INDUSTRY 4.0 ANALOG DEVICES
competitive on-shoring efforts across Europe and North America.
DATA – THE LIFEBLOOD OF THE DIGITAL FACTORY
Both real-time and nonreal-time data, derived from multiple sources across the factory, must be analysed quickly and reliably, at the Intelligent Edge - where the data is born - and aggregated at a central level to reveal a holistic picture of the complete factory operation. Operational insights derived from this data are integral to realising the
SENSORS – THE EYES AND EARS OF THE DIGITAL FACTORY More sensors and varieties of sensing modalities proximity, and vibration need to be deployed to acquire the necessary data. Precision measurement and sensing technology is required to continuously sense, measure, and interpret factory assets. IO-Link®
technology enables
sensors to become intelligent. A pressure sensor locally decides if the pressure exceeds the required threshold and thus only needs to provide the controller with a single Boolean bit variable (yes or no), representing one bit of data instead of a full digital value representing the actual pressure measurement. Localised decision- making saves communication and processing time,
ACTUATORS – THE MUSCLE OF THE DIGITAL FACTORY Actuators, often the unsung heroes of the digital factory, act as the muscle - critical to getting the job done. These actuators are used to control valves, pistons, and other mechanical devices. This ensuring that the correct amount of material is delivered to each part of the process. Both sensors and actuators need to be
tolerant of conditions found in their application space. Harsh factory environments include high temperature and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) emission exposure, as well as supply voltage transient spikes and mechanical vibration.
Figure 3: Building blocks of the modern digital factory
For these edge sensing and actuating systems, power delivery is another key consideration. Power delivery performance requirements increase as sensors and actuators become smaller, with the accuracy and quality of the signal acquisition increasing at the same time. management solutions with reduced footprint, critical in what can often be space constrained designs. Without the necessary power technology cannot be realised.
EDGE AND CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE – THE BRAIN OF THE DIGITAL FACTORY Given that the digital factory requires devices at the edge to have increased levels of functionality and intelligence, more computations and analytics must occur within the device itself to enable localised decision-making. To enable such edge learning (ML) engines, low power accelerators,
increased memory, and processing power are required. Sensor fusion is another type of edge intelligence where data from multiple different types of sensors can be simultaneously combined to reveal a more accurate measurement - one that would be impossible using sensors singularly. With new high precision and high bandwidth ADCs, a single sensor front end can be used to monitor multiple sensor elements, saving space and power. AI microcontroller technology enables neural networks to execute at ultra low power, while low power transmitters enable enhanced diagnostic capabilities even in remote process plants, often an extension of the smart factory.
CONNECTIVITY – THE NERVOUS SYSTEM OF THE DIGITAL FACTORY Despite this edge device autonomy, for manufacturers to extract valuable and productivity-improving insights from the abundance of available data, the ability to transport, analyse, and merge this data with existing information streams within the factory is paramount. This requires low latency, time-
Figure 4: Enabling edge autonomy with intelligent sensors 28 March/April 2025 Irish Manufacturing
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