Manufacturing industry is entering into Industry 4.0, the next industrial revolution.
Much of the control systems architecture, as well as system connectivity and sensors as we know them today are changing, as data direct from devices can be analysed online. Most of the data generated on the machine never even leaves the control loop on that machine, so it is lost.
Managing this change requires tools like Smartobserver from ifm electronic, an out-of-the-box product that addresses these challenges and aligns the user towards IIoT, the Industrial Internet of Things.
Smartobserver allows you to condition data acquisition primarily, to observe what is actually happening on the plant down to sensor level, and store that data for analysis.
Using Smartobserver gives you the tools to manage alerts and deal with them. The natural consequence of this is effective management of maintenance, and energy management through data collection.
At the heart of Smartobserver from ifm electronic is the LR Agent CP, the key to collecting the data. LR Agent CP is a configurable, bidirectional communicating interface software. It collects and handles process information from the machines and transmits them to other systems (e.g. databases, ERP systems, MES). Furthermore, LR AGENT CP sends required information back to the machines.
The result of using Smartobserver is enhanced situational awareness; the analytics of what is going on in the process is driven by direct data from the sensors on the plant. Estimation based on history becomes unnecessary and irrelevant; processes and resource consumption are optimised based on what is really going on. This gives the operator instantaneous control and response in complex autonomous systems.
See all plant locations:
Zoom in to individual processes, presented as you want to see them
View alerts live
See trends as they happen
Produce reports, export the data
