Rockwell Automation has introduced a 50-kA, arc-resistant medium-voltage drive featuring full regeneration capabilities. The  ArcShield technology from Rockwell Automation adds to the Allen-Bradley PowerFlex 7000 medium-voltage drive product line. Combined with an integrated arc-resistant Allen-Bradley CENTERLINE starter, the new PowerFlex 7000 drive system with ArcShield technology provides an integrated, arc-resistant starter-and-drive system.

Mentor Graphics Corporation announced the availability of Softing Industrial Automation stacks for the Nucleus real-time operating system (RTOS) and Mentor Embedded Linux products. Targeting next-generation embedded devices for industrial automation applications, the Mentor Graphics runtime solutions with Softing Industrial Automation stacks provide a standards-based solution to integrate devices throughout the factory and enterprise using Ethernet technology.

Machine builders are among the most conservative forces in industry, but that doesn't mean that PLC programmers have to be the same way. In fact, the opposite may be true. Forced to use primitive programming tools for decades, modern PLC programmers have shed their frustration in recent years as PLC suppliers have introduced modern, object-oriented engineering tools that not only reduce development time; they are also a pleasure to use. 

Yokogawa Electric Corporation announced the release of Exaquantum R3.01. Compared to the previous version of the Exaquantum plant information management system, Exaquantum R3.01 delivers a six-fold increase in data acquisition performance and can handle five times as many data points (tags).

In the course of introducing version 4.7 of the Sinumerik Operate software, Siemens is presenting new, more powerful CPUs, and 15 and 19 inch "Blackline" panels in widescreen format for the Sinumerik 840D sl CNC. The new 7x0.3B PN processors are Profinet-compatible NCUs (Numerical Control Units). The new processor technology, for example the NCU 730.3B PN, is up to 15 percent more powerful than the previously used components. The result is shorter program runtimes, faster simulation, and fast operation in all situations.

GE Launches Brilliant Manufacturing Suite to Help Manufacturers Increase Production Efficiency, Execution and Optimization through Advanced Analytics

GE announced the next version of its Brilliant Manufacturing Suite at its fourth annual Minds + Machines conference. Field-tested and optimized within GE's own factories, the suite helps maximize manufacturing production performance through applying advanced real-time analytics.

Baker Hughes announced the commercial release of its DeclineShift mature asset solution, which helps operators maximize capital efficiency and extend profitable production from their older oil and gas investments. The DeclineShift solution boosts recovery and lowers operating costs rapidly and efficiently through a combination of detailed analysis of the asset and fit-for-purpose technology applications.

Rockwell Automation has expanded its portfolio of industrial Ethernet switches with the new Allen-Bradley Stratix 5410 industrial distribution switch. With four 10-gigabit Ethernet ports, the Stratix 5410 switch provides a higher-performance connection to the rest of a facility's network architecture. The switch can be used as a Layer 2 switch or a Layer 3 routing switch, which allows engineers to use it in various applications.

Unmanned vehicles, "intelligent" buildings, your cell phone, the fitness bracelet on your wrist—all of these are cyber-physical systems (CPS). Today the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released a draft CPS Framework document intended to help manufacturers create new CPS that can work seamlessly with other such smart systems that bridge the physical and computational worlds.

The Internet of Things Security Foundation (IoTSF) has officially launched and set out its plans to respond to rising concerns surrounding cybersecurity challenges in IoT. The creation of IoTSF follows an eight-month investigative and consultative process, which included staging the IoT Security Summit earlier this year. The summit validated a need to bring more focus to security issues and since that time, work has continued to determine an appropriate response to both business and technical threats.