MarcosVTaccolini

The 1980s brought the early adoption of the PC platform in automation systems and the first large projects, using the PCs to communicate with PLCs. In the following decades, supervisory and control systems technology evolved, creating several generations of software tools and automation products. A generation means an evolutionary step and a new platform, with a total change of the programming methods, user interfaces and paradigms, going beyond than the merely incremental improvements that are made during the maintenance life cycle of products; a new generation means renewing the internal architecture. GenerationsTecnologyIndustrialAutomationSoftware.pdf

The 1980s brought the early adoption of the PC platform in automation systems and the first large projects, using the PCs to communicate with PLCs. In the following decades, supervisory and control systems technology evolved, creating several generations of software tools and automation products. A generation means an evolutionary step and a new platform, with a total change of the programming methods, user interfaces and paradigms, going beyond than the merely incremental improvements that are made during the maintenance life cycle of products; a new generation means renewing the internal architecture. GenerationsTecnologyIndustrialAutomationSoftware.pdf

There have been many good discussions on the applicability of cloud-based solutions for manufacturing and process control systems. On one side, some people have concerns regarding security and control of the information, on the other side, there are identified benefits enabled by cloud systems. From VMS minicomputers to DOS and Windows, from ArcNet to Ethernet, it is inevitable the industrial automation systems shall adopt the technologies that are getting predominant in IT general use; the current environment that I am calling the “Cloud-iPad era” is no different; therefore the practical discussion is not if those new technologies will be applied in the industrial environment, but how. This paper is not intended to join the conceptual discussion about the cloud, but just to present a few simple practical examples, where cloud technologies are already enhancing industrial automation solutions and enabling new business opportunities. CloudPracticalApplications.pdf