Download this article in PDF format.

Ethernet has become a mainstream communications protocol and sits atop the control pyramid in building automation. Recently, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) defined an Ethernet standard, IEEE 802.3.cg, for 10 Mb/s operation and associated power delivery over a single balanced pair of conductors. Because a single-pair cable can now support both data and power, adoption of the standard can lead to significant cost savings and easier installation in building automation applications.

There are numerous efforts to take Ethernet to edge devices. Multiple communication networks currently exist in building automationfor example, heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) applications use Modbus; access control uses BACnet; lighting uses LonWorks; and fire safety uses Ethernet. This fragmentation of networks requires gateways to perform protocol conversion to unite networks at the top of the building automation control pyramid. End users must in turn manage complex systems.

Reasons for the existence of various communication networks include the need for longer distances, multidrop connectivity, powering scheme, and support for unique protocols. Single-pair Ethernet can address many of these reasons. Having Ethernet to the edge devices offers benefits such as direct accessibility for the control system, status updates, predictive maintenance, standardized hardware, and interoperability across various systems.

Overview of SPE

Standard Ethernet uses simplex communication with independent cables for transmitting and receiving data (Fig. 1).

1. Shown is a standard Ethernet interface for 10/100 Mb/s.

Single-pair Ethernet (SPE) is broadly classified into three categories:

IEEE 802.3cg has two more classifications:

This article covers use cases for 10BASE-T1L, which offers up to a 10-Mb/s data rate over 1,000-m distances in building automation systems.

The 10BASE-T1L physical layer (PHY) operates using full-duplex communications over a single balanced pair of conductors with an effective data rate of 10 Mb/s simultaneously in each direction. The 10BASE-T1L PHY uses three-level pulse amplitude modulation (PAM3), transmitted at 7.5 megabaud on the link segment. A 33-bit scrambler can help improve electromagnetic compatibility.

MII transmit data (TXD) are encoded together using four-binary three-ternary (4B3T) encoding, which keeps the running average (dc baseline) of the transmitted PAM3 symbols within bounds. Using the management data input/output interface to set the transmitter output voltage of the 10BASE-T1L PHY to 1.0 V p-p or 2.4 V p-p differentials will help achieve a longer communication distance over different cables.

SPE uses echo cancellation to achieve full duplex communication, along with multilevel signaling and equalization to improve signal quality and achieve the required data rate over a single-pair cable (Fig. 2). Theres no difference in the interface between the processor and the PHY; however, within the PHY, the transmit and receive sections of the Medium Dependent Interface require modification as outlined above to enable single-pair operation.

2. Using echo cancellation to achieve full duplex communication, this SPE interface is for 10/100-Mb/s SPE.

SPE also enables sending power over data lines (PoDL) along the same single-pair cable through a low-pass filter like the one shown in Figure 3.

3. SPE enables sending power over data lines (poDL), as in this example.

The table lists the various power classes supported by the IEEE 802.3.cg standard. The maximum power deliverable to the load is 52 W and is defined under Class 15. Power classes below 10 are covered by IEEE 802.3.bu.

Power classes supported by the IEEE 802.3.cg standard.

Benefits of SPE

Transitioning to SPE has multiple benefits, starting from installation to managing an entire building using a single communication network. Its benefits result in a lower total cost of ownership and a better return on investment in building automation systems. For example:

The following section explains how SPE can be implemented and the associated benefits for various building automation applications.

Fire Safety Applications

Fire alarm control panels (FACPs) connect to various heat, smoke, and gas detectors. These sensors, connected together in the signaling loop, generate an alarm in case of accidents, and FACPs may communicate to fire stations through a telephone network. An FACP often supports multiple signal loops to facilitate splitting into various zones or floors for easy identification.

Each building can have multiple FACPs, depending on the number of floors and sensors. When a facility like a large residential complex, office, school, or shopping mall expands, theres often a need to interconnect FACPs across buildings as far as 3 to 4 km apart through Ethernet, using either copper or fiber wires.

