Yours truly hopped over the pond last month as I was very kindly invited to attend the Rockwell Automation Fair, an annual, US-based event (this year held in Houston, Texas), that features industry forums, hands-on labs, tech sessions and demonstrations to expand knowledge and showcase the latest control, power and information technologies. Bearing in mind the venue, it was no surprise that oil and gas was a key topic at the exhibition with dedicated forums and an oil and gas solutions stand on the show floor.
However, that wasn’t the only focus area at the event. The concept of the internet of things took centre stage during CEO Keith Nosbusch’s opening address, and how the adoption of standard IP-based Ethernet in both discrete and process automation is revolutionising industry and enabling truly ‘connected’ enterprises.
This connectivity and the use of big data in industry has also brought the issue of security to the fore and this also featured heavily at the event with talks and discussions on how organisations can evolve their systems to create more secure environments.
As well as a vibrant exhibition that showcased the latest products and solutions from Rockwell and its partners, there were several busy forum sessions that focussed on specific industries. As discussed, these included oil and gas, but also energy, machine building, marine and automotive.
You can read a blog from the Automation Fair on the Connecting Industry website and there will be a full round-up of the event in our January issue.
As for this month, it’s another packed issue which features another addition to our range of supplements – this time looking at PLCs & industrial PCs. Our industry focus this month has a renewable energy theme, while we also take a look at test systems, automated warehousing, communications & networking and sensors & sensing systems as part of our regular features.
Click here to view the digital issue for November/December 2013.
Joe Bush, Editor
