Blockchain Technology (Part-II)- Various Artifacts Of Blockchain

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Know About The Various Artifacts Of Blockchain Technology

Here we continue with the second part of our blog on blockchain technology. Those who have missed our first blog can read it from Here. It will help to connect with the second part of the blog discussing about the various artifacts of blockchain technology. Let us explore the blog to find out in more details. The blockchain cannot be described just as a revolution. It is a tsunami-like phenomenon, slowly advancing and gradually enveloping everything along its way by the force of its progression.

Exploring the Structure of Block Chain

A blockchain is a decentralized, distributed and public digital ledger that is used to record transactions across many computers so that the record cannot be altered retroactively without the alteration of all subsequent blocks and the consensus of the network. This allows the participants to verify and audit transactions inexpensively. A blockchain database is managed autonomously using a peer-to-peer network and a distributed time stamping server. They are authenticated by mass collaboration powered by collective self-interests. The result is a robust workflow where participants' uncertainty regarding data security is marginal. The use of a blockchain removes the characteristic of infinite reproducibility from a digital asset. It confirms that each unit of value was transferred only once, solving the long-standing problem of double spending. Blockchains have been described as a value-exchange protocol. This blockchain-based exchange of value can be completed quicker, safer and cheaper than with traditional systems. A blockchain can assign title rights because, when properly set up to detail the exchange agreement, it provides a record that compels offer and acceptance.

Blocks

Blocks hold batches of valid transactions that are hashed and encoded into a Merkle tree. Each block includes the cryptographic hash of the prior block in the blockchain, linking the two. The linked blocks form a chain. This iterative process confirms the integrity of the previous block, all the way back to the original genesis block. Sometimes separate blocks can be produced concurrently, creating a temporary fork. In addition to a secure hash-based history, any blockchain has a specified algorithm for scoring different versions of the history so that one with a higher value can be selected over others. Blocks not selected for inclusion in the chain are called orphan blocks. Peers supporting the database have different versions of the history from time to time. They keep only the highest-scoring version of the database known to them. Whenever a peer receives a higher-scoring version (usually the old version with a single new block added) they extend or overwrite their own database and retransmit the improvement to their peers. There is never an absolute guarantee that any particular entry will remain in the best version of the history forever. Because blockchains are typically built to add the score of new blocks onto old blocks and because there are incentives to work only on extending with new blocks rather than overwriting old blocks, the probability of an entry becoming superseded goes down exponentially as more blocks are built on top of it, eventually becoming very low. For example, in a blockchain using the proof-of-work system, the chain with the most cumulative proof-of-work is always considered the valid one by the network. There are a number of methods that can be used to demonstrate a sufficient level of computation. Within a blockchain the computation is carried out redundantly rather than in the traditional segregated and parallel manner. 

Block Time

The block time is the average time it takes for the network to generate one extra block in the blockchain. Some blockchains create a new block as frequently as every five seconds. By the time of block completion, the included data becomes verifiable. In crypto-currency, this is practically when the transaction takes place, so a shorter block time means faster transactions. The block time for Ethereum is set to between 14 and 15 seconds, while for bitcoin it is 10 minutes.

To be continued in the next blog...

Blockchain Technology (Part-I)- The New Backbone Of Internet

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Brief Intoduction To The New Backbone Of Internet: Blockchain Technology

The blockchain is an undeniably ingenious invention – the brainchild of a person or group of people known by the pseudonym. By allowing digital information to be distributed but not copied, blockchain technology created the backbone for a new type of internet technology. Blockchain is really exciting technology because it’s actually providing both transparency but also agility in a contractual relationship that any organization should have. A blockchain, originally block chain, is a growing list of records, called blocks, which are linked using cryptography. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, a timestamp, and transaction data. By design, a blockchain is resistant to modification of the data. It is "an open, distributed ledger that can record transactions between two parties efficiently and in a verifiable and permanent way". For use as a distributed ledger, a blockchain is typically managed by a peer-to-peer network collectively adhering to a protocol for inter-node communication and validating new blocks. Once recorded, the data in any given block cannot be altered retroactively without alteration of all subsequent blocks, which requires consensus of the network majority. Although blockchain records are not unalterable, blockchains may be considered secure by design and exemplify a distributed computing system with high Byzantine fault tolerance. Decentralized consensus has therefore been claimed with a blockchain. Blockchain was invented by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008 to serve as the public transaction ledger of the crypto-currency bitcoin. The invention of the blockchain for bitcoin made it the first digital currency to solve the double-spending problem without the need of a trusted authority or central server. The bitcoin design has inspired other applications, and blockchains which are readable by the public are widely used by crypto-currencies. Private Blockchains have been proposed for business use. Some marketing of blockchains has been called "snake oil".

