Countdown to the top Connectivity news of 2021
18 January 2022
(Image: Shutterstock)
Happy New Year! From unveiling exciting new Raspberry Pi-powered devices to colliding robots, here is a countdown to the most popular articles of 2021. What was your favourite?
10. Driving battery production forward
Exciting developments in automation technology will improve production of Lithium-ion batteries, says Warren Harvard, Festo.
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9. Raspberry Pi industrial design partner unveils its first Raspberry Pi-powered device
OnLogic celebrated Pi Day by unveiling its first Raspberry Pi-powered industrial computer. Measuring just 102.5 x 129 x 38mm, the tiny device made its debut on the OnLogic website, after first being shared with OnLogic's community of hardware enthusiasts and device builders who signed up to receive more information in advance of the system's public availability.
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8. How digital verification can help water companies ensure optimum flowmeter performance
Abstraction permits from the Environment Agency mandate the volume of water that utilities can take from raw water sources and accurate measurement is required to manage it. We look at how ABB Ability verification for measurement devices can meet these requirements in water industry applications.
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7. Make decisions based on facts
The new Festo Automation Experience (Festo AX) offers easy-to-use software modules for monitoring components, machines and systems. This transformation to maintenance, based on data, is another step towards more efficient and optimised production.
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6. Tech start-ups and the problem with neology
Amongst cutting-edge automation technology start-ups, there’s a well understood problem with language; nobody uses new and emerging words when they are buying things. In a guest column, exclusive to Connectivity, Richard Stone, Managing Director of Stone Junction – the first ever PR agency for the Fourth Industrial Revolution – explains how to tackle the challenge.
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5. Colliding robots cause fire at Ocado Customer Fulfilment Centre
A fire started at Ocado’s Erith Customer Fulfilment Centre (CFC) on 16 July after three of its robots that help pick groceries collided.
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4. Electric motion sizing tool webinar
This 45-minute webinar showed you how to select the optimal servo or stepper drives for your rotary and linear applications together with perfectly matched electro-mechanical parts.
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3. The next technological frontier in pharmaceutical manufacturing
As the pharmaceutical sector is ramping up production of vaccines against COVID-19, it faces enormous manufacturing and logistics challenges. Quality assurance is a key part of the pharmaceutical manufacturing process, ensuring that products conform to requirements and are not defective. Here, Stephen Hayes, Managing Director of Beckhoff UK, explains how new technologies integrate automated quality control with frictionless product handling.
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2. Smart sensor technology for hazardous areas
A single failure or plant trip can result in substantial production losses, especially for industries operating in hazardous areas. Remote condition monitoring minimises any risk of unplanned shutdowns but has been limited for hostile environments by the lack of a cost efficient and easy to deploy solutions.
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1. Focus on competitiveness and resilience made 2021 a big year for robots
While 2020 was the toughest year in decades for manufacturing and the British and Irish economies, KUKA posted record robot sales, with demand coming from across manufacturing, education and training, the medical device sector in Ireland, and a substantial contract with electric vehicle manufacturer Arrival.
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Thank you for reading Connectivity in 2021. Your continued support allows us to make sure you never miss the latest Industry 4.0 news, debates and technology. Here's to even more fascinating, innovative and exciting stories in 2022!