In the last couple of years, software-defined control has rapidly gained a lot of attention in the marketplace. That’s no surprise. It’s set to upend the way we see and use automation in the years ahead.
In a recent interview in Control Design, Emerson’s Sean Saul spoke with Mike Bacidore to give readers a glimpse into the benefits of software-defined control, and the potential it has to reshape process manufacturing in the wake of the rise of artificial intelligence (AI).
What is software-defined control?
Technology is advancing at a pace never before seen, and teams need far more flexibility to be able to implement the new solutions that can help them optimize their operations. Today, much of the focus in this area is on AI applications that can provide significant benefits to efficiency and productivity.
However, traditional control technologies are often limited by their engineering. These systems are tied to specific hardware, and are often limited in their processing capabilities, making it difficult to run the high-performance AI applications that will define the future of manufacturing. Software-defined control decouples the software and hardware, offering more options for powerful solutions to run right at the control layer.
“As an example, software-defined control allows flexibility for where control workloads run, as systems are no longer tied to specific hardware configurations. With potentially more compute resources, control can move beyond existing function blocks—it could be running more sophisticated AI/ML techniques directly on the same hardware as the PIDs.”
Why make the move to software-defined control?
One of the key benefits of software-defined control is flexibility. Sean explains,
“Software-defined automation is more flexible— running on a wider variety of hardware platforms and allowing more compute power at the edge than ever before. It is also incredibly adaptive, with effortless scalability as components are added or upgraded in a virtual environment. Each of these factors contributes to higher productivity and lower costs across the lifecycle of manufacturing facilities.”
This flexibility offers a number of benefits. First, organizations aren’t locked into hardened traditional controllers to run their operations—which provides them more capacity to build to their specific performance needs, and the potential for reduced costs, especially if the controller will already be in a climate-controlled, clean environment. In addition, teams gain greater scalability, making it easier to ramp their operations up or down to meet market forces and better compete in a global marketplace.
How is Emerson spearheading software-defined control?
Emerson’s release of the DeltaV™ IQ Controller will offer process manufacturers the most flexible, scalable control environment ever produced. The DeltaV IQ Controller is
“a flexible, high-capacity software-defined controller designed for online, mission-critical operations. By deploying control workloads within a server-based environment, this new controller will simplify engineering, maintenance and upgrades while significantly reducing footprint and increasing scalability.
With twice the control capacity of a traditional controller, a single pair of servers can handle the control requirements of most large-scale facilities. The new software-defined controller will provide even more flexibility across the DeltaV system allowing control workloads to be distributed across traditional controllers and controllers hosted in a server-based environment, all seamlessly managed by the same tools our customers utilize today.”
Moreover, the release of the DeltaV IQ Controller is just the first step. As Emerson builds out its enterprise operations platform via the Project Beyond initiative, software-defined control will continue to evolve, delivering more seamless integration and powerful control and AI capabilities at the control layer. The future of automation is here, and you can put the building blocks in place today!
