Emerson’s Bob Yeager, Rick Kephart, and Glenn Heinl launched another exciting week in Pittsburgh with their keynote presentations at the 2025 Ovation™ Users’ Group Conference. Bob began the event by sharing some of the many ways Emerson will be “leading the future”, including a deeper view into the Ovation Automation Platform 4.0. The rise of AI, data centers, and more is changing the grid as we know it and driving a need for power that was previously unheard of. As Glenn shared,
“The status quo is unsustainable so we’ve been ‘all in’ on future-focused innovations for the Ovation platform to help our customers meet changing needs head on.”
Together, the speakers explored the many features of Ovation 4.0 that it will fundamentally change the way power and water plants are operated. Bob shared,
“This is the biggest software release we’ve done in the history of Ovation.”
Rick echoed Bob’s sentiments, explaining that the power grid itself is changing. Today, Rick shared, there is likely more generation being added on the distribution side of the grid than the transmission side, and we have morphed into a much more active network—all due to the rise of renewables. Today, grid operators can have loads that are masked until something changes instantly and they need to be able to react quickly. The solution, Rick explains, is to
“build an ecosystem that extends from generation to the meter.”
Rise of AI
It’s no surprise that much of the conference is focused on AI technologies, and Bob’s, Rick’s, and Glenn’s keynotes were no exception. There’s a need for OT-specific, power-focused AI solutions, Bob explained. OT teams can’t put power plant data in the cloud, and they can’t build data centers in the plant, so the industrial AI solutions need to be more focused and built for on-premises implementation.
Ovation 4.0’s GenAI tools, Bob shared, take the large language model that typically runs in the cloud and instead runs it on a server in Ovation. The model is trained specifically for its unique environment. Emerson provides a basic model, and the OT team customizes that model to the plant by feeding it all the documentation, all the logic, and all the historical data they have. Bob shared,
“You have the ability to capture the unique operational knowledge known only by those who are on site in your plant. This large language model doesn’t have to know everything about the world. It doesn’t have to know how to do your kids’ homework. It just has to be the most brilliant example of anyone who has worked in that plant.”
Glenn explored AI further, sharing how AI tools will help engineers accomplish their goals faster and more effectively in the future. Not only will AI empower engineers—giving them the knowledge of the world’s greatest experts in the palm of their hands—but it will also help them gain,
“the ability to get basic tuning correct without human intervention. Repeatable, consistent logic will let us tune more effectively.”
Rick also shared his thoughts on AI,
“GenAI is the biggest breakthrough since the microprocessor because it’s almost a computer by itself. And the programming language? It’s natural language. You program it with prompts. With natural language.”
The key benefit of that breakthrough can be seen clearly in the Ovation Virtual Advisor, which attendees saw in action. But Rick also highlighted another benefit, just over the horizon. He explained that the engineering team is developing an AI-based misconfiguration identifier. Misconfiguration issues, he explained, can lay dormant for a long time. Such a tool, Rick shared, could help identify those issues before they become problems, even if the original configuration mistake was made long ago.
Perhaps the most exciting announcement is that the next level of Ovation AI-enabled applications for plant process and equipment intelligence is currently being piloted. Attendees were given a glimpse into some of the exciting projects where the technology is being put through its paces, helping them see the potential of AI technology to transform their own facilities.
Rise of HMIs
Another of the key updates in Ovation 4.0 is the new Ovation View HMI. The Ovation View HMI, Rick explained, represents a fundamental difference in Ovation’s graphics. The graphics are fully HTML5 web based, adding tremendous flexibility, scalability, and allowing them to be run on any device, from workstations to tablets to phones. According to Rick,
“The Ovation View HMI is built on two years of feedback, and designed to run in parallel with legacy graphics so you can migrate on your own schedule and terms.”
However, Ovation View HMI is not the only new HMI feature to be added to Ovation 4.0. Rick also shared how the new Ovation Web HMI will help bring some of the other HMI programs like point information, alarms, trend, and more into a web environment.
“We want to be able to have other products going forward that can incorporate this web HMI in a very lightweight manner.”
All the technologies, both new and existing that the speakers shared will be on display and demoed at the 2025 Ovation Users’ Group conference here in Pittsburgh. If you’re here already, be sure to stop by and try them all out for yourself!