Ethernet based on 100BASE-TX/10BASE-T) require multiple repeaters to bridge such distances; as a result, powering them can be a challenge. Another option is to transition to fiber cables, which require media converters (copper to fiber) at both ends. Figure 4 depicts an example system.

4. A traditional architecture uses fiber connectivity between FACPs.

Both of the options described above result in expensive systems. SPE can solve both challenges for distances up to 1 km. For systems with greater distances, you can use repeaters powered through PoDL. PoDL eliminates the need for an external power supply, further simplifying the system. Figure 5 depicts a fire safety system using SPE.

5. This architecture uses SPE between FACPs.

Vertical Transportation Applications

Elevators are a complex system. The main communication link between a moving elevator car and the machine-room controller is through a traveling cable. The length of this cable can be anywhere from 10 to 500 m or longer, depending on the height of the building. Controller area network (CAN) and LonWorks are common protocols used for elevator systems, given their low-speed requirements and required cable distances.

Cable reliability over a period of several years is important due to the amount of stress it experiences during operation. As the elevator moves up and down, the cable needs to bend, which isnt ideal for optical fiber cabling. Therefore, most elevator cables are made of copper. And given the cable length, standard Ethernet isnt suitable because it cant work beyond 100 m.

Now, with SPE offering 1-km distances and speeds up to 10 Mb/s, its a good choice for next-generation elevator designs. The need for higher data rates between the elevator car and elevator controller arises from:

One example of predictive maintenance is monitoring the movement of an elevator doors opening and closing by measuring the doors motor current during its acceleration, steady-state, and deceleration periods, and analyzing any abnormality. The ability to predict potential failures would avoid elevator downtime and passenger inconvenience.

Upgrading existing elevators is equally as important as designing new elevators with more advanced features. One way to resolve retrofitting challenges is to have media converters like CAN to SPE inside the elevator car and SPE to standard Ethernet or CAN for the elevator controller (Fig. 6).

6. Shown is elevator car-to-machine room communication.

For next-generation systems, the elevator controller could incorporate a built-in SPE PHY 10BASE-T1L and the equipment within the car would be connected through SPE PHY 10BASE-T1S. The elevator car would also have a built-in 10BASE-T1S-10BASE-T1L Ethernet switch to interface the car with the elevator controller. Emergency lights and communication systems within the elevator car could be powered through PoDL to ensure that theres no disruption of power.

HVAC Applications

HVAC controllers are being unified in order to control a rooftop unit, chiller control unit, air-handling unit, and more. HVAC controllers use standard Ethernet to interface with higher-level building automation systems such as the building management system, as well as to daisy-chain multiple HVAC controllers. To maintain network connectivity when powering off any of the HVAC controllers, electromechanical relays short the Ethernet signals at the input and output ports.

HVAC controllers have multiple analog, digital, or fieldbus interfaces to communicate or control multiple sensors that measure parameters like temperature, humidity, and pressure (Fig. 7). The sensors could be analog output with loop power, or support 0- to 10-W/4- to 20-mA output with separate power. HVAC controllers can also connect to actuators like dampers, fans, and stepper-motor drives through communication interfaces or analog connections. Having SPE connectivity from the controller to the sensors and actuators would simplify installation with only two wires and enable access to devices at the edge.

7. An HVAC controller interface will control or communicate to multiple sensors.

Figure 8 illustrates one example implementation using a humidity sensor, where the I2C interface connects to a microcontroller (MCU) with built-in media access control (MAC). SPE PHY (10BASE-T1L or 10BASE-T1S) interfaces to the built-in MAC of the MCU, while PoDL with a dc-dc converter powers the entire circuit. This architecture offers multiple benefits, including standardization of sensor connectors, reusable hardware, sensor and hardware diagnostics, and calibration.

8. This humidity sensor implementation illustrates SPE-based sensing.

Having multiple SPE ports within a HVAC controller to interface various sensors and actuators would require an application-specific integrated circuit to implement Ethernet switch functionality, which is readily available.

