Cristian Sartori
TUTORIAL - JUNE 8, 2023
Distributed measuring and control using edge computing and container based software for industrial applications
Cristian Sartori
Siemens Spa
ABSTRACT
Machine and process data coming from industrial production provides tremendously valuable insights. Both production and research could benefit from them... but a huge amount of data lies dormant and unused.
This situation is the result of decades of strict separation from control systems (e.g. PLC), measuring equipment (e.g. ATE), and data analysis (e.g. offline processing).
Today, thanks to virtualization and containerization techniques the situation has completely changed, allowing distributed measurement and control applications to take advantage of the recent edge computing paradigm. Working with open, ready-to-use, Edge computing platforms (consisting of Edge devices, Edge apps, Edge connectivity) lets measurement algorithms and control strategies to be placed and executed right where data is generated. The production machines, machine tools, processes, and plants directly host distributed applications in order to optimize workflows, save resources, and improve quality.
The flexible, centrally managed, deployment of software and applications from multiple sources and vendors, the complete versioning control, and the extensive security approach make Edge systems the most promising scenario for industry and research.
And if the application scales? if the research pushes the limits? Without losing the full control over data at all times, migration from edge to cloud computing is transparent when higher computing power, more storage, and remote accesses are needed.
In this speech, the focus will be on presenting the current situation describing the technology opportunities and providing some example applications.
SPEAKER BIOGRAPHY
After graduating in Telecommunications Engineering, I started my career as a validation engineer at a multinational manufacturer of optic fiber networking infrastructure products and solutions. I later changed roles and became Product Manager for software solutions for the management of networking devices on a national scale, where I also obtained a patent for their optimization. After 10 years, I changed sectors and was hired by a leading multinational in the digitalization world. After a few years as product manager and sales specialist, I became Director Business Segment Automation System for the Italian market, where I was able to gain experience in the digitalization needs of the major production markets. During my career, I acquired skills in product market management and sales. I am also a technology enthusiast and continue to keep up with the latest trends and developments especially in the world of edge computing and AI for manufacturing.