Phrase History

The first work on a cryptographically secured chain of blocks was described in 1991 by Stuart Haber and W. Scott Stornetta. They wanted to implement a system where documents' timestamps could not be tampered with or backdated. In 1992, Bayer, Haber and Stornetta incorporated Merkle trees to the design, which improved its efficiency by allowing several documents to be collected into one block. The first blockchain was conceptualized by a person (or group of people) known as Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008. It was implemented the following year by Nakamoto as a core component of the crypto-currency bitcoin, where it serves as the public ledger for all transactions on the network. In August 2014, the bitcoin blockchain file size, containing records of all transactions that have occurred on the network, reached 20 GB. In January 2015, the size had grown to almost 30 GB, and from January 2016 to January 2017, the bitcoin blockchain grew from 50 GB to 100 GB in size. The words block and chain were used separately in Satoshi Nakamoto's original paper, but were eventually popularized as a single word, blockchain, by 2016. The term blockchain 2.0 refers to new applications of the distributed blockchain database, first emerging in 2014. The Economist described one implementation of this second-generation programmable blockchain as coming with "a programming language that allows users to write more sophisticated smart contracts, thus creating invoices that pay themselves when a shipment arrives or share certificates which automatically send their owners dividends if profits reach a certain level". As of 2016, blockchain 2.0 implementations continue to require an off-chain oracle to access any "external data or events based on time or market conditions [that need] to interact with the blockchain". IBM opened a blockchain innovation research center in Singapore in July 2016. A working group for the World Economic Forum met in November 2016 to discuss the development of governance models related to blockchain. According to Accenture, an application of the diffusion of innovations theory suggests that blockchains attained a 13.5% adoption rate within financial services in 2016, therefore reaching the early adopters phase. Industry trade groups joined to create the Global Blockchain Forum in 2016, an initiative of the Chamber of Digital Commerce. In May 2018, Gartner found that only 1% of CIOs indicated any kind of blockchain adoption within their organizations, and only 8% of CIOs were in the short-term planning or looking at active experimentation with blockchain. 

Continued in the next blog...

Mechatronics (Part-XIV)- Exploring Industrial Automation

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Check Out The Significant Roles Of Automation In Industries

Here we continue with the fourteenth part of our blog on mechatronics. Those who have missed our thirteenth blog can read it from Here. It will help to connect with the fourteenth part of the blog discussing about the significant applications of automation in industries. Let us explore the blog to find out in more details. Automation and technology would be a great boon if it were creative, if were more leisure, more opportunity to engage in raising family, providing guidance to the young, all the staff we say we need.

What is Industrial Automation?

Industrial automation deals primarily with the automation of manufacturing, quality control and material handling processes. General purpose controllers for industrial processes include Programmable logic controllers, stand-alone I/O modules, and computers. Industrial automation is to replace the decision making of humans and manual command-response activities with the use of mechanised equipment and logical programming commands. One trend is increased use of Machine vision to provide automatic inspection and robot guidance functions; another is a continuing increase in the use of robots. Industrial automation is simply required in industries. The integration of control and information across the enterprise enables industries to optimise industrial process operations. Energy efficiency in industrial processes has become a higher priority. Semiconductor companies like Infineon Technologies are offering 8-bit micro-controller applications for example found in motor controls, general purpose pumps, fans, and e-bikes to reduce energy consumption and thus increase efficiency.

Industry 4.0

The rise of industrial automation is directly tied to the “fourth industrial revolution”, which is better known now as Industry 4.0. Originating from Germany, Industry 4.0 encompasses numerous devises, concepts, and machines. It, along with the advancement of the Industrial Internet of Things (formally known as the IoT or IIoT) which is “Internet of Things is a seamless integration of diverse physical objects in the Internet through a virtual representation”. These new revolutionary advancements have drawn attention to the world of automation in an entirely new light and shown ways for it to grow to increase productivity and efficiency in machinery and manufacturing facilities. Industry 4.0 works with the IIoT and software/hardware to connect in a way that (through communication technologies) add enhancements and improve manufacturing processes. Being able to create smarter, safer, and more advanced manufacturing is now possible with these new technologies. It opens up a manufacturing platform that is more reliable, consistent, and efficient that before. Implementation of systems such as SCADA is an example of software that takes place in Industrial Automation today. SCADA is supervisory data collection software, just one of the many used in Industrial Automation. Industry 4.0 vastly covers many areas in manufacturing and will continue to do so as time goes on.

