Smart Factory, Big Data, Industry 4.0, the merging of IT and OT - there is hardly a keynote or podcast in the industrial environment that does without corresponding buzzwords. For mechanical and plant engineering, these fashionable topics mean The focus on machine-oriented programming is a thing of the past, making way for a holistic approach. Software is the linchpin with which completely new business models can be implemented and new opportunities arise along the entire value chain. Integration in all directions - horizontally and vertically - is the new credo. Isolated stand-alone solutions are a thing of the past.

Value creation via software

Thomas Bürger, Weidmüller

© Weidmüller

Weidmüller has been pursuing a new approach in the field of industrial IoT and automation for several years now: even automation newcomers should be able to implement a solid digitalization and automation strategy. In addition to the attribute of simplicity, the company focuses on the concepts of openness and independence. "Our hardware components form the foundation of the solutions. But above all, they need software to come to life in the context of the respective use case," says Dr. Thomas Bürger, Head of the Automation Products & Solutions Division at Weidmüller. Bürger puts it in a nutshell: "We use software to generate the actual added value in industrial IoT and automation applications - from embedded devices to local on-premise installations and cloud applications."

The company took a logical step in this direction last year with the launch of u-OS. The open automation operating system is the further development of the web-based control system u-create web, which was introduced a few years ago. With u-OS, users can operate the Weidmüller software product landscape consistently on all devices with a uniform look and feel. This includes the software solutions u-create-web, Procon-Web, Industrial AutoML and the easyConnect connector. u-OS also integrates apps from partners - such as Codesys - and customer apps, as well as open source apps such as Node-Red.

Bürger explains: "We have tailored the operating system to industrial IoT and automation applications." u-OS also combines the IT and OT worlds. For users, this means that the stability of automation solutions and the possibilities of IIoT are combined on just one device.

The question of the USP

There are now several open, Linux-based software solutions for automation systems on the market. To what extent does u-OS differ from these? u-OS is essentially a compilation of open source technologies or de facto standards. In order to maintain user independence, Weidmüller avoids proprietary extensions to the technologies used. For example, the company relies on Native Codesys and not on an OEM-specific derivative. u-OS is therefore not a self-contained, separate automation or ecosystem, but rather a platform for connecting and using the many existing ecosystems.

Linux as an open standard is a prerequisite, for example, because it combines important properties for use in the automation environment: thanks to the open source code, it can be optimized and adapted as required. It has a large service provider and developer community. In addition, the real-time capability of Linux is fully integrated into the kernel, so that control applications with a cycle time of 1 ms can be implemented with modern CPU systems. Equally important: identified security gaps are closed immediately; regular software maintenance and continuous further development are guaranteed by Weidmüller.

Container technology as an open standard makes it possible to bundle an application with all its dependencies in a single package. This means that even complex software releases can be deployed automatically and quickly. This eliminates many sources of error when installing and updating, reduces the time required and saves costs. The operating system uses Docker technology to create and operate the containers, which makes it highly scalable and easy to use, even for non-programmers.

With hawkBit, a framework is also available that simplifies the roll-out of software updates to edge devices, controllers and gateways in the IIoT. In addition, OAuth 2.0 (Open Authorization) is a globally used authentication protocol that enables secure authorization when exchanging data between different solutions. Social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter also use the protocol.

The author: Martin Flöer is Strategic Program Manager IIoT Software / u-OS at Weidmüller.

© Weidmüller

The hardware and software-based industrial IoT and automation portfolio is rounded off by the cloud-based easyConnect carrier platform, which makes all digital services available in one place. The platform integrates IoT-enabled devices and software services such as telemetry, remote service or rollout management. This enables customers to implement their use cases consistently and without in-depth programming knowledge. All this is done step by step and with a single log-in.