Control System World

Yokogawa Electric Corporation announces the signing of an agreement with GasSecure AS on the distribution of GasSecure’s ISA100 Wireless* based gas detectors through Yokogawa’s global sales network. With this agreement, Yokogawa gains access to GasSecure’s wireless gas detectors and thereby strengthens its lineup of plant field wireless solutions and enhances its support of health, safety, security, and environment (HSSE) management applications. This agreement will also allow GasSecure to gain access to Yokogawa’s global sales and service network and thereby boost the sales of its wireless gas detectors.

With a field wireless system, the field devices at a plant are able to communicate wirelessly with host systems that perform functions such as monitoring and control. Wireless communications offer many advantages, including the ability to install field devices in difficult-to-wire locations and reduced cabling costs.

Yokogawa has been developing a wide variety of ISA100 Wireless compliant technologies and devices such as wireless adapters that allow conventional wired devices to access wireless networks. GasSecure specializes in the development, manufacture, and sale of low power, high reliability wireless gas detectors that are used to monitor for hydrocarbon leaks at offshore platforms, tank farms, industrial plants, and the like. GasSecure’s clients include major oil companies and their products are in wide use around the globe.

Under this agreement, Yokogawa will distribute GasSecure’s ISA100 Wireless gas detectors through its global sales and service network. The growing need to improve plant safety by installing more gas detectors and replacing out of date detection systems is driving the demand for wireless gas detectors, which have the added advantage of eliminating the need for wiring and thus are easier to install and cost less. As such, Yokogawa will be better able to satisfy its customers’ needs by incorporating wireless gas detectors in its field wireless system solutions. At the same time, GasSecure will be able to utilize Yokogawa’s global sales and service network to expand its wireless gas detector business.

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ICONICS is extremely pleased and honored to have been selected for this prestigious global award from Microsoft,” said Russ Agrusa, President and CEO of ICONICS. “This award recognizes innovation and success at providing software solutions that help customers reduce consumption and environmental impact. Our CityNext involvement reinforces the strength of our relationship with Microsoft, as well as our commitment to providing our customers and partners with cutting edge energy and sustainability solutions the world over.”

Awards were presented in multiple categories, with winners chosen from a set of more than 2,800 entrants from 117 different countries worldwide. ICONICS was recognized for providing outstanding solutions and services in Microsoft’s CityNext initiative including services pertaining to building automation and energy efficiency.

The Microsoft CityNext Partner of the Year Award recognizes the partner who best exemplifies how their solutions, built on Microsoft technology, address the most pressing challenges for cities and help them do “more with less”. The Microsoft platform provides a connected foundation for cities to build on, utilizing solutions and apps across core city functional solution areas and scenarios that present opportunities for cities to address challenges, spur economic growth and transform where they work and live.

“Microsoft’s success as a company depends on great partners, and ICONICS is a shining example of the kind of innovation our partner ecosystem drives year after year,” said Phil Sorgen, corporate vice president, Worldwide Partner Group, Microsoft Corp. “We are honored to recognize ICONICS as this year’s winner of the 2014 Microsoft CityNext Partner of the Year award, and we applaud ICONICS’ dedication to providing innovative solutions that drive results for our mutual customers.” The Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards recognize Microsoft partners that have developed and delivered exceptional Microsoft-based solutions during the past year.

ICONICS looks forward to being an ambassador of the global CityNext initiative as more and more countries catch the vision of developing smart cities that will conserve energy, protect environmental resources, and inspire the rest of the world to follow in their footsteps.

This recent award highlights the continued partnership between Microsoft and ICONICS. In 2013, ICONICS was named the Application Development Partner of the Year Finalist. In 2012, ICONICS was recognized as Microsoft's Sustainability Partner of the Year. In 2010, ICONICS was honored as the US Windows Independent Software Vendor (ISV) Partner of the Year.

The Siemens Industry Automation Division has extended the range of functions of the Simatic WinCC Scada (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) software in its latest Version 7.3 and added the Simatic WinCC/WebUX V7.3 option package for mobile applications.

Simatic WinCC V7.3 focuses on making engineering easier. The Configuration Studio now supports the central configuration of process data, messages, archiving and user management, and of texts in any languages. Communication options to current Simatic S7-1500 controllers have also been extended: it is now possible to directly transfer tags with symbolic addressing and the system messages of the controllers can also be handled.

