Products of the year 2024
Operate & observe - The winners
Software came out on top this year: The winners in the 'Operation & Monitoring' category have hardware independence in common.
The winners of the 'Operating & Monitoring' category (from left): Oliver Vogel from Rockwell Automation, Stefan Niermann from Inosoft and Christian Maier from Eplan with Andrea Gillhuber (Computer&Automation).
© Julia Bergmeister Photography / Computer&Automation
3rd place - Rockwell Automation
Rockwell Automation complements its visualization portfolio with FactoryTalk Optix. The cloud-enabled human-machine interface (HMI) platform allows users to design, test and then deploy applications to any device anywhere, anytime, directly from a web browser in an object-oriented programming environment. The tool offers openness and interoperability through machine-to-machine and machine-to-cloud communication enabled by OPC UA, MQTT, IOT-native connectivity and an open C# interface.
The HMI platform is one of the five core solutions in the 'FactoryTalk Design Hub' from Rockwell Automation. According to the provider, industrial companies can transform their automation design capabilities through a simpler, more productive way of working based on the cloud; teams can develop smarter ways of working through improved collaboration, optimized lifecycle management and on-demand access to cloud-based software.
2nd place in the Operating & Monitoring category
2nd place - Inosoft
The VisiWin 7 Cross-Platform Runtime from Inosoft makes it possible to run 'VisiWin 7 Server' projects and 'VisiWin 7 Web UI' projects on any Windows or Linux-based automation device. This makes VisiWin a completely hardware-independent system that enables machine manufacturers to switch to available products in the event of supply bottlenecks. What works for consumer end devices also works for the industrial market: apps that run in a container directly on a PLC or an edge device under Windows or Linux.
The app is installed via an app store. This is made possible by containers, executable software packages that contain everything needed to run the app. These software packages are always executed in exactly the same way, regardless of the infrastructure.
The 'VisiWin Runtime' is already available on Docker Hub and in the Flecs Marketplace, and further apps for other container formats and app stores are in preparation at Inosoft.
1st place in the Operating & Monitoring category
1st place - Eplan
With the new version of 'Eplan eView Free', the AR function is now directly accessible via a 3D visualization. Users register on the Eplan website and can upload their current projects there. With the eView Free application, the project documentation is then visualized in 2D as a circuit diagram or in 3D as a virtual image of the control cabinet. The newly integrated split-screen technology provides extra space in the view: the circuit diagram and AR model of the enclosure can now also be displayed side by side. If service personnel need further information, they can open the 3D model of a component directly from the circuit diagram in 'Eplan eView Free'. The redlining function can be used to note the change in the circuit diagram, which is then forwarded to the engineering department.
The result is documentation that is always up to date. Greenlinings can also be used, for example, to record setpoints directly in the circuit diagram.
The options for placing control cabinets in the virtual room have also been simplified. An enclosure can be freely positioned in the room using the camera of a tablet or smartphone.
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