enable business inno­va­tion, increased digital adoption and agility with its open, inter­o­pe­rable and portable solutions- building business resi­li­ency and empo­we­ring our clients to be future-ready,” says German Carmona, President of Wood’s Applied Intel­li­gence business.

Current founding & intended members include: 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, Luleå Tech­no­lo­gical Univer­sity, Lumberg Auto­ma­tion, Phoenix Contact, ProSoft, R. Stahl, Schneider Electric, Shell, VP Process, Wilo, Wood and Yokogawa. Others are expected to join soon, with the orga­ni­za­tion actively recrui­ting new members.
Members are working together to develop and adopt the next gene­ra­tion of Universal Auto­ma­tion solutions by collec­ti­vely incre­men­ting a runtime following shared source prin­ci­ples. Members will have access and the ability to shape the next gene­ra­tion of auto­ma­tion. Univer​sa​l​Au​to​ma​tion​.Org is actively recrui­ting new members. All entities looking to help advance indu­strial auto­ma­tion are encou­raged to join.

Time for Universal Automation

“Indu­strial opera­tions are under­going a total trans­for­ma­tion,” said John Conway, President of Univer​sa​l​Au​to​ma​tion​.org. “As the IT sector has proven, advances in machine learning, augmented reality, real-time analytics, and the IoT hold great promise for step change advan­ce­ments in perfor­mance, agility, and sustai­na­bi­lity. However, within industry this promise is being held back by closed and prop­rietary auto­ma­tion platforms that restrict widespread adoption, hamper inno­va­tion, are chal­len­ging to integrate with third-party compo­nents, and are expensive to upgrade and maintain.
Using a shared runtime changes all that.”

Greg Boucaud, Chief Marketing Officer of Univer​sa​l​Au​to​ma​tion​.Org commented: “With the formation of Univer​sa​l​Au​to​ma​tion​.org, we are hitting the reset button on auto­ma­tion tech­no­logy. 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. Univer​sa​l​Au​to​ma​tion​.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.”

Industry advancement with interoperable automation software

Adopting a common runtime, shared across vendors, will provide limitless oppor­tu­ni­ties for growth and moder­ni­za­tion across industry. The ARC Advisory Group found this move could save the indu­strial market $30 billion each year, which is currently spent servicing and main­tai­ning the installed base of prop­rietary systems alone.
Univer​sa​l​Au​to​ma​tion​.org members anti­ci­pate the adoption of this reference imple­men­ta­tion-based approach to indu­strial auto­ma­tion to deliver a range of benefits, including:

• Porta­bi­lity and reuse of software compo­nents on different systems, improving return-on- invest­ment for software intel­lec­tual property (IP)
• Greater Inno­va­tion through the faster inte­gra­tion of new tech­no­lo­gies and systems, devel­op­ment of new business models, easier connec­ti­vity, and flexi­bi­lity to deliver customer requi­re­ments at greater speed
• Extending the lifespan of existing indu­strial tools, devices and systems, and easier upgrading of systems reaching their end of life
• Simpli­fied training and skills (with teams only needing to learn one common system), making auto­ma­tion industry OT entry more acces­sible to IT profes­si­o­nals and the new gene­ra­tion of auto­ma­tion professionals
• Devel­op­ment of AppStore-like platforms to share apps around auto­ma­tion applications