Drives & Controls July / August 2022

34 n ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATED MANUFACTURING July/August 2022 www.drivesncontrols.com Freedom and openness for all T he transformation in industrial automation is in full swing and will make a significant leap in 2022. Demands for technological simplicity and flexibility and independence from global supply chains are growing. Automation is therefore becoming more open and characterised by increasing cooperation between market players. Machine and plant manufacturers benefit from significantly reduced engineering effort, less lock-in and, above all, from optimised solutions to ensure their own competitiveness. The paradigm shift in industrial automation – away from rigid, proprietary systems towards open, flexible solutions – has already begun. This year, many changes will become clearly noticeable and visible in the market. The demand for alternative solutions and open standards is growing as we strive to reduce the dependency on individual suppliers. At the same time, increasing openness is required to achieve the best developments in co-creation. Open automation kit is therefore required, with a large ecosystem of third-party supporters. This is how the knowledge of specialised companies can flow together and innovative hardware and software can be created. Users can put together the automation solutions they require, but they can also develop their own software and help shape the new world. For software development, one thing is particularly important. It must be possible using all common programming languages and tools and must no longer depend on the proprietary systems of individual suppliers. This is the only way to win over the next generation of developers and reduce the dependency on individual automation providers – especially in terms of software. Five times faster Industrial automation solutions are increasingly determined by software developments. It is necessary to find solutions more easily and quickly. The trend is therefore towards low-code/no-code platforms. These can allow people who have little or no programming knowledge to produce software easily. The low-code approach means a paradigm shift in industrial automation: the development of simple applications is up to five times faster and also delivers error-free code. Engineering is also subject to change, because engineering tasks are increasingly being carried out on theWeb. The extensive installation of provider-specific software and its maintenance can hardly be afforded today. With automation systems such as Rexroth’s ctrlX Automation, around 70% of all engineering activities areWeb-based – with 100% being the ultimate goal. Supply chain independence In addition to the increasing demand for simplicity and new degrees of freedom on the technological side, there is an increased desire for independence from providers on a global level. The Covid pandemic and the difficult procurement situation have highlighted the weaknesses of globalisation. In 2022, we are seeing a trend towards detaching from individual suppliers. Re- shoring projects are increasingly being pursued and multi-sourcing strategies are being implemented again – often out of necessity, as some suppliers are unable to deliver. It is particularly evident now how important open automation systems are that support third-party providers at all levels, and thus open up urgently needed alternatives at short notice. Another megatrend is sustainability. This also applies to the automation industry. Here, the long-term availability of machines and individual components must be guaranteed, as well as their easy expandability. Sustainable production takes into account factors such as zero emissions and resource efficiency and must also be economical. Sustainability can be increased using modern automation technology, for example, through intelligent energy supply and distribution, increased system efficiency and secure access to relevant data and the associated use of data analytics. n A transformation is underway in industrial automation that will see it make an evolutionary leap towards openness and away from dependence on global supply chains, argues Steffen Winkler, sales manager for Bosch Rexroth’s Automation & Electrification Solutions business. Around 70% of all engineering activities for Rexroth’s ctrlX Automation system are Web-based