One of the biggest shake-ups ever in telecommunications is just around the corner, with the combined issue of new systems and infrastructure appearing and old ones being phased out. The changes affect just about everyone, but the utility and process industries experience a paradigm shift in the way they manage data - both in terms of protocols and transportation. For many years, control and automation systems have relied upon widely available communications options such as UHF radio, PSTN, private wire and, more recently, GSM and GPRS to get data to and from remote sites. Field devices at these remote sites, on the other hand, have communicated with central supervisory systems using a range of proprietary protocols that automatically inhibits vendor interoperability. The availability of traditional communications methods has meant that users have no need to seek out alternatives and, even if they did, proprietary communications and highly specialised equipment would not necessarily yield any significant benefit. The difficulty in cost-effectively integrating some specialised systems means that highly manual and error prone business processes remain in use. The wide range of IT and communications standards available provides all that is needed to choose the right foundations.
PC technology helps keep the eye on the ball when it comes to outside broadcasting. Technology based on the PC acts as the core of the outside broadcast van for high-definition television (HDTV). A compact industrial PC calculates the video signals' path through the complex controller system in next to no time, and thereby assures that the right camera image is always shown on the right monitor. The innovation cycles in PC technology are accelerating and new processors and operating systems have to be integrated into the systems in increasingly shorter intervals
There are a lot of fish swimming at the London Aquarium, but none are quite like the bio-inspired robotic fish produced by Professor Huosheng Hu and his human-centred robotics team.
An agent-based asset management platform (AAMP) is a novel asset management platform involving agent technology, advanced modelling methods and probability-based reasoning approaches. It allows for real-time device condition monitoring and intelligent information aggregation for power system asset management. The use of AAMP can improve system reliability, automation maintenance, condition monitor...
Simple robots already exist and make an enormous contribution in all sorts of areas. Robots generate a great sense of anticipation, but they are slow to develop. However, before the fabulous potential of robots can be exploited, there are four major sticking points: 1) Robots need to be inherently safe, which probably means they need to be 'soft to the touch', as well. 2) Robots must be dextrous, so we probably need to equip them with hands like ours. 3) Their mobility in an unstructured environment is very important. 4) They will have to be reasonably autonomous. At the Shadow Robot Company, we are making good progress with the first two, think we know what to do about the third, and regard the fourth as the 'great march' - i.e., still mainly ahead of us.
Utility companies turn to technology in their pursuit for increased productivity, finds Anne Harris.
Pump and control system failures on small to medium sized pumping stations are creating a major problem for many UK water companies.
Describing DARPA's latest contest, the so-called urban challenge, is simple: drive a full-size car 60 miles in traffic, obey the rules of the road, complete mock urban supply missions and win big bucks from the US government. Robots faced several challenges while completing their missions, including overtaking other cars.
Large electricity users have had communications systems in place for years for automated meter management, but today's challenge is to extend these to the home at an acceptable cost.
Drive design is being driven by price, ease of use, size, performance, connectivity, flexibility and configurability but it must be remembered that the drive is just one part of a system, and the customer is ultimately concerned with the system solution. 'The DC motor is still alive, and, while the market for industrial DC drives is reducing, it is not doing so as rapidly as has been predicted'. T...
While autonomous underwater vehicles are reasonably mature when it comes to survey applications 'mowing the lawn', as it's called they aren't quite as advanced when it comes to other applications, such as intervention. Justin Manley, senior research scientist at Battelle, explains the UAV environment, and the applications we can expect to see from them.
Wireless communication promises higher production availability at lower operating costs through improved monitoring. Advances in safety, security, affordability and maintainability are allowing energy companies to enjoy the benefits of higher production and lower costs that come with the adoption of wireless control. For offshore production, it can accomplish this by combining mobile video and new sensors to reduce costs in a variety of ways. A new, standards-based approach to wireless network systems management, combined with advances in reducing costs and operating in hazardous environments, makes wireless communications extremely feasible for offshore production platforms. Producers will increase production and reduce operating costs by transforming when, where, which, and how people collaborate in meeting production challenges. Outsourcing to one of the emerging specialist firms may be the most cost-effective strategy for companies that want to enjoy the benefits of wireless networking most immediately with the least risk.
Systems have certainly come along way from the days of John Saxby in the 19th century. Signalling and train control systems have become more complex and able to manage the world's railway networks in increasingly reliable and safe operations. But as demands change, so technology must continually evolve - and the next generation of systems are already in development. Upgrading the UK's ageing signalling system is not easy, and providing a painless solution while offering a significant speed increase on London's underground is a major challenge.
Technology may offer answers to some of the problems associated with an ageing society with everything from robotic pets to specially programmed avatars, says the author.
Data convergence is the overall connecting of building control devices by allowing formerly non-interactive agents to share and use common information. Convergence can be best achieved through open control networks; as integration is the key to information exchange. Integration at the building level means access to information. Let's begin by explaining the difference between open and closed systems before describing networking convergence between LON, LAN and WAN.
Together the plug-and-play ease of use and high performance of USB make it effective for both portable and fixed-installation applications. Signal streaming technology is driving a new class of USB data acquisition applications by bringing high speeds to mixed I/O systems. With a growing number of USB-based industrial measurement systems offering direct connectivity to industrial sensors, USB is already making an impact on the factory floor.
When Microsoft introduces a major new version of Windows, almost everyone who uses computers, whether for work or play, eventually need to understand how it affect them. The paper outlines how Vista impacts engineers and scientists, to help determine whether you should adopt the new technology. It also describes best practices for developing engineering and scientific applications based on Vista. One of the stated goals of the Windows Vista release is to improve the security of the Windows operating system. Instant search provides advanced tools for designing more specific searches. In Windows Vista, there is a new interface for interacting with the operating system .NET Framework 3.0 (formerly known as WinFX). Now based on Microsoft .NET technology this interface was completely redesigned to be easier to use and more consistent across all Windows Vista features.
A novel astronomical messenger called a neutrino to probe the universe, THE ICECUBE Neutrino Detector is a neutrino telescope currently under construction at the South Pole. The IceCube telescope is a powerful tool to search for dark matter, and could reveal the new physical processes associated with the enigmatic origin of the highest energy particles in nature. Neutrinos are produced by the deca...
Power quality, which encompasses a wide range of power supply parameters, has become a hidden issue for UK industry both in terms of security of supply, regulatory compliance and potential production downtime. Managing power quality can reduce costs, increase availability and improve security of supply. Uncorrected power quality (PQ) issues can bring a host of problems from unnecessary power losses through to catastrophic equipment failure. The worry is that few companies have yet to identify, let alone get to grips with, this problem.