The new Simatic WinCC/WebUX V7.3 option package solution from Siemens meets the growing demand for access at any time to plant information using Internet-based and mobile devices. Simatic WinCC/WebUX V7.3 goes beyond the usual control center solutions on offer today to include just such Internet-based and mobile, flexible access to plant data. The package, which can be used across all industrial sectors, is suitable for a wide range of users within any company. From executive and production line management to service and maintenance, WinCC/WebUX V7.3 offers effective access to automation data from any location. This mobile access to information can be adapted precisely to meet individual needs. Configuration of the HTML5 Web pages is carried out with WinCC Designer. No special training is required for the WinCC application designer. Innovative maintenance concepts, tasks for operations control or plant performance metrics can be made available in this way at any location, regardless of the platform. This enables management, for example, to keep an eye on production data at all times, while quality assurance is always aware of current processes in production such as fault messages or trends. In addition, the new option package also supports remote access to the production process. For example, the user can specify switching operations and setpoints for remote operation.

Simatic WinCC/WebUX V7.3 is independent of any platform or browser and does not require client installation. For secure communication, https and SSL are implemented via Web standards (HTML5, SVG). User management is integrated in WinCC. The licensing model is scaled according to the required functional scope and number of users. Simatic WinCC V7.3 already includes a license for WebUX access for monitoring purposes.

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Moore Industries has eliminated the problem of getting accurate temperature readings in remote locations while also accessing valuable Smart HART® data. Moore Industries THZ WirelessHART® Temperature Solution combines a rugged battery-powered HART temperature transmitter with the BULLET WirelessHART Adapter by MACTek. It transmits temperature measurements and critical HART diagnostic information to a WirelessHART gateway - even if power is not readily available.

The THZ WirelessHART Solution features a THZ in a new dual head WL housing. This includes a battery case utilizing off-the-shelf D-type lithium batteries wired to the transmitter and the BULLET. This means that the package can be installed without the need for potentially expensive signal wiring or additional power. It also avoids the need to stock special replacement batteries. The BULLET helps to optimize power needs and allows the lithium batteries to last up to four to five years.

Other key features of the THZ WirelessHART Solution include:

• Industry-leading 20-bit input resolution and long-term stability specifications, with up to five years of service between scheduled calibrations.

• The BULLET prevents the loss of critical temperature readings by monitoring the battery voltage and setting a HART alarm bit when it nears critical levels.

• The ability to either be factory configured or field configured using standard HART handheld communicators or HART-capable host systems. The BULLET also supports programming via a DTM with an FDT-compliant host.

• A weatherproof IP66 NEMA Type 4X dual compartment housing that is available for installation in rugged field areas.

• Easy access to HART handheld connections and battery voltage monitoring terminals and a large, easy-to-read display.

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The UC-8100 computing platform is designed for embedded data acquisition applications. The computer comes with one or two RS-232/422/485 serial ports and dual 10/100 Mbps Ethernet LAN ports, as well as a Mini PCIe socket to support cellular modules. These versatile communication capabilities let users efficiently adapt the UC-8100 to a variety of complex communications solutions.

The UC-8100 is built around an Cortex-A8 RISC processor that has been optimized for use in energy monitoring systems, but is widely applicable to a variety of industrial solutions. With flexible interfacing options, this tiny embedded computer is a reliable and secure gateway for data acquisition and processing at field sites as well as a useful communication platform for many other large-scale deployments.

Features and Benefits:

• ARMv7 Cortex-A8 300/600/1000 MHz processor
• Dual auto-sensing 10/100 Mbps Ethernet ports
• SD socket for storage expansion and OS installation
• Rich programmable LEDs and a programmable button for easy installation and maintenance
• Mini PCIe socket for cellular module
• Debian ARM 7 open platform
• Cyber security

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The OMYL-T15 single channel and OMYL-T16 dual channel thermocouple input data loggers are new low-cost battery powered thermocouple data loggers with integral reference junction which delivers accurate readings over a wide temperature range. These data loggers are fully user programmable for Types J, K, T, E, R, S, B and N thermocouples and are available with standard memory of 100,000 readings (OMYL-T15, OMYL-T16) or expanded memory of 4 million readings (OMYL-T15-4M, OMYL-T16-4M). These devices are programmable so that you can log data from either one or two channels.

