Drives & Controls Magazine February 2023

31 www.drivesncontrols.com February 2023 SPS REVIEW n Three-way partnership develops deep learning for vision systems ‘First’ IO-Link smart incremental encoder extends applications ABB-owned B&R Automation is enhancing its smart cameras with powerful deep learning functions. It has formed a three-way collaboration with the German machine vision software specialist MVTec and the Israeli AI chip developer Hailo to turn its cameras into powerful, efficient edge devices. At SPS, the companies demonstrated the first development to emerge from the joint project – a deep-learning-based optical character recognition (OCR) function called Deep OCR. It is claimed to achieve remarkably fast read rates even on fonts that are otherwise difficult to recognise. Machine vision algorithms based on deep learning are opening up newways to improve quality, boost productivity and prevent waste, while making manufacturingmore flexible.“Our collaboration with MVTec gives machine-builders access to the best selection of the best performing vision functions around,”says B&R’s machine vision expert, Andreas Waldl.“They are an industry leader in both deep learning and classic rule-based algorithms – two complementary approaches that each play an essential role inmachine automation." High-performance deep-learning algorithms need powerful processors. But implementing themon edge devices makes power consumption a critical issue.This is where Hailo comes in. Despite being capable of 26 tera-operations per second, its inference accelerators have a low power consumption.“Hailo is helping us put truly groundbreaking speed and intelligence where our customers need it for their fastest andmost adaptive manufacturing solutions,”explainsWaldl. “This kind of collaboration is exactly what we had in mind when we started Hailo,”says the company’s CEO, Orr Danon.“The new B&R camera harnesses Hailo's top-performing AI accelerator, and in combination with their state-of-the-art edge devices and MVTec's advancedmachine learning algorithms, we are setting new performance standards that will improve productivity and enhance quality in industrial applications.” www.br-automation.com Baumer claims to be offering the first bearing-free, smart incremental encoder that supports IO-Link. It predicts that the EB200E encoder will open up new applications by allowing it to be parameterised via IO- Link. For example, its two switching outputs can act as a speedmonitor for overspeed, speed range, standstill or direction of rotation. Up to eight of the encoders to be connected to an IO- Link master.They are said to cut the cost of cabling, while the speed-monitoring function will replace the need for additional hardware components. With an installation depth of 12mm and flexible shaft diameters, the encoder integrates intomachines in a space-saving way without needing complex adaptation of the mechanics.Thanks to non-contact sensing between the sensor head andmagnet ring, the encoder can handle dirt, shock or vibration. At SPS, Siemens unveiled Version 18 of its TIA Portal engineering framework with the claim that it will boost engineering efficiency and optimise functions for multi-user engineering. Users can now work in teams and in parallel on projects and build and manage shared libraries. Access rights can be assigned either individually or to groups, making collaboration more flexible. Siemens is also expanding the TIA Portal ecosystem with its Simatic Automation Xpansion (Simatic AX) which provides IT specialists with a familiar development environment based on Visual Studio Code and version control via GitLab. In this way, libraries with object orientation can be created in Structured Text and integrated into TIA Portal. The engineering platform – which previously focused on operational technology (OT) – can now also be used by IT users without them needing to re-skill. As well as moving towards IT/OT integration, this will also help tackle the shortage of skilled OT workers. Simatic AX is available as a service and is cloud-based. Projects can be downloaded and updated quickly and easily. Because motion applications are becoming increasingly complex, the new version of the TIA Portal also offers simple, holistic engineering of 5D/6D kinematics – motion controls involving up to six interpolating axes. Complex kinematics such as robots can now be integrated into industrial processes via the portal. This will allow companies to expand, convert or modify their production facilities without interfering with running systems. The scope for TIA Portal and Simatic controllers has also been extended. Siemens’ Simatic S7- 1500 and ET 200SP controls now provide a higher computing and communication performance and support R1 redundancy. This ensures the maximum availability of applications and will help to solve future automation challenges, Siemens says. R1 redundancy can be integrated into existing networks with no programming effort. It can be used in a wide variety of industries – in factory automation as well as in logistics and infrastructure, where R1 redundancy is especially relevant for large infrastructure projects. The new hardware also supports the latest security standards. www.siemens.com/tia-portal Siemens’TIA Portal is now more accessible to IT specialists IT specialists can now access TIA Portal to tackle OT skills shortages B&R’s partnership with MVTec and Hailo will turn its machine vision cameras into powerful edge devices Baumer’s EB200E encoder can be parameterised via IO-Link