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AUTOMATION AND ROBOTICS
This wonderful morning i would like to share one of my hobbies. Since i was a child, i always dream of making things and imagine things being made.
As every undergraduate candidate, i applied for my bachelor degree degree in one of the universities in Sana'a. I had the chance of choosing one of the four fields (Telecommunication, Networking, IT, or Electromicanical engineering which is newly called Mechatronics).
I was a bit confused whether to choose my future career following my hobby or the needs in the market. i didn't take long for thinking. I just took the decision of following my hobby by choosing Electromechanics.
I had the ability to choose any of the four but i fought to join this field. I learned a lot of things in the university. I went in factory visits as part of the training.
We did electronic projects. we took CAD design subject basic and advance. we had programming and Electronics subjects. As days goes on we learn more and more about this field.
We learned about CASCAD , PLC and CNC systems. the most interesting part is choosing a project to do every two months.
So for today, i want to share some notes to explain about some points regarding automation and robotics.
Automation is the creation and application of technology to monitor and control the production and delivery of products and services.(2)
Talking about automation will never end. As shortly as to be understood, it's listing what you want to do in a step wise orders. These orders then are converted into some formulated codes and feed it to a system.
Talking about automation will never end. As shortly as to be understood, it's listing what you want to do in a step wise orders. These orders then are converted into some formulated codes and feed it to a system.
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Robotics is the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, and application of robots. (3)
It is a science of making and controlling robots. It uses the same princibles of acutomation but it is more on artificial intelligence (AI)
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Automation encompasses many vital elements, systems, and job functions. Here are some examples:(2)
- Manufacturing, including food and pharmaceutical, chemical and petroleum, pulp and paper
- Transportation, including automotive, aerospace, and rail
- Transportation, including automotive, aerospace, and rail
- Utilities, including water and wastewater, oil and gas, electric power, and telecommunications
- Defense
- Facility operations, including security, environmental control, energy management, safety, and other building automation
Talking about automation systems, these systems can be fundamentally categorized into:
1) Open-loop control system- Defense
- Facility operations, including security, environmental control, energy management, safety, and other building automation
Talking about automation systems, these systems can be fundamentally categorized into:
The control action from the controller is independent of the "process output" (or "controlled process variable").
(6)2) Closed-loop (feedback) control system
The control action from the controller is dependent on the process output. In the case of the boiler analogy this would include a thermostat to monitor the building temperature, and thereby feed back a signal to ensure the controller maintains the building at the temperature set on the thermostat. A closed loop controller therefore has a feedback loop which ensures the controller exerts a control action to give a process output the same as the "Reference input" or "set point". For this reason, closed loop controllers are also called feedback controllers
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Like any other system, automation has its pros and cons.
The main advantages of automation are:
- Increased throughput or productivity.
- Improved quality or increased predictability of quality.
- Improved robustness (consistency), of processes or product.
- Increased consistency of output.
- Reduced direct human labor costs and expenses.
- Installation in operations reduces cycle time.
- Can complete tasks where a high degree of accuracy is required.
- Replaces human operators in tasks that involve hard physical or monotonous work (e.g., using one forklift with a single driver instead of a team of multiple workers to lift a heavy object)
- Reduces some occupational injuries (e.g., fewer strained backs from lifting heavy objects)
- Replaces humans in tasks done in dangerous environments (i.e. fire, space, volcanoes, nuclear facilities, underwater, etc.)
- Performs tasks that are beyond human capabilities of size, weight, speed, endurance, etc.
- Reduces operation time and work handling time significantly.
- Frees up workers to take on other roles.
- Provides higher level jobs in the development, deployment, maintenance and running of the automated processes.
The main disadvantages of automation are:
Information technology, together with industrial machinery and processes, can assist in the design, implementation, and monitoring of control systems. One example of an industrial control system is a programmable logic controller (PLC). PLCs are specialized hardened computers which are frequently used to synchronize the flow of inputs from (physical) sensors and events with the flow of outputs to actuators and events.
Different types of automation tools exist:Human-machine interfaces (HMI) or computer human interfaces (CHI), formerly known as man-machine interfaces, are usually employed to communicate with PLCs and other computers. Service personnel who monitor and control through HMIs can be called by different names. In industrial process and manufacturing environments, they are called operators or something similar. In boiler houses and central utilities departments they are called stationary engineers.
- Possible security threats/vulnerability due to increased relative susceptibility for committing errors.
- Unpredictable or excessive development costs.
- High initial cost.
- Displaces workers due to job replacement.
- Leads to further environmental damage and could compound climate change.
Information technology, together with industrial machinery and processes, can assist in the design, implementation, and monitoring of control systems. One example of an industrial control system is a programmable logic controller (PLC). PLCs are specialized hardened computers which are frequently used to synchronize the flow of inputs from (physical) sensors and events with the flow of outputs to actuators and events.
Different types of automation tools exist:Human-machine interfaces (HMI) or computer human interfaces (CHI), formerly known as man-machine interfaces, are usually employed to communicate with PLCs and other computers. Service personnel who monitor and control through HMIs can be called by different names. In industrial process and manufacturing environments, they are called operators or something similar. In boiler houses and central utilities departments they are called stationary engineers.
- ANN – Artificial neural network
- DCS – Distributed Control System
- HMI – Human Machine Interface
- SCADA – Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition
- PLC – Programmable Logic Controller
- Instrumentation
- Motion control
- Robotics
Limitations to automation
- Current technology is unable to automate all the desired tasks.
- Many operations using automation have large amounts of invested capital and produce high volumes of product, making malfunctions extremely costly and potentially hazardous. Therefore, some personnel are needed to ensure that the entire system functions properly and that safety and product quality are maintained.
- As a process becomes increasingly automated, there is less and less labor to be saved or quality improvement to be gained. This is an example of both diminishing returns and the logistic function.
- As more and more processes become automated, there are fewer remaining non-automated processes. This is an example of exhaustion of opportunities. New technological paradigms may however set new limits that surpass the previous limits.
- Many roles for humans in industrial processes presently lie beyond the scope of automation. Human-level pattern recognition, language comprehension, and language production ability are well beyond the capabilities of modern mechanical and computer systems (but see Watson (computer)). Tasks requiring subjective assessment or synthesis of complex sensory data, such as scents and sounds, as well as high-level tasks such as strategic planning, currently require human expertise. In many cases, the use of humans is more cost-effective than mechanical approaches even where automation of industrial tasks is possible. Overcoming these obstacles is a theorized path to post-scarcity economics.
REFERENCE:
(1.1) http://validitysolutions.us/robotics-process-automation/
(1)https://www.engineering.com/AdvancedManufacturing/ArticleID/14090/Industrial-Robots-set-to-Generate-USD45-Billion-by-2025.aspx
(2) https://www.isa.org/about-isa/what-is-automation/
(3)http://www.dictionary.com/
(4)http://www.prologixme.com/Business-Solutions/Business-Process-Automation-Service
(5)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automation
(6)https://circuitglobe.com/difference-between-open-loop-and-closed-loop-system.html
(6)https://circuitglobe.com/difference-between-open-loop-and-closed-loop-system.html
(7)http://electricalstudy.sarutech.com/control-system-closed-loop-open-loop-control-system/index.html
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