Industrial Robotics

Industrial robotics is a sub-branch in the industrial automation that aids in various manufacturing processes. Such manufacturing processes include; machining, welding, painting, assembling and material handling to name a few. Industrial robots utilizes various mechanical, electrical as well as software systems to allow for high precision, accuracy and speed that far exceeds any human performance. The birth of industrial robot came shortly after World War II as United States saw the need for a quicker way to produce industrial and consumer goods. Servos, digital logic and solid state electronics allowed engineers to build better and faster systems and overtime these systems were improved and revised to the point where a single robot is capable of running 24 hours a day with little or no maintenance. In 1997, there were 700,000 industrial robots in use, the number has risen to 1.8M in 2017.

To be continued in the next blog...

Mechatronics (Part-XIII)- Smart Automations In Highways, Home And Laboratory Technologies

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Know About The Applications Of Smart Automations In Highways, Home and Laboratory Technologies

Now we continue with the thirteenth part of our blog on mechatronics. Those who have missed our twelfth blog can read it from Here. It will help to connect with the thirteenth part of the blog discussing about the applications of smart automations in highways, home and laboratory technologies. Let us explore the blog to find out in more details. By 2018, automation is going to be in full swing in the world. There are estimates that it could replace 50 percent of our jobs. That is an enormous shift. But even if we go through a phase where we have an unemployment valley from automation, there will be new jobs and new things for us to do.

How Automation Emerged in Highway?

As demands for safety and mobility have grown and technological possibilities have multiplied, interest in automation has grown. Seeking to accelerate the development and introduction of fully automated vehicles and highways, the United States Congress authorized more than $650 million over six years for intelligent transport systems (ITS) and demonstration projects in the 1991 Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA). Congress legislated in ISTEA that "the Secretary of Transportation shall develop an automated highway and vehicle prototype from which future fully automated intelligent vehicle-highway systems can be developed. Such development shall include research in human factors to ensure the success of the man-machine relationship. The goal of this program is to have the first fully automated highway roadway or an automated test track in operation by 1997. This system shall accommodate installation of equipment in new and existing motor vehicles". Full automation commonly defined as requiring no control or very limited control by the driver; such automation would be accomplished through a combination of sensor, computer, and communications systems in vehicles and along the roadway. Fully automated driving would, in theory, allow closer vehicle spacing and higher speeds, which could enhance traffic capacity in places where additional road building is physically impossible, politically unacceptable, or prohibitively expensive. Automated controls also might enhance road safety by reducing the opportunity for driver error, which causes a large share of motor vehicle crashes. Other potential benefits include improved air quality (as a result of more-efficient traffic flows), increased fuel economy, and spin-off technologies generated during research and development related to automated highway systems.

Automation in Waste Management and Home

Automated waste collection trucks prevent the need for as many workers as well as easing the level of labour required to provide the service. Home automation (also called domotics) designates an emerging practice of increased automation of household appliances and features in residential dwellings, particularly through electronic means that allow for things impracticable, overly expensive or simply not possible in recent past decades.

Automation in Laboratory Technology

Automation is essential for many scientific and clinical applications. Therefore, automation has been extensively employed in laboratories. From as early as 1980 fully automated laboratories have already been working. However, automation has not become widespread in laboratories due to its high cost. This may change with the ability of integrating low-cost devices with standard laboratory equipment. Auto samplers are common devices used in laboratory automation.

To be continued in the next blog...

Mechatronics (Part-XII)- Automation In Recent And Emerging Applications

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Check Out The Role Of Automation In Recent And Emerging Applications

Here we continue with the twelfth part of our blog on mechatronics. Those who have missed our eleventh blog can read it from Here. It will help to connect with the twelfth part of the blog discussing about the different role of automation in recent and emerging applications. Let us explore the blog to find out in more details. Automation provides us with wondrous increases of production and information, but does it tell us what to do with men the machines displace? Modern industry gives us the capacity for unparallel wealth-but where is our capacity to make the wealth meaningful to the poor of every nation?

Cognitive Automation

Cognitive automation, as a subset of artificial intelligence is an emerging genus of automation enabled by cognitive computing. Its primary concern is the automation of clerical tasks and workflows that consist of structuring unstructured data. Cognitive automation relies on multiple disciplines: natural language processing, real-time computing, machine learning algorithms, big data analytics and evidence-based learning. According to Deloitte, cognitive automation enables the replication of human tasks and judgment "at rapid speeds and considerable scale". Such tasks include:

• Document redaction
• Data extraction and document synthesis / reporting
• Contract management
• Natural language search
• Customer, employee, and stakeholder on boarding
• Manual activities and verification
• Follow up and email communications

