How to Decouple Software from Hardware in Industrial Automation - Insights from Greg Boucaud

How to Decouple Software from Hardware in Industrial Automation - Insights from Greg Boucaud of UniversalAutomation.org

Listeners to this episode will learn:

• How to decouple hardware and software in automation.
• Explore the basis of the technology
• Learn the differences between event-based vs. scan-based automation.
• Examine the vision of Universal Automation.
• Explore target devices for your automation logic
• Learn how to add more functionality to an existing automation process?
• Discuss Artificial Intelligence  for greenfield and brownfield applications.

Our Guest
Greg Boucaud is the Chief Marketing Officer at Universal Automation. Previous to this role he held a number of senior positions at Schneider Electric. For more on Greg please visit his linkedin profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gboucaud/

UniversalAutomation.Org is an independent, non-for-profit association managing the implementation of an industrial automation shared source runtime execution engine, based on the IEC 61499 standard. This new level of shared technology provides the basis for an ecosystem of portable, interoperable, “plug and produce” solutions and creates an entirely new category within industrial automation. UniversalAutomation.Org is open to new members looking to advance the world of automation.

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Transcript

Jim Frazer  

Welcome again to another episode of the Smart City Podcast. Today I'm thrilled to be joined by Greg Boucaud of Universal Automation.org Welcome, Greg. Hey, how are you today? 

 Greg Boucaud  

Yeah, doing good. Thanks. 

 Jim Frazer  

Are you enjoying the 27th annual ARC Forum? 

 Greg Boucaud  

I am enjoying, it's the second time we are here on this conference. So we are quite happy to be here come all the way from Europe to join this this conference. So more than happy to be here. 

 Jim Frazer  

Greg, can you tell us a little bit of perhaps about yourself and how you came to join universal automation.org And the essence of your organization. 

Greg Boucaud  

My name is Greg Boucaud. I'm the Chief Marketing Officer for Universal Automation .org. I have been already 10 years in automation markets, mostly the marketing position and working for some of the leaders in industry like Schneider Electric. And after this organization, no longer than one and a half year ago when the association was created. And so universal automation of the Oregon is a nonprofit association, which has been created in November 2021. It's based out of Belgium, Brussels to be correct. And the goal of this association, and the vision is to decouple the hardware from the software in the automation, ROM. So today, when you program your automation, architecture, you tend to program by using one brand. So let's say Schneider, Siemens, or whatever brand you want to take. And that application that you have program is locked with that brand. So if you program with one brand, for example, you're not able to take that application and just have it run on another platform from another supplier. When you will have a look at the IT space, you see that on your laptop when you want to install the software, for example, Windows laptops, you don't look at the brand of the laptop to just install your software. And that is not what is happening in automation market and that is what we want to change with Universal Automation. So one and a half year ago now we found the members from both the vendor groups and vendor of technologies from the user group. So end users, system integrators, OEMs, process OEMs,  universities, and startup groups together created this universal automation authority. So universal automation org is the realization of the concept of universal automation, which is one step further than just open automation. And which is based on standards. So the ICS exporter installed, it's just let's say the next development and the next achievement after the 641 was made by most of the same people which specify the modules mostly used to the automation market. And what it doesn't add is the decoupling of the hardware and software directly within the standard. So this is the base of our technology.

 Jim Frazer  

I think we all understand that example about a Windows machine and we load an application and it runs we don't care where, or about the form factor. It could be a desktop, it could be a laptop, could be something else. But the in that scenario, we do have one private vendor that has an operating system. Microsoft owns windows. Do you envision universal automation.org going down that path? Is it one operating system that's shared across those platforms? Or is it even more? Or is it more true to a vision

Greg Boucaud  

In fact, it comes to the explanation how those universal automation works - decoupling really the hardware from the software.

Jim Frazer  

And let me just quickly interrupt that. I'm not sure everyone knows those two IEC standards. So maybe, maybe want to start with describing those a little bit. 

