Bosch Rexroth has created something new on the market with the ctrlX OS operating system: The software has been detached from the company's own control hardware and made available for the industrial environment. This means that competitors can also use the operating system for their own purposes and act as system and technology partners, for example. ctrlX OS is designed for real-time use and can be used at all levels - from the field level to edge devices and the cloud.

"The core of Wago 's product strategy is the implementation of ctrlX OS on our independently developed Wago control platforms. This is where we can incorporate the new technology into our product expertise and at the same time use our industry experience to develop market-specific solutions," says Johannes Pfeffer, Vice President of the Automation Business Unit at Wago. The common goal of the two companies is to create a world-leading automation platform for the software-driven industry of the future. "That sounds ambitious. However, considering how fragmented and proprietary the industry still is, it is a realistic undertaking in the interests of our customers. In concrete terms, this means wanting to anchor the platform as broadly as possible. Both Bosch Rexroth and Wago consider it essential to bring other system and technology partners on board for ctrlX OS," says Steffen Winkler, CSO of the Automation business unit at Bosch Rexroth.

The automation system from Wago consists of various classic controllers, couplers for connecting different fieldbus and network protocols and a large number of I/O modules. "We will keep this control platform active on the market in the long term," explains Johannes Pfeffer, and continues: "We would like to rely on ctrlX OS in the long term for performance-related expansion at the middle and upper performance end - i.e. wherever the handling of large amounts of data with high temporal accuracy and high IT security standards is required."