Video-Surveillance Applications

Outdoor Internet Protocol (IP) network cameras are often installed at the perimeter of buildings to ensure the continuous capture of video and generate alarms when security is breached quickly enough to give security officers sufficient time to react. The distance from these cameras to a network video recorder could be 1 km or more. Bridging this distance with standard Ethernet involves repeaters or the use of fiber cabling. With efficient encoding systems like H.264 and H.265, the data-rate requirement drops to under 10 Mb/s, even with 4-Mpixel sensors that have a 30-fps rate.

Future IP camera products are expected to support SPE, which will facilitate easier installations, as will network video recorders offering a power-sourcing equipment port (Fig. 9). Classes 8 and 9 (48-V regulated power-sourcing equipment) or Classes 14 and 15 (50 to 58 V maximum) could support the required power levels for an IP camera, which might require as much as 52 W of power to operate. This power would be sufficient for most camera systems, even those with built-in heaters. For buildings that need upgrades, an intermediate solution would be to use standard Ethernet-to-SPE converters.

9. Shown is IP network camera connectivity in existing infrastructure, and current and future SPE-based implementations.

Summary

SPE, either standalone (data only) or together with power, offers numerous opportunities in building automation. Until the ecosystem is fully developed, though, theres still a need for media or protocol converters to upgrade existing systems, as well as challenges associated with the reuse of existing cables (unshielded, no twisting, wire gauge) and connectors, which may not offer the full distance or speed as defined in 802.3cg. But this will not be a major hindrance, as the future benefits outweigh the constraints.

Power-sourcing equipment and power-delivery devices for SPE are expected to be released in the coming years. Until then, an engineered link will power devices at the edge. You can also expect to see building automation products supporting SPE with seamless integration.

Navaneeth Kumar is Systems Manager - Building Automation, at Texas Instruments.

Original post:

Leveraging Single-Pair Ethernet in Building Automation - Electronic Design

The Factory Automation and Industrial Controls Market report offers a detailed study on the evaluation of industry with respect to competitive players, latest advancements, regional analysis, emerging trends, and current tendencies of the end-user. The report also covers Factory Automation and Industrial Controls market size, market share, growth rate, revenue, and CAGR reported previously along with its forecast estimation. The report also includes performance in terms of revenue influence from various segments. It includes an in-depth analysis of key factors that influencing revenue growth of the Factory Automation and Industrial Controls market.

The report on Factory Automation and Industrial Controls market analyzes the primary growth factors, restraints and opportunities influencing the market outlook in the upcoming years. According to the research document, the market is predicted to generate significant revenue while registering a CAGR of XX% over the estimated timeframe (20XX-20XX).

The study provides detailed information regarding the impact of COVID-19 on the growth of Factory Automation and Industrial Controls market. With the pandemic unceasing, stringent lockdown measures has withheld the revenue of several industries and will continue to have a lingering impact even after the economy rejuvenates. Most of the businesses across various industry verticals have revised their budget plans in a bit to re-establish profit trajectory for the ensuing years.

Request Sample Copy of this Report @ https://www.express-journal.com/request-sample/157707

Our detailed assessment of this business space allows you to devise a plan-of-action for navigating through the market uncertainty and build versatile contingency plans to stay ahead of the competition. Additionally, the report offers a granular analysis of the various market segmentations as well as the competitive scenario of this business sphere.

Major aspects from the Factory Automation and Industrial Controls market report:

Factory Automation and Industrial Controls Market segments enclosed in the report:

Regional segmentation: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East & Africa.

Product types:

Applications spectrum:

Competitive outlook:

Reasons why you should buy this report

Request Customization on This Report @ https://www.express-journal.com/request-for-customization/157707

See more here:

Factory Automation and Industrial Controls Market Analysis And Demand With Forecast Overview To 2025 - Express Journal

It is the year 2030. The explosion of internet of things devices has really taken hold impacting both the personal and commercial property markets.

At the end of 2019 there were an estimated seven to eight billion active IoT devices, a figure which now stands at 40bn. Indeed it is estimated that the average UK household now has well over 100 devices with the rise in the likes of smart meters, security devices and leak detection making household properties much better risks. Indeed escape of water, once a major issue for claims managers, has seen substantially reduced.