Recent and Emerging Applications- Automated Retail

i) Food and Drink

The food retail industry has started to apply automation to the ordering process; McDonald's has introduced touch screen ordering and payment systems in many of its restaurants, reducing the need for as many cashier employees. The University of Texas at Austin has introduced fully automated cafe retail locations. Some Cafes and restaurants have utilized mobile and tablet "apps" to make the ordering process more efficient by customers ordering and paying on their device. Some restaurants have automated food delivery to customers’ tables using a Conveyor belt system. The use of robots is sometimes employed to replace waiting staff.

ii) Stores

Many supermarkets and even smaller stores are rapidly introducing Self checkout systems reducing the need for employing checkout workers. In the United States, the retail industry employs 15.9 million people as of 2017 (around 1 in 9 Americans in the workforce). Globally, an estimated 192 million workers could be affected by automation according to research by Eurasia Group. 

Online shopping could be considered a form of automated retail as the payment and checkout are through an automated Online transaction processing system, with the share of online retail accounting jumping from 5.1% in 2011 to 8.3% in 2016. However, two-thirds of books, music and films are now purchased online. In addition, automation and online shopping could reduce demands for shopping malls, and retail property, which in America is currently estimated to account for 31% of all commercial property or around 7 billion square feet. Amazon has gained much of the growth in recent years for online shopping, accounting for half of the growth in online retail in 2016. Other forms of automation can also be an integral part of online shopping, for example the deployment of automated warehouse robotics such as that applied by Amazon using Kiva Systems.

iii) Automated Mining

Automated mining involves the removal of human labor from the mining process. The mining industry is currently in the transition towards automation. Currently it can still require a large amount of human capital, particularly in the third world where labor costs are low so there is less incentive for increasing efficiency through automation.

iv) Automated Video Surveillance

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) started the research and development of automated visual surveillance and monitoring (VSAM) program, between 1997 and 1999, and airborne video surveillance (AVS) programs, from 1998 to 2002. Currently, there is a major effort underway in the vision community to develop a fully automated tracking surveillance system. Automated video surveillance monitors people and vehicles in real time within a busy environment. Existing automated surveillance systems are based on the environment they are primarily designed to observe, i.e., indoor, outdoor or airborne, the amount of sensors that the automated system can handle and the mobility of sensor, i.e., stationary camera vs. mobile camera. The purpose of a surveillance system is to record properties and trajectories of objects in a given area, generate warnings or notify designated authority in case of occurrence of particular events.

To be continued in the next blog...

 

Mechatronics (Part-XI)- Automation Tools And Limitations

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Know About The Different Automation Tools And Their Limitations

Now we continue with the eleventh part of our blog on mechatronics. Those who have missed our tenth blog can read it from Here. It will help to connect with the eleventh part of the blog discussing different automation tools and their limitations. Let us explore the blog to find out in more details. Automation is a great profit but it's a real potential trouble area for society. Automation is going to cause unemployment, and we need to prepare it.

Automation Tools

Engineers can now have numerical control over automated devices. The result has been a rapidly expanding range of applications and human activities. Computer-aided technologies now serve as the basis for mathematical and organizational tools used to create complex systems. Notable examples of CAx include Computer-aided design(CAD software) and Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM software). The improved design, analysis, and manufacture of products enabled by CAx has been beneficial for industry. Information technology, together with industrial machinery and processes, can assist in the design, implementation, and monitoring of control systems. One example of an industrial control system is a programmable logic controller (PLC). PLCs are specialized hardened computers which are frequently used to synchronize the flow of inputs from (physical) sensors and events with the flow of outputs to actuators and events. Human-machine interfaces (HMI) or computer human interfaces (CHI), formerly known as man-machine interfaces, are usually employed to communicate with PLCs and other computers. Service personnel who monitor and control through HMIs can be called by different names. In industrial process and manufacturing environments, they are called operators or something similar. In boiler houses and central utilities departments they are called stationary engineers. Different types of automation tools exist:

• ANN –Artificial neural network
• DCS –Distributed Control System
• HMI –Human Machine Interface
• SCADA –Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition
• PLC –Programmable Logic Controller
• Instrumentation
• Motion control
• Robotics

When it comes to factory automation, Host Simulation Software (HSS) is a commonly used testing tool that is used to test the equipment software. HSS is used to test equipment performance with respect to Factory Automation standards (timeouts, response time, processing time).

Limitations to Automation

Current technology is unable to automate all the desired tasks. Many operations using automation have large amounts of invested capital and produce high volumes of product, making malfunctions extremely costly and potentially hazardous. Therefore, some personnel are needed to ensure that the entire system functions properly and that safety and product quality are maintained. As a process becomes increasingly automated, there is less and less labor to be saved or quality improvement to be gained. This is an example of both diminishing returns and the logistic function. As more and more processes become automated, there are fewer remaining non-automated processes. This is an example of exhaustion of opportunities. New technological paradigms may however set new limits that surpass the previous limits.