The storage medium is non-volatile flash memory so no data is lost if the battery becomes discharged. Data logger setup as well as data retrieval is accomplished using the included standard OMYL-SOFT software. Downloaded data is stored in the OMYL-SOFT software as a text file for viewing in third party software packages or Microsoft Excel. The OMYL-SOFT standard software does not include any graphing functionality. Graphing and analyzing downloaded data files requires the OMYL-SOFT-PLUS version of the software (sold separately).

• Single Channel (OMYL-T15) or Dual Channel(OMYL-T16)

• User-Selectable for Type J, K, T, E, R, S, B, and N Thermocouples

• Up to 4 Million Readings (Internal Memory Size)

• Up to 4 Hz Sampling Rate

• High Accuracy

• 20 Bit A/D Converter

• Shock Proof, IP65 Housing (Dust and Water Jet Proof)

• Transfer Rate of 500 kbps

• Low Current Consumption

• Up to 4 Years Battery Life

NI, the provider of solutions that enable engineers and scientists to solve the world’s greatest engineering challenges, today announced the company will partner with TechShop, a membership-based, do-it-yourself workshop and fabrication studio with locations nationwide. NI will provide product training and outfit two TechShop electronics labs with NI technology, including LabVIEW system design software and myRIO, myDAQ and VirtualBench hardware.

“TechShop and NI have one common mission: to equip engineers, scientists, entrepreneurs and makers with the tools and training they need to build their dreams,” said Mark Hatch, CEO and cofounder of TechShop. “Now, TechShop members will have at their fingertips leading-edge hardware and software for any test, measurement or control application to make tomorrow’s engineering feats and innovations.”

The first two TechShop locations to benefit from this partnership will be in San Francisco and Round Rock, Texas. As TechShop grows, the number of locations offering NI products and training will increase.

“NI has revolutionized the way engineers develop modern measurement and control systems in an increasingly complex world,” said Ray Almgren, vice president of corporate marketing at NI. “We’re excited to partner with TechShop to make that same technology available to its members through the new NI Electronics Lab.”

Industrial automation manufacturer Opto 22 has announced a new groov Box (GROOV-AR1) that hosts groov mobile operator interfaces for virtually any automation system. Users simply connect their automation system to groov, and then connect authorized mobile devices to groov via either a web browser or an app interface. This allows each mobile device to interact with the automation system in a secure and predefined manner.

This new industrially hardened web-serving appliance sports a wide 0-70 °C (32-158 °F) operating temperature range, compact footprint, complete solid-state fanless design with no moving parts, high-performance quad-core processing, gigabit Ethernet interfaces, and USB expansion for wireless LAN interfaces. Measuring just 4.2 (W) x 6.8 (L) x 1.4 (D) inches (106 x 171 x 33 mm), the compact size and rugged design of the groov Box make it perfectly suited for deployment in harsh industrial environments. The groov Box is manufactured in and supported from the U.S.A., and Opto 22 product support is free.

What’s groov?

The groov Box industrial appliance runs groov, a zero-programming, web-based way to build, deploy, and view effective, scalable operator interfaces to monitor and control automation systems and associated components, equipment, and processes. These operator interfaces can be viewed on almost any mobile device or computer regardless of its manufacturer, operating system, or screen size, and two-way communication allows remote control for authorized and authenticated users. Supported devices for groov include smartphones, tablets, computers, and even smart high-definition televisions. groov augments existing human-machine interfaces (HMIs) and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems by making important information available at any time and in any location.

groov uses a standard method of securely communicating with devices on the plant floor—including PLCs, DCSs, PACs, databases, and OPC-DA servers—called OPC Unified Architecture (OPC UA). As an OPC-UA client, groov can quickly and easily browse system tags from an OPC-UA server. OPC-UA servers are available from several companies. Also, because HMI and SCADA systems from automation manufacturers like Allen-Bradley, GE, and Siemens often include OPC-UA support, you may already have an OPC-UA server installed and running.

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