In the corporate and commercial space, sensors are now omnipresent across many sectors too, allowing risk managers and their insurers to foretell many issues before they become a potential loss.

The rise in sensors and intelligent risk management using digital technology/mapping/big data means that property claims numbers have fallen. But they still happen, and when they do insurers have almost instant notification of a loss and an idea of the likely exposure by using photographic recognition/AI tools to assess the damage.

This is particularly helpful as Europe continues to see more extreme fluctuations in its weather than it did in the latter half of the twentieth century.

When losses do happen, loss adjusters still continue to play a role with major events, although the use of remote desk top assessments and drones is now more common than having someone knock on a door. And if someone does knock on the door, they are just as likely to be a gig economy worker as a full time employee.

Although still not as widespread as some predicted parametric insurance for property events as flood, storm and [in other countries] earthquake damage are finding their feet with take up around 5% in both the personal lines and commercial markets.

The continued rise of Generation Rent which was exacerbated by the economic down turn post Covid-19 - has seen an explosion in these types of products; whilst the amount of hours spent homeworking has seen a rise in hybrid commercial/personal products as more people set up office at home.

Based on this hypothesis, Post content director Jonathan Swift sat down with Benjamin Blain, head of property claims; and Jes Westerman, head of strategic projectsat Verisk, to discuss how the insurance industry might make use of Io sensors and the automation of the acquisition of data to better manage risks and handle claims over the next decade.

The trio also discuss the greater use of peril models and granular information to manage weather events and underwrite commercial and domestic properties to arrive at future market as outlined above.

You are currently unable to print this content. Please contact [emailprotected] to find out more.

You are currently unable to copy this content. Please contact [emailprotected] to find out more.

See the rest here:

Future Focus 2030: The future of property podcast - how IoT sensors, automation and granular data will shape the next decade - Post Online

Advances in vision systems offer packagers one of the biggest opportunities for improving productivity. Many packaging applications make use of 2D machine vision, where grayscale or color imaging creates a two-dimensional map that allows for easy detection of anomalies or variations in part contrast. As this type of vision increasingly becomes cheaper and faster, its use in packaging continues to grow, particularly in functions associated with inspection, barcode reading, surface marking detection, and basic positional verification.

Now, with innovations in 3D vision, broader applications are becoming possible. Whereas with 2D applications, where objects being scanned must be on a flat surface and of a consistent size and shape, 3D vision gives insight into product depth and height and can therefore be used for random situations, where items are located haphazardly or stacked in a bin with varying orientation.

Read related articles from Packaging World:

Industrial Robot Growth

Big Packaging Line in a Small Footprint? No Problem if it Handles a Dozen Formats

COVID-19 Brings Increased Visibility to the Role of Robotics

Wet Wipes Case Packed via Robots at 160/min

Pick-and-Place Robots, Flow Wrapper, Fuel High-Volume Bakery

One example that capitalizes on both 2D and 3D vision is Syntegons horizontal flow-wrapper, the Pack 102, with three Fanuc robots, designed for small- to medium-sized bakeries and other food companies. At PACK EXPO Las Vegas in fall 2019, the system was demonstrated loading meal kits. Explains Syntegon, each robotic platform detects and prioritizes six independent production flows simultaneously and in sequence, operating from one HMI on the flow wrapper.

Using 2D vision and dual conveyor tracking, the first robot, a Fanuc SR-6iA four-axis SCARA robot, detects and prioritizes products from two low-friction flat-belt conveyors. The second robot, a Fanuc M-1iA delta robot, precisely detects product location from two side-by-side indexing conveyors using 2D vision. The final robot, the LR Mate 200iD six-axis articulating robot, picks product from two different bulk bins using 3D vision and places the assortment into the product infeed of the Pack 102.

Theegarten-Pactecs Vision Picker robot system uses camera recognition to feed the companys wrapping machines with delicate chocolate figures.Another newly developed system allowing for productivity increases through vision is Theegarten-Pactecs Vision Picker, a robot system with camera recognition designed to feed its wrapping machines with delicate chocolate figures. According to the company, in the past, its machines had to work with chocolate molds holding a fixed number of products. These were placed by a robot in the feed chain of the packaging machine by means of a multiple tool.