Current Limitation

Many roles for humans in industrial processes presently lie beyond the scope of automation. Human-level pattern recognition, language comprehension, and language production ability are well beyond the capabilities of modern mechanical and computer systems (but see Watson (computer)). Tasks requiring subjective assessment or synthesis of complex sensory data, such as scents and sounds, as well as high-level tasks such as strategic planning, currently require human expertise. In many cases, the use of humans is more cost-effective than mechanical approaches even where automation of industrial tasks is possible. Overcoming these obstacles is a theorized path to post-scarcity economics.

Paradox Automation

The paradox of automation says that the more efficient the automated system, the more crucial the human contribution of the operators. Humans are less involved, but their involvement becomes more critical.If an automated system has an error, it will multiply that error until it’s fixed or shut down. This is where human operators come in.A fatal example of this was Air France Flight 447, where a failure of automation put the pilots into a manual situation they were not prepared for. 

To be continued in the next blog...

Mechatronics (Part-X)- Automation In Manufacturing And Health Industries

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Know About The Role Of Automation In Various Sectors Like Manufacturing And Health Industries

Here we continue with the tenth part of our blog on mechatronics. Those who have missed our ninth blog can read it from Here. It will help to connect with the tenth part of the blog discussing about the role of automation in manufacturing and health industries. Let us explore the blog to find out in more details. In words of Alain Dehaze:

"Warp speed developments in technology-automation,artificial intelligence, and the arrival of the sharing economy-are transforming how we work.Beyond technology, traditional working patterns are also being disrupted by changes in society,organizations and workforce management,leading to the rise of a more independent and dispersed workforce".

Automation in Manufacturing

Lights out manufacturing is a production system with no human workers, to eliminate labor costs. Lights Out Manufacturing grew in popularity in the U.S. when General Motors in 1982 implemented humans “hands-off” manufacturing in order to “replace risk-averse bureaucracy with automation and robots”. However, the factory never reached full “lights out” status. The expansion of Lights Out Manufacturing requires:

• Reliability of equipment
• Long term mechanic capabilities
• Planned preventative maintenance
• Commitment from the staff

Automation in Health

The costs of automation to the environment are different depending on the technology, product or engine automated. There are automated engines that consume more energy resources from the Earth in comparison with previous engines and vice versa.[citation needed] Hazardous operations, such as oil refining, the manufacturing of industrial chemicals, and all forms of metal working, were always early contenders for automation. The automation of vehicles could prove to have a substantial impact on the environment, although the nature of this impact could be beneficial or harmful depending on several factors. Because automated vehicles are much less likely to get into accidents compared to human-driven vehicles, some precautions built into current models (such as anti-lock brakes or laminated glass) would not be required for self-driving versions. Removing these safety features would also significantly reduce the weight of the vehicle, thus increasing fuel economy and reducing emissions per mile. Self-driving vehicles are also more precise with regard to acceleration and breaking, and this could contribute to reduced emissions. Self-driving cars could also potentially utilize fuel-efficient features such as route mapping that is able to calculate and take the most efficient routes. Despite this potential to reduce emissions, some researchers theorize that an increase of production of self-driving cars could lead to a boom of vehicle ownership and use. This boom could potentially negate any environmental benefits of self-driving cars if a large enough number of people begin driving personal vehicles more frequently. Automation of homes and home appliances is also thought to impact the environment, but the benefits of these features are also questioned. A study of energy consumption of automated homes in Finland showed that smart homes could reduce energy consumption by monitoring levels of consumption in different areas of the home and adjusting consumption to reduce energy leaks (such as automatically reducing consumption during the nighttime when activity is low). This study, along with others, indicated that the smart home’s ability to monitor and adjust consumption levels would reduce unnecessary energy usage. However, new research suggests that smart homes might not be as efficient as non-automated homes. A more recent study has indicated that, while monitoring and adjusting consumption levels does decrease unnecessary energy use, this process requires monitoring systems that also consume a significant amount of energy. This study suggested that the energy required to run these systems is so much so that it negates any benefits of the systems themselves, resulting in little to no ecological benefit.

Convertibility and Turnaround Time

Another major shift in automation is the increased demand for flexibility and convertibility in manufacturing processes. Manufacturers are increasingly demanding the ability to easily switch from manufacturing Product A to manufacturing Product B without having to completely rebuild the production lines. Flexibility and distributed processes have led to the introduction of Automated Guided Vehicles with Natural Features Navigation. Digital electronics helped too. Former analogue-based instrumentation was replaced by digital equivalents which can be more accurate and flexible, and offer greater scope for more sophisticated configuration, parametrization and operation. This was accompanied by the fieldbus revolution which provided a networked (i.e. a single cable) means of communicating between control systems and field level instrumentation, eliminating hard-wiring. Discrete manufacturing plants adopted these technologies fast. The more conservative process industries with their longer plant life cycles have been slower to adopt and analogue-based measurement and control still dominates. The growing use of Industrial Ethernet on the factory floor is pushing these trends still further, enabling manufacturing plants to be integrated more tightly within the enterprise, via the internet if necessary. Global competition has also increased demand for Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems.

Continued in the next blog...

Mechatronics (Part-IX)- Significant Applications Of Automations In Space and Computers

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Find Out The Important Applications Of Automations In Computers and Space

Now we continue with the ninth part of our blog on mechatronics. Those who have missed our eighth blog can read it from Here. It will help to connect with the ninth part of the blog discussing about the advantages, disadvantages and societal impact of automationimportant applications of automations in space and computers. Let us explore the blog to find out in more details. In words of Mark Cuban:

“Whatever you are studying right now, if you are not getting up to speed on deep learning, neutral networks, and so on you lose. We are going through the process where software will automate software, automation will automate automation.”

Significant Applications of Automations

The automatic telephone switchboard was introduced in 1892 along with dial telephones. By 1929, 31.9% of the Bell system was automatic. Automatic telephone switching originally used vacuum tube amplifiers and electro-mechanical switches, which consumed a large amount of electricity. Call volume eventually grew so fast that it was feared the telephone system would consume all electricity production, prompting Bell Labs to begin research on the transistor. The logic performed by telephone switching relays was the inspiration for the digital computer. The first commercially successful glass bottle blowing machine was an automatic model introduced in 1905. The machine, operated by a two-man crew working 12-hour shifts, could produce 17,280 bottles in 24 hours, compared to 2,880 bottles made by a crew of six men and boys working in a shop for a day. The cost of making bottles by machine was 10 to 12 cents per gross compared to $1.80 per gross by the manual glassblowers and helpers. Sectional electric drives were developed using control theory. Sectional electric drives are used on different sections of a machine where a precise differential must be maintained between the sections. In steel rolling, the metal elongates as it passes through pairs of rollers, which must run at successively faster speeds. In paper making the paper sheet shrinks as it passes around steam heated drying arranged in groups, which must run at successively slower speeds. The first application of a sectional electric drive was on a paper machine in 1919. One of the most important developments in the steel industry during the 20th century was continuous wide strip rolling, developed by Armco in 1928. Before automation many chemicals were made in batches. Self-acting machine tools that displaced hand dexterity so they could be operated by boys and unskilled laborers were developed by James Nasmyth in the 1840s. Machine tools were automated with Numerical control (NC) using punched paper tape in the 1950s. This soon evolved into computerized numerical control (CNC). Today extensive automation is practiced in practically every type of manufacturing and assembly process. Some of the larger processes include electrical power generation, oil refining, chemicals, steel mills, plastics, cement plants, fertilizer plants, pulp and paper mills, automobile and truck assembly, aircraft production, glass manufacturing, natural gas separation plants, food and beverage processing, canning and bottling and manufacture of various kinds of parts. Robots are especially useful in hazardous applications like automobile spray painting. Robots are also used to assemble electronic circuit boards. Automotive welding is done with robots and automatic welders are used in applications like pipelines.

Space and Computer Advancements

With the advent of the space age in 1957, controls design, particularly in the United States, turned away from the frequency-domain techniques of classical control theory and backed into the differential equation techniques of the late 19th century, which were couched in the time domain. During the 1940s and 1950s, German mathematician Irmgard Flugge-Lotz developed the theory of discontinuous automatic control, which became widely used in hysteresis control systems such as navigation systems, fire-control systems, and electronics. Through Flugge-Lotz and others, the modern era saw time-domain design for nonlinear  systems (1961), navigation (1960), optimal control and estimation theory (1962), nonlinear control theory (1969), digital control and filtering theory (1974), and the personal computer (1983).

Continued in the next blog...

Mechatronics (Part-VIII)- Advantages, Disadvantages And Societal Impact Of Automation

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Find Out The Advantages, Disadvantages and Societal Impact Of Automation

Here we continue with the eighth part of our blog on mechatronics. Those who have missed our seventh blog can read it from Here. It will help to connect with the eighth part of the blog discussing about the advantages, disadvantages and societal impact of automation. Let us explore the blog to find out in more details. In words of Tom Peters:

“For a blue-collar worker, the driving force behind change was factory automation using programmable machine tools. For an office worker, it’s office automation using computer technology: enterprise-resource-planning systems, groupware, intranets, extranets, expert systems, the Web and E-Commerce.”

