What is Industrial Automation?

What trends will mark the future of this sector. The world of Industrial Automation is constantly going through an evolution. Find out what is Automation today and what trends will mark the future of this sector.

What is Industrial Automation today and where it’s headed

First of all, what is Automation? We can define it as the creation of the technologies that are necessary to manage and control production processes. In other worlds, we wouldn’t have products – or services – without Industrial Automation.In an Era where innovation is increasingly accelerating and anyone has state of the art technology in their pockets, the Industrial Automation field must ride a continuous change. In particular it is possible to identify an alignment with those trends that are currently affecting the market at any level.

Lower energy consumption

The most recognizable change is due to the massive volume of electricity gobbled by any factory. What is Automation’s consumption percentage? According to a recent study conducted by Mark Watson, 42% of world energy consumption comes from industry. Now, it doesn’t take a lot to reach the conclusion that a big portion of that 42% is related to machinery usage. In order to deal with such a shocking reality, companies that operate in Industrial Automation have made significant progress in energy saving. Particularly, they are working transversely on a solution: from design to technology. What is the result we all hope for? According to the same study mentioned above, a global commitment towards the implementation of machinery efficiency, would be sufficient to save enough electricity to power the city of Los Angeles for two whole years.

Make room for safety

Safety is another trend that will redefine what is Automation. European standards are very strict when it comes to safeguarding people that work with production plants. That is why companies have started to consider this aspect as one of most important parameter of valuation and improvement for technologies. It is not only about been powerful and fast, but also safe. However, safety doesn’t just mean to protect whoever uses the machines: it also involves how products are being treated in full compliance with their final user. That is why we are witnessing an increasing use and research of high quality materials (for example stainless steel in Industrial Automation), that are able to guarantee a high level of cleanness and resistance against chemical agents.

From Industrial Automation to Consumer Automation

While asking what is Automation, we are also speculating about its user. That is the technician/operator. This question underlines a more and more evident trend in this field: the increasing proximity between industrial technology and consumer technology. People that use machinery are also consumers. That means that they are likely to have a smartphone, laptop or tablet. What does this have anything to do with Industrial Automation? Easy: operators are more and more used to that kind of technology, which involves a series of features on the practical side. By taking away such familiarity from them, their productivity will be compromised. On the contrary, by integrating the production process with these technological trends, their job will be easier and more productive. As you have read in this article, today the idea of what is Automation is in the middle of an ongoing transformation, which is destined to go on in the future. Today’s trends will become stronger and new ones will be born. Keep on reading our blog to be always updated on the evolution of this field.