The Vision Picker, it says, eliminates complex handling of the molds. Using an integrated image processing system, individual products are now detected within the disordered product flow. Each product is individually sucked in by the robot and placed in the correct position in the infeed chain of the packaging machine. Says Theegarten-Pactec, with the Vision Picker, different product formats can be packed even more flexibly and therefore more quickly and cost effectively.

Coupled with its CWM2 wrapper, the robot can feed product at 400/min; configured with its high-performance machines, the robot can operate at a rate of more than 1,000 products/min.

View post:

Robotics Special Report: Vision for the Future - Automation World

As a firm believer of an enterprise's inner strength when confronted with external factors like supply chain disruptions and tariffs due to geopolitical tensions, I have been following Rockwell's (NYSE:ROK) cost savings plans right from the start of the pandemic.

In this connection, my investment theses on BASF (OTCQX:BASFY) and Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) were aimed at exploring the inner strength as a counterbalance to external uncertainty.

Rockwell, as a leading provider of industrial automation solutions used by companies in the automobile, Oil & Gas as well as healthcare sectors, has gone a step further by rapidly carrying out a reorganization of its organization structure to be more aligned with customer needs.

The stock price, on the other hand, has lagged significantly behind peer ABB (NYSE:ABB) since mid-April of this year by more than 25% while trending slightly higher than the Vanguard Industrials ETF (NYSEARCA:VIS).

Figure 1: Comparing Rockwell's stock price with peer ABB and Vanguard Industrials.

Data by YCharts

Financial efficiency, strength in key automation areas and reorganization synergies now position the company to deliver on earnings guidance for FY-2020.

Rockwell's Q3-2020 earnings have been impacted by COVID, but on the other hand, the company managed to beat consensus by $0.10.

Looking at the wider perspective, the automation company has maintained its earnings beat run during the last four quarters except for Q1-2020 when there was a draw.

Figure 2: EPS figures

Source: Seeking Alpha

Now, the adjusted EPS of $1.27 for Q3-2020 did beat consensus, but is down 47% compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2019. This is in sharp contrast with the EPS for Q2-2020 which not only beat expectations but was also up 19% compared to the second quarter of fiscal year 2019. Therefore, this must have played into the morale of investors as they dumped the stock, resulting in a 3% downside following earnings results on July 28.

Looking into the rear-view mirror, the executives had already warned that earnings for Q3-2020 would be a "little over $1" and that it would be the worst quarter with organic sales projected to decline by around 20%. The dire projections have been confirmed with the exception of sales which have fared better (minus 17.6% instead of minus 20% as projected). I will come back to this point later, but right now, I look into the finances.

First, the primary reason for upbeat earnings in Q2-2020 was due to cost savings as a result of lower incentive compensation expenses. Also, some COVID-19 windfall gains resulting in higher sales for the Architecture & Software segment and Control Products & Solutions in the second quarter are absent in Q3-2020.

For this quarter, the company has benefited from some percentages of growth from acquisitions.

Figure 3: Q3-2020 segment results

Source: Seeking Alpha

However, there have been lower sales in the company's Solutions and Services business with the book-to-bill deteriorating to 1.05 due to projects being delayed. Interestingly, from a longer-term perspective, there have been no cancellations, and this is a good sign for the fourth quarter. Even to a lesser degree, the company continues to suffer from supply chain inefficiencies which has led to higher freight expenses.

Rockwell is also exposed to the whims of the auto industry where the road to recovery is viewed as tough. Also, little improvement was seen in the process markets (optimization of control processes by industrials) which were down 25%. Oil & Gas sales were also weaker.

Figure 4: COVID windfall gains

Source: Image built from Q2-2020 transcripts data

The company ended the quarter with cash equivalents of $910 million, up from $640 million in the last quarter. Debt totaled $2.4 billion, $300 million up from the last quarter. As per the SEC filings, in April 2020, Rockwell entered into a $400 million senior unsecured 364-day term loan credit agreement. As a result, leverage was 1.8x at June 30, 2020, up from 1.3x at March 31, 2020.