Greg Boucaud  

I could. So the IEC 46741 Is the mostly used on that today in the automation space. So it's a scan based system, you do your automation in a scanning effort, you will mostly use, let's say a centralized approach with one PLC, so one controller for your automation, you program it, and you have your, let's say, program running on a sky base basis. So easy, every few milliseconds, you launch an order, and you do something, right? The other option is an event based system, so when you have an event happening, you do something. So it's like, okay, if, for example, you are in a plane, you're waiting to take off. Example, IEC 46741 is like you ask every 10 seconds to your to your control power. And I can I can I go on, can I take off, I go on, can I go and kind of go on. Event based programming is, I just wait for the control tower to give me the signal, when they give it, I just go. So that's different between event based and scan based system. 

 Jim Frazer  

That was a great explanation. So thank you for that. Next, now that we established that foundation, continue on pleased with the vision of universal automation.org.

 Greg Boucaud  

And to look at a couple things. The way it does that is that the universal automation uses what we call a reference implementation. So it's a software piece that you can put into a controller. And this software, PID is shared amongst members, so vendor members, so whatever product that you buy, from a member of the association will have in the future, this piece of software onto it. And this piece of software is helping you as a user to decouple your application from the software it runs on. So we are not really an operating system, because you can compare it to the operating system like Android or Windows like Linux, but this piece of software sits on the operating system which already exists. And does mainly the conflation between your program what you have programmed. And let's say the hardware architecture and the controller itself. So that's the runtime.

 Jim Frazer  

Okay, so it gives you a standardized API at the higher level. And as a low level, it mates to the peculiarities, particularities of each processor and firmware in that in that control. 

 Greg Boucaud  

Yeah, we could say that's simplified. In this way we could say that, yeah. Knowing that you have different you can have different engineering to work interacting with at runtime. So that's, that's not an issue today. And another thing and it's as well, another way of working the automation industries that this idea of preference of limitation comes from the IT industry. So for example, Linux. Today, when you want to use Linux on your PC, you not just go to the Linux, let's say, download the specs and develop your own Linux but you go to Debian or whatever version of Linux those version are so called as well reference implementation. So it's the same that we are doing in the automation space. 

 Jim Frazer  

Do you see do you see people having a need to modify that runtime implementation or will they take it out of the box and use it as is?

 Greg Boucaud  

So the ID. And what we are doing within universal automation is that this runtime is using a shared source approach. So there is one common code which is shared amongst member and there is no need to modify it. And even the association is there to guarantee the portability of the application. And in order to guarantee this portability, we to ensure that the code is the same amongst all members. But today to get access to this runtime, that's for any vendor that's quite easy. They apply to the organization, they become a member, and they get access to the runtime so that they can use it as is into their own platform. The next thing is and comes to your question about Windows. This runtime will be further developed and maintained by the organization and by its members. So when you become a member, you have a say, on where the runtime is going, and where the next implementation will be. And that's a major thing as well, it's really you have to see it as a very collaborative approach. It's a platform approach amongst members, and especially vendors of automation.

 Jim Frazer  

I say it's community driven. Yeah, rather than being supplier driven.

 Greg Boucaud  

And again, we are nonprofit association. So our goal is not to make money out of it.

Jim Frazer  

Right. So then let me ask question this way. So I have now an application that I would like to run in my controller. But I do want to take advantage of these advances that universal automation has done. So I load my universal automation, middleware, let's call it

 Greg Boucaud  

You have to do multiple things, you have to first program your automation. So you have an automation, let's say, situation, you need to program my line, which shouldn't go live. Yeah, right. Okay to have an IDE engineering tool to do it. For that, you go to the vendors, and you see which vendor has an engineering tool to do it. For example, the one which is mostly used today is the one, which is called a construction automation expert. So you go for example, to Schneider Electric, you buy this construction automation expert, and you can build your own logic, this logic in the way you build it as well is a bit different from the way we do automation today. So this logic is quite object oriented. So you can really draw your assets to define them. And behind you have an idea of, of state machine, which gives you which algorithm you have to use, then you plug them all together, and you really map your full machine, your full process, whatever you need to automatize, basically. And then the next step is your sign, which device you need to run your automation logic onto, could be one device can be multiple devices, those device are, let's say, defined by the fact that they have the runtime onto it. So you have a list of devices which are available to you, you go to the member of the association, okay. Now we have launched last year five offers with the members, which are variable, and can take any of this device to answer to your automation, let's say situation, and then you just must take part of your program, you say, Okay, this part, we run on this device, the next part we run on the next. So it makes it really easy to scale it. So if at some point you need to change, let's say, add a module, it's very easy, you add the module to your to your engineering tool, and then you map it to the device to the one device or the multiple device which are available to you. But you don't have to think about okay, what are the connection between the devices and all of that really start from the engineering from the program and after you come to the hardware.

 Jim Frazer  

I see the strength of that. The essence of my question and what was in my head was thinking about the support of legacy code that may exist in the plethora of PLCs and controllers that are in the field. Is there support for legacy applications or do I need to code a state language logic set? 

 Greg Boucaud  

For legacy There are multiple things to do. It's either you want to rip and replace, and you have to relate to, right? Take the code, but we write it, it's an effort that you have to do. But take into account, if you have a change in generation of the controller, for example, you will have this effort to have because even if you stick with the same supplier, you will have to redo the code. So correct the same, that's the same effort. But there's, there are some situations where you just need you have a running machine running plants running processes, which comes to you, and you want to upgrade it. So keep the most of what's already existing, but add some functionalities to it. And this is possibility with the runtime. So you buy a product, and this product sits on top of your existing automation process, whatever does orchestration to it. And can add as well, some it connectivity. So if for example, if you need to connect your digital twin, if you need to connect to your CP system, MES system or whatever it system, we could do it with having still your legacy systems, still running alerts. So we the truth of that is, and this is why, in fact, we've done it at the beginning, it's we've seen that users they are they are, they need to, let's say become more flexible, because regulations are changing, because there is a scarification of supply, especially automation material, or because simply the customers, they don't want to have the same product as everybody but they need more customization. So need to have this flexibility. And to have this flexibility. In fact, you need the use of what we call industry, product zero or Digital's industry or the future capabilities, which come from the 80s. So think about virtual reality, augmented reality, individual intelligence, for example, all this you need to link it to your already existing process. And you could do it by adding this layer, which was orchestration of the already existing town process or whatever, and the link as well for the it to the IT sphere. So it's really Yeah, it's really a double use not only for greenfield application, but as well, for brownfields.

 Jim Frazer  

Greg, this is this has really been a fascinating conversation. And I thank you for really demystifying a relatively arcane and cryptic topic. So thank you for that. What haven't we touched on that you would like to talk about today.

 Greg Boucaud  

So just to make it clear, this association universal lives from its member base, and yes to deploy, if you want, as a user, we have this vision coming in reality, because we have a few projects which are already starting with that. We can, for example, discuss the ExxonMobil testbed which we go to trial in a few months, or Shell or, Cargill, as well, because we project using the technology. But we want more, and we want to be able to really have an ecosystem of products, which are hardware. Why? Because when we have this ecosystem, which runs, we'll have more and more developers of software libraries. And those software libraries will help the user of automation go faster and get more efficiency in the way they do automation. So for example, you want to connect my example back, I want to have an AI to my logistic bank, for example, to check that the boxes are well close when they go out of the of the facility. Well, I am not an expert in AI, I'm not an expert with all the AI -  I could go to a marketplace and find the right software components, which connects to the AI. And we trust that but for that ecosystem to be to be real, we need to develop and we need for that to have more members. So that's my call to action. Come and join universal automation, your user automation and user process OEM machine OEM or if you're vendor automation and you want to expand in that direction, just come and join us.

 Jim Frazer  

Greg, please share your contact information with our vast audience.

 Greg Boucaud  

So first, if you want to come and contact us, easiest way on the websites, so www.universalautomation.org or you can contact me at greg.bouacaud@universalautomation.org 

 Jim Frazer  

Again, our guest today has been Greg Boucaud of Universal Automation.org. Greg, thanks for joining us today. And we'll see you on another episode of the smart city podcast. Thanks, everybody.