Advantages and Disadvantages of Automation

Perhaps the most cited advantage of automation in industry is that it is associated with faster production and cheaper labor costs. Another benefit could be that it replaces hard, physical, or monotonous work. Additionally, tasks that take place in hazardous environments or that are otherwise beyond human capabilities can be done by machines, as machines can operate even under extreme temperatures or in atmospheres that are radioactive or toxic. They can also be maintained with simple quality checks. However, at the time being, not all tasks can be automated, and some tasks are more expensive to automate than others. Initial costs of installing the machinery in factory settings are high, and failure to maintain a system could result in the loss of the product itself. Moreover, some studies seem to indicate that industrial automation could impose ill effects beyond operational concerns, including worker displacement due to systemic loss of employment and compounded environmental damage; however, these findings are both convoluted and controversial in nature, and could potentially be circumvented. The main advantages of automation are-

• Increased throughput or productivity.
• Improved quality or increased predictability of quality.
• Improved robustness (consistency), of processes or product.
• Increased consistency of output.
• Reduced direct human labor costs and expenses.
• Installation in operations reduces cycle time.
• Can complete tasks where a high degree of accuracy is required.
• Replaces human operators in tasks that involve hard physical or monotonous work (e.g., using one forklift with a single driver instead of a team of multiple workers to lift a heavy object)
• Reduces some occupational injuries (e.g., fewer strained backs from lifting heavy objects)
• Replaces humans in tasks done in dangerous environments (i.e. fire, space, volcanoes, nuclear facilities, underwater, etc.)
• Performs tasks that are beyond human capabilities of size, weight, speed, endurance, etc.
• Reduces operation time and work handling time significantly.
• Frees up workers to take on other roles.
• Provides higher level jobs in the development, deployment, maintenance and running of the automated processes.

The main disadvantages of automation are:

• Possible security threats/vulnerability due to increased relative susceptibility for committing errors.
• Unpredictable or excessive development costs.
• High initial cost.
• Displaces workers due to job replacement.
• Leads to further environmental damage and could compound climate change

Societal Impact of Automation

Increased automation can often cause workers to feel anxious about losing their jobs as technology renders their skills or experience unnecessary. Early in the Industrial Revolution, when inventions like the steam engine were making some job categories expendable, workers forcefully resisted these changes. Luddites, for instance, were English textile workers who protested the introduction of weaving machines by destroying them. Similar movements have sprung up periodically ever since. For most of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the most influential of these movements were led by organized labor, which advocated for the retraining of workers whose jobs were rendered redundant by machines. Currently, the relative anxiety about automation reflected in opinion polls seems to correlate closely with the strength of organized labor in that region or nation. For example, while a recent study by the Pew Research Center indicated that 72% of Americans are worried about increasing automation in the workplace, 80% of Swedes see automation and artificial intelligence as a good thing, due to the country’s still-powerful unions and a more robust national safety net. Automation is already contributing significantly to unemployment, particularly in nations where the government does not proactively seek to diminish its impact. In the United States, 47% of all current jobs have the potential to be fully automated by 2033, according to the research of experts Carl Benedikt Frey and Michael Osborne. Furthermore, wages and educational attainment appear to be strongly negatively correlated with an occupation’s risk of being automated. Prospects are particularly bleak for occupations that do not presently require a university degree, such as truck driving. Even in high-tech corridors like Silicon Valley, concern is spreading about a future in which a sizable percentage of adults have little chance of sustaining gainful employment. As the example of Sweden suggests, however, the transition to a more automated future need not inspire panic, if there is sufficient political will to promote the retraining of workers whose positions are being rendered obsolete.

Continued in the next blog...

Mechatronics (Part-VII)- Control Systems In Automation

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Find Out In Details About The Control Systems Used In Automation

Now we continue with the seventh part of our blog on mechatronics. Those who have missed our sixth blog can read it from Here. It will help to connect with the seventh part of the blog discussing about control systems used in automation. Let us explore the blog to find out in more details.

Open and Closed Loop Control in Automation

Fundamentally, there are two types of control loop; open loop control, and closed loop feedback control. In open loop control, the control action from the controller is independent of the "process output" (or "controlled process variable"). A good example of this is a central heating boiler controlled only by a timer, so that heat is applied for a constant time, regardless of the temperature of the building. (The control action is the switching on/off of the boiler. The process output is the building temperature). In closed loop control, the control action from the controller is dependent on the process output. In the case of the boiler analogy this would include a thermostat to monitor the building temperature, and thereby feedback a signal to ensure the controller maintains the building at the temperature set on the thermostat. A closed loop controller therefore has a feedback loop which ensures the controller exerts a control action to give a process output the same as the "Reference input" or "set point". For this reason, closed loop controllers are also called feedback controllers. The definition of a closed loop control system according to the British Standard Institution is 'a control system possessing monitoring feedback, the deviation signal formed as a result of this feedback being used to control the action of a final control element in such a way as to tend to reduce the deviation to zero.' Likewise, a Feedback Control System is a system which tends to maintain a prescribed relationship of one system variable to another by comparing functions of these variables and using the difference as a means of control. The advanced type of automation that revolutionized manufacturing, aircraft, communications and other industries, is feedback control, which is usually continuous and involves taking measurements using a sensor and making calculated adjustments to keep the measured variable within a set range. The theoretical basis of closed loop automation is control theory.

Control Actions

1. Discrete Control (On/Off)

One of the simplest types of control is on-off control. An example is the thermostat used on household appliances which either opens or closes an electrical contact. (Thermostats were originally developed as true feedback-control mechanisms rather than the on-off common household appliance thermostat.) Sequence control, in which a programmed sequence of discrete operations is performed, often based on system logic that involves system states. An elevator control system is an example of sequence control.

2. PID Controller 

A proportional–integral–derivative controller (PID controller) is a control loop feedback mechanism (controller) widely used in industrial control systems. In a PID loop, the controller continuously calculates an error value  as the difference between a desired set point and a measured process variable and applies a correction based on proportional, integral, and derivative terms, respectively (sometimes denoted P, I, and D) which give their name to the controller type. The theoretical understanding and application dates from the 1920s, and they are implemented in nearly all analogue control systems; originally in mechanical controllers, and then using discrete electronics and latterly in industrial process computers.

3. Sequential Control and Logical Sequence on System State Control

Sequential control may be either to a fixed sequence or to a logical one that will perform different actions depending on various system states. An example of an adjustable but otherwise fixed sequence is a timer on a lawn sprinkler. States refer to the various conditions that can occur in a use or sequence scenario of the system. An example is an elevator, which uses logic based on the system state to perform certain actions in response to its state and operator input. For example, if the operator presses the floor n button, the system will respond depending on whether the elevator is stopped or moving, going up or down, or if the door is open or closed, and other conditions. An early development of sequential control was relay logic, by which electrical relays engage electrical contacts which either start or interrupt power to a device. Relays were first used in telegraph networks before being developed for controlling other devices, such as when starting and stopping industrial-sized electric motors or opening and closing solenoid valves. Using relays for control purposes allowed event-driven control, where actions could be triggered out of sequence, in response to external events. These were more flexible in their response than the rigid single-sequence cam timers. More complicated examples involved maintaining safe sequences for devices such as swing bridge controls, where a lock bolt needed to be disengaged before the bridge could be moved, and the lock bolt could not be released until the safety gates had already been closed. The total number of relays, cam timers and drum sequencers can number into the hundreds or even thousands in some factories. Early programming techniques and languages were needed to make such systems manageable, one of the first being ladder logic, where diagrams of the interconnected relays resembled the rungs of a ladder. Special computers called programmable logic controllers were later designed to replace these collections of hardware with a single, more easily re-programmed unit. In a typical hard wired motor start and stop circuit (called a control circuit) a motor is started by pushing a "Start" or "Run" button that activates a pair of electrical relays. The "lock-in" relay locks in contacts that keep the control circuit energized when the push button is released. (The start button is a normally open contact and the stop button is normally closed contact.) Another relay energizes a switch that powers the device that throws the motor starter switch (three sets of contacts for three phase industrial power) in the main power circuit. Large motors use high voltage and experience high in-rush current, making speed important in making and breaking contact. This can be dangerous for personnel and property with manual switches. The "lock in" contacts in the start circuit and the main power contacts for the motor are held engaged by their respective electromagnets until a "stop" or "off" button is pressed, which de-energizes the lock in relay. Commonly interlocks are added to a control circuit. Suppose that the motor in the example is powering machinery that has a critical need for lubrication. In this case an interlock could be added to insure that the oil pump is running before the motor starts. Timers, limit switches and electric eyes are other common elements in control circuits. Solenoid valves are widely used on compressed air or hydraulic fluid for powering actuators on mechanical components. While motors are used to supply continuous rotary motion, actuators are typically a better choice for intermittently creating a limited range of movement for a mechanical component, such as moving various mechanical arms, opening or closing valves, raising heavy press rolls, applying pressure to presses.

Continued in the next blog...