Next maturity for long-term debt of $2 billion is in 2025. Additionally, there is a $1.25 billion credit facility. Free cash flow was $310 million, down from the $323 million in Q3-2019. Cash flow from operations was $346 million compared to $341 million in Q2-2020 was recorded. This is sufficient liquidity for a business with a 17.6% decrease in sales and suggests further flexibility to cut down on capital expenditures for aligning with lower revenue in the short term.

However, this is not enough for making a wise investment decision and more solid arguments are necessary in terms of strengths and challenges.

Products constitute two-thirds of Rockwell's business with the remaining third comprising software and services. Moreover, the company has an extensive supply chain covering China, which means that it had to maintain relatively higher inventory levels of China-sourced components to cater for contingencies.

Now the fact that the gross margins are on the higher side at 40% compared to peer ABB's 32% (figure 7) means superior production efficiency.

Figure 5: Quarterly income statement with revenues and expenses in millions of USD.

Source: Seeking Alpha

Exploring this further, the fact that Rockwell's employees could not have access to sites for commissioning of projects due to COVID stay-at-home orders has contributed to revenue shortfalls especially in the process markets where more hands-on interaction is required. Therefore, the company has not benefited fully from the work-from-home momentum as only the non-manufacturing workforce has been working from home.

However, Rockwell has used technology in innovative ways with one example being the increasing leverage on augmented reality for testing, training and customer support.

Looking forward, there should be further cost efficiencies especially those enabled by acceleration in rendering the supply chain more flexible and enhancing the level of factory automation.

Interestingly, one of the ways in which a higher degree of automation can be achieved is through the use of IT tools. In this context, Rockwell has accelerated the usage of Microsoft's (MSFT) Dataflex Pro to increase the degree of automation of mundane and time-consuming business processes. By using this tool, its engineers are engaged in streamlining workflows, thereby gaining on productivity.

According to Chris Wagner, analytics architect at Rockwell Automation:

As part of Rockwell's digital transformation, we are focused on transforming everyone across the organization into engineers who can leverage technology to automate and simplify their jobs. We look at the Power Platform as a highway to turn all 23,000 employees into engineers. Microsoft Dataflex Pro is the data backbone that enables people to store their data in a scalable and secure environment dynamically."

This transformation can now be viewed concretely through the three newly-setup operating segments with one of the corporate aims being to add software talent and accelerate profitability.

Figure 6: Rockwell's new structure

Source: Seeking Alpha

Still, in an economic scenario which is beyond the grasp of many, it is important to identify other challenges with the most important one being currency headwinds stemming from Rockwell's global footprint.

The company faced larger-than-expected headwinds due to a stronger U.S. dollar which impacted sales by 1.9% which is considerable.

Figure 6: US dollar Index

Source: Investing.com

Now, with the US dollar index currently in the mid-90s, far from its value of above 100 during most of the second and third quarters, there could be positives in the next quarter.

Since the guidance for FY2020 excludes the impact of currency, there is possibility for some positive surprises in terms of earnings for the last quarter. This is supported by some other positives.

First, there is the fact the company expects the full cost reduction measures for this year amounting to $150 million only starting to make a real difference in terms of earnings as from Q4-2020. Also, Rockwell is in the process of reducing its global real estate footprint which should reduce monthly rental charges.

Second, there have been exceptional costs related to supply chain inefficiencies related to the pandemic and acquisitions charges. Absence of exceptional costs and cutting down on expenses should result in sequential improvement in the fourth quarter.

In this respect, the full-year outlook of $7.40-7.60 (midpoint of $7.50) provided this month is higher than the initial value of $6.90-7.70 (midpoint of $7.30) provided back in April.

I now work out a valuation aware that cost savings alone are not going to generate earnings.

When compared to ABB, the trailing price-to-earnings (GAAP) and price-to-sales ratios provide a mixed picture of the valuations. However, the margins, return on total capital and employee productivity provide a clearer picture of Rockwell's much better operational efficiency.

Figure 7: Comparing Rockwell and ABB

Source: Seeking Alpha

Therefore, compared to ABB, Rockwell should be more richly valued, but this is not the case when considering the price evolution in the last three months (figure 1). Moreover, taking into consideration that the stock price has already known better growth than the industrial average and persistence of some confinement measures, my target price would be for a moderate $230 in the medium term. This is above analysts' target of $207.

I further support my target by providing some key points about Rockwell.

Figure 8: Rockwell's positions of strength which are likely to be transformed into sales opportunities

Source: Table built from transcripts data

Therefore, this is a company which can play a significant role in automation of industry processes, thereby reducing the labor component as a factor of production. There have been strategic wins spanning several industries including Life Sciences, Food & Beverage, and Oil & Gas. These wins are considered as strategic as the company was not the incumbent supplier.

One of the more notable wins was for Brazil's largest exporter of instant coffee. Furthermore, there have been strong sales in the European, Middle East and African (EMEA) regions derived from PPE (medical protection equipment) manufacturers. There has also been significant demand for Rockwell's Information Solutions and Connected Services business from the EMEA region.

Orders are also coming from machinery builders in Europe and life sciences companies in the U.S. Furthermore, Rockwell's IoT (Internet of Things) offering can be used to increase efficiency of pumping activities as well as help in the maintenance of pipes and wells in the Oil & Gas industry. This is important for bringing down the break-even oil price. Also, automation features reduce the need for touching surfaces and help in saving lives.

Finally, dollar weakness if sustained could be highly beneficial to the company's earnings taking into consideration that there was $0.15 to $0.10 negative currency impact in the second and third quarters respectively.

Rockwell can be considered as an essential business as it supports critical infrastructures required to produce goods at scale.

Its advanced automation capabilities is proving essential in supporting healthcare companies like Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) in expanding North American manufacturing footprints through flexible, collaborative and robotized chains of production. Shareholders should be comfortable owning Rockwell's shares. The leverage should revert back to the 1.3x level in Q4-2020.

It pays a healthy dividend yield of 1.8%. The current payout ratio is 54% with a cash payout ratio of 40%. For potential investors looking for an entry point, current volatility provides an opportunity to get on board with a nice margin of safety. There could be a drop to the $215 level in the aftermath of the third quarter earnings and some political tussle over the coronavirus stimulus package.

This is a stock to have on the watch-list as it is on a path to convert COVID constraints into opportunities. Rockwell is a buy with a possibility of the $215 level being reached.

Disclosure: I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, but may initiate a long position in ROK over the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Additional disclosure: I am long BASF. This is an investment thesis and is intended for informational purposes. Investors are kindly requested to do additional research before investing.

See the original post here:

Rockwell Automation: Helping To Bring Efficient Manufacturing Back In The U.S. - Seeking Alpha

Enforcing Face Masks Without Confrontation Or Bias

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented an unprecedented challenge to businesses. From retail stores to office buildings to warehouses and construction sites, a big question looms: how can landlords, executives, and employers ensure their facilities dont contribute to the spread of the virus?A low-tech solution - the face mask - has become a leading preventative measure.But, a high-tech solution is necessary to ensure that everyone is wearing them. Cameras powered by artificial intelligence can now identify whether or not people entering a facility are wearing facemasks and help enforce adherence to mask mandates. This technology is proving to be a cost effective solution that reduces risks of confrontations over masks policies and gives managers the data they need to document regulatory compliance and reduce liability.Layers of securityThey can also be integrated into access control systems or woven into other preventative measures that create overlapping layers of security. These cameras are an ideal solution for low-traffic, remote sites, or areas that are only accessible to employees that need to monitor mask compliance but at which hiring a manned guard is just too expensive.Cameras with mask detection capabilities are especially useful when the technology piggybacks on existing autonomous devices, such as mobile security drones.The premise is simple. When a person without a mask is detected by the autonomous robotic security device, the system can generate, depending on customer preferences, audible and visible alerts to remind people to mask up. It also feeds alerts to a cloud-based data storage system so that security executives can analyze data for trends or quickly locate video of important incidents.Why masks?One study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society A highlights the benefits of mask usage. If just 50 percent of people use masks, the rate of COVID-19 transmission will slowly decline. If 80 percent of people use them, the rate will plummet.Bu,t people dont love wearing them. Theyre hot. They make eyeglasses foggy. Its hard to make yourself heard when talking to others. Were all familiar with industries that wear masks of some type or other, on a regular basis - health care, construction, and heavy industry to name a few. But for the general public, wearing a mask for long periods of time is not a regular habit.For the general public, wearing a mask for long periods of time is not a regular habitWe also know that other measures site managers have used to limit the spread of coronavirus are ineffective. For example, at least three meatpacking plants rank among the top 50 locations for coronavirus clusters. One factor driving that spread: many employees, to avoid missing a days pay, masked their mild fevers with ibuprofen to fool the infrared temperature scanners that employers used to protect against the outbreak.The paradox of masks, however, isnt that they protect the wearer from infection. Its the other way around: when an infected person wearing a mask sneezes, coughs, or breathes, they dont spread the virus as far, and thus masks slow the spread of the virus from infected people, including those that are not showing symptoms.Prove itOne of the very reasons why county and state governments have instituted mask orders is simple: its an easily verifiable sign that an organization is taking steps to limit the spread of coronavirus.Mask detection cameras, coupled with autonomous security systems, can provide the documentation employers need to ensure mask compliance.Imagine, for example, a warehouse full of manual laborers. The county orders everyone to wear a mask any time they leave home. A disgruntled employee, recently terminated, files an anonymous complaint to local health officials stating that the warehouse isnt enforcing mask compliance - or worse, preventing employees from wearing masks to prevent theft. The county sends an inspector.Mask detection cameras provide site managers with the documentation they need to disprove these allegations. The autonomous systems developed by RAD will feed video footage into a cloud database, documenting not only the instances of non-compliance, but also the instances of compliance - with the mask clearly highlighted. Any inspector that arrives on a job site can see hours and hours of footage, without having to pour through hours of video.Reducing confrontationWeve all seen the videos in which angry shoppers confront retail clerks and security guards over mask usage. In some cases, these confrontations have turned violent, resulting in injury or death.For every one of these videos, there may well be hundreds of others.While most of the videos featuring mask confrontations focus on retail settings, manned guards also face challenges in enforcement. Confrontations over mask usage have the potential to drive up workmans compensation claims higher when guards are injured.Because autonomous security units generate alerts automatically, the chance of confrontation is minimised.Its easy to imagine a couple of scenarios in which autonomous units can be beneficial. In health care settings, where emotions run high, autonomous devices can serve as a force multiplier for patrolling guards in parking areas. For example, roving units can identify people that are not wearing masks, and remind them to do so before they enter the building. These can also be placed in entryways that generate alerts as visitors approach doors.In many buildings, mask detection systems can be integrated into access control systemsAutonomous security units can be deployed for a fraction of the cost of manned security. In healthcare, autonomous units can be used to re-allocate security spending, placing less emphasis on low intensity guards whose primary function is to observe and report - particularly those that patrol parking garages - and more emphasis on trained professionals capable of defusing confrontations inside the hospital. In other words, autonomous units outside allow facilities to hire better quality inside, where confrontations are most likely to take place.In many buildings, mask detection systems can be integrated into access control systems, which might be especially useful at entrances that are not manned by security, but accessible via key card.Changing behaviorsThere was a time when smoking in public was not seen as particularly anti-social. Almost everyone will stop at a stop sign, even when we can see for miles in every direction, and we know that the risk of an accident is zero.We do these things because we have been trained to. These behaviors make us safer, but we didnt adopt them overnight. Many of us forget, but the fight over banning smoking in bars and restaurants was filled with confrontation.So, too, will it be with mask compliance. But time is short, and we all need to do everything we can to encourage good behavior. Mask detection technology can do that, and these solutions are very cost effective. In some cases, the cost may be just 5 percent of using a manned guard.Theyre effