New-Tech Europe Magazine | September 2018

robots, with the robots handling repetitive tasks and the people monitoring and troubleshooting them. Together, they ensure that items ordered online are packaged and shipped out promptly. Even products that you wouldn’t expect to be mass produced on a line can be created with the help of automation. Consider the artisan bakery Tartine in San Francisco, California. Now, the very definition of handcrafted artisan bread goes against the concept of mass production. Yet Tartine’s owner has discussed the benefits of placing coworking robots alongside the bakers, perhaps helping to load bread into ovens and perform other tasks that would make the process more efficient as the bakery expands its operations globally. In Japan, a company called Spread has created an automated indoor lettuce factory where robots plant the seeds, raise the vegetables, and carry lettuce heads to a packing line. These examples of creative collaboration are referred to as Industry 5.0. According to an article published on Recode, the market for industrial robots is projected to grow from $12.3 billion in 2016 up to $33.8 billion by 2025. Notes the article, “…a new generation of manufacturing robots is emerging that is more collaborative, smaller and more perceptive than traditional machinery.” Smaller, smarter robots call for electronic components that can deliver on both counts. Smarter and Smaller Industrial sensors, programmable logic controllers (PLCs), and other essential automated factory components are shrinking while, at

Image 1: Robotic welders on an automotive manufacturing line provide an example of a smart factory environment.

footprint, these controllers are being placed closer to the edge of the manufacturing floor, directing the flow of activity. Saving Power and Space In the industrial communications space, advanced industrial automation technologies must support a continued commitment toward footprint reduction, power savings, and flexibility. Key components for these systems include: Isolation ICs which provide complete galvanic isolation between two power domains. Maxim’s digital signal isolators, for example, provide up to 5kV of isolation and support data rates up to 150Mbps, while reducing power requirements and using less board space than, say, optocouplers. Digital I/O and analog I/O solutions that are small, efficient, and feature safe demagnetization.

the same time, providing increased functionality. They must be able to operate reliably over extended periodsof time inharshenvironments, where electrostatic discharge (ESD), electromagnetic interference (EMI), radio frequency interference (RFI), and high-amplitude transient pulses are prevalent. Also, these tiny devices must be powered efficiently with minimum heat and power dissipation. Sensors collect voluminous amounts of data from the factory environment, processing it in real time to enable the actions that support adaptive manufacturing. They must, however, fit inside narrow assemblies or be integrated into tiny valves and actuators. IO-Link technology is making sensors smarter by enabling factory personnel to change their settings remotely based on real- time feedback on the health and status of other sensors on the line. As for PLCs, with their shrinking

New-Tech Magazine Europe l 17