Preface

Engineer’s visions become reality through automation technology

COVID-19 started a disruptive global change by the end of 2019.Within several weeks,everybody,independent of age,needed to change to new formats of living.Children and students moved into new education methods like home schooling and remote teaching.It was strongly recommended for older people to stay a home and skip shopping for their daily needs in person.Shut down of many plants and even whole industries had and has a heavy impact on the global economy.Unemployment,part time working,strictly separated working areas,home office and a significant economic slowdown were the consequences of the pandemic COVID-19.

“Digital Transformation”has been a buzzword since years,but in this dramatic pandemic phase,the power of this technology became visible.Social media platforms and similar mechanism supported within days the change from classroom teaching into remote lecture offering.Virtual meetings established more or less over night for private as well as business purposes.Full remote access to plants,machines and processes keep manufacturing in progress,even when travelling and personal meetings are blocked.R&D engineers continuous to work on their projects based on simulation.“Digital Transformation”helps us on many levels to manage and to improve our living conditions even in very critical global phases like the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 does not slow down or stop the expansion of knowledge,just the opposite,engineers have to develop new methods and strategies to overcome limits cause by the required restrictions.There are many fields and many industries where we have seen significant changes over the last several years as a result of various research projects at universities and industry laboratories.Most of the researchers’ work addresses the goal of improving the world for humans in terms of increased quality,productivity,sustainability,safety and security-or in other words improving living standards and economic efficiency.These research results then find their way into everyday products.COVID-19 moved “Digital Transformation”Technology into the spot light all over the globe.But we should not forget all the other very important research fields,where consumer benefit from.New packaging materials reduce weight,allow products to be stored longer and improve the all-round experience for the consumer.New synthetic materials used in cars,the textile industry and machines save a significant amount of raw materials.New strategies used to produce,distribute and consume energy changes power plant requirements.These are just a few examples of intensive research to improve daily requirements.

When taking a closer look at the industrial world,we see that all systems have one common foundation:Automation Technology.

Every single machine,every factory and every plant requires the flexibility and the power provided by automation.PLC systems take care of open-loop and closed-loop control.In state-of-the-art PLC systems,data management for batch control,statistical data and quality data are now standard.Various types of motors increase flexibility,efficiency and manufacturing speed.More and more we find AI (Artificial Intellegence) and DL (Deep Learning) in machines.AI/DL based sensors like vision systems open new strategies to improve manufacturing flexibility and quality control.User-friendly HMI solutions enable the operator to control machines or plants according to product specifications and to optimize productivity.Today,most machines are designed with integrated safety technology.Based on standard real-time network technology,such as POWERLINK,the vision of mechatronic systems becomes reality.All the examples mentioned are fundamental components of today’s automation technology linked together by automation software.Automation Technology enables the “Digital Transformation”for machines,plants and factories.

Automation engineers must be highly knowledgeable in many different fields.In the past,process and machine development was organized using a step-by-step procedure.Today,parallel organization of development phases is becoming more and more important.In an increasing number of projects,coordination between the various fields of expertise is being managed by the automation engineer.This is an efficient way to optimize mechanical design and meet process technology requirements.The challenge for automation engineers is the wide range of skills they need to master.They must of course be professionals in the field of software,but they also require extensive knowledge in many other technical fields,such as mathematics,physics,mechanics and electrical engineering.Without these skills,it would not be possible to develop robotic systems or high-performance closed-loop control for the process industry.

Teaching this wide range of skills is a complex challenge for universities.Professors have to increase their knowledge every year.Students have to be encouraged and motivated to study many different topics in detail.All-in-all,students and professors require a great deal of commitment to ensure engineers have the knowledge needed to design and develop innovative industry solutions in the future.

I would like to thank Prof.Qi for the idea and her contribution to this outstanding book.

Knowledge is the seed of visions

Visions are the foundation of innovations

Innovations are developed by engineers

Franz Enhuber

Automation Academy Director

B＆R