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Smar participated as a Global Sponsor at ARC Advisory Group’s 23rd India Forum titled Winning in the Industrial AI Era on July 10-11, 2025. In the rapidly evolving landscape of industrial automation, the convergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and open process automation standard (O-PAS) is redefining how manufacturers approach control systems. At the forefront of this transformation is Nova Smar, a Brazilian company with over five decades of experience in automation and instrumentation. Addressing an audience of over 300 delegates, Octávio Paschoal, Electronic Intelligence Agent, Nova Smar, shared insights on how AI can enhance control system capabilities within the O-PAS framework—ushering in a new era of smart manufacturing. Octávio’s presentation is available on YouTube and can be viewed here too:
Bridging Physical and Digital Realities
ExxonMobil’s initiative to unify physical and digital ecosystems exemplifies the shift toward integrated operations. By connecting asset-level data with process-level intelligence, manufacturers can create a seamless flow of information across layers. This unified approach enables real-time decision making, predictive maintenance, and optimized performance—key pillars of digital transformation in manufacturing.
The Evolution of Automation
Historically, automation aimed to replace manual processes with technology-driven solutions. Today, its primary role has shifted toward data generation. Field instrumentation now serves as the foundation for data-driven operations, enabling insights that guide strategic decisions. However, legacy systems often suffer from fragmented data silos, making integration and analysis challenging.
O-PAS addresses this by introducing standardized data signals that facilitate seamless communication across devices and systems. This architecture supports the creation of unified data lakes, breaking down silos and enabling holistic analysis.
AI in Industry
AI’s growing presence in manufacturing is driven by its potential to optimize operations, enhance safety, and improve sustainability. From predictive analytics for asset management to prescriptive insights for process optimization, AI is becoming a critical tool in the Industry 4.0 toolkit.
Yet, challenges remain. Manufacturers must balance connectivity with cybersecurity, especially when integrating cloud-based AI solutions into production environments. Nova Smar’s approach involves embedding AI agents within control systems to support engineers, automate tasks, and analyze data—without compromising security.
Integrating AI into O-PAS: A Strategic Roadmap
Nova Smar’s vision for AI-enabled O-PAS includes three key components:
AI-Assisted Configuration: Leveraging AI co-pilots to support engineers in designing control strategies, parameterizing function blocks, and generating documentation. This reduces configuration time, improves accuracy, and enhances training capabilities.
AI-Driven Orchestration: Using AI to manage multi-vendor deployments, optimize system resources, and automate application scaling. By integrating AI with orchestrators, manufacturers can streamline operations and improve system health monitoring.
AI-Based Data Analysis: Creating standardized data lakes using O-PAS signals and applying AI tools to identify patterns, generate insights, and refine control parameters. This enables intelligent operations and supports continuous improvement.
A Future-Ready Approach to Smart Manufacturing
Nova Smar’s commitment to open technologies and its role as an O-PAS member since 2019 positions it as a leader in the digital transformation of manufacturing. By combining AI with O-PAS architecture, the company is paving the way for intelligent, secure, and scalable automation solutions.
As the industry moves toward self-operating plants and data-driven ecosystems, manufacturers must embrace innovation to stay competitive. Nova Smar’s roadmap offers a glimpse into the future—where AI and open automation work hand in hand to deliver smarter, safer, and more efficient operations.
Octávio’s Views at the Panel Discussion on Industrial AI, Digital Transformation, Asset Performance Management
In response to concerns about artificial intelligence (AI) replacing human jobs in engineering, Octávio said that AI primarily serves as a supportive tool, particularly beneficial for recent graduates who may lack practical experience. By acting as a resource and assistant, AI helps these engineers feel included in large, complex projects, accelerating their learning curve and enhancing their qualifications. This supportive role enables engineers to participate more actively in significant undertakings, boosting both confidence and expertise. Additionally, AI automates routine tasks, freeing up engineers to concentrate on higher-level decision making and process improvements rather than repetitive programming work. Regarding the integration of legacy IO systems within an OPC UA-based O-PAS architecture, Octávio highlighted both challenges and opportunities. The main challenge lies in bridging older systems—which often use varying, incompatible communication protocols—with modern architectures designed for open, interoperable, and safe operation. Currently, the use of gateways such as DCN IO gateways enables data from legacy devices to be translated and integrated into the new control layers. However, the long-term vision pursued by O-PAS participants is to move towards systems where all components, regardless of vendor, communicate using standardized O-PAS signals from the outset. This would greatly enhance interoperability, system performance, and the ability to collaborate across multi-vendor environments, laying the groundwork for more seamless and future-ready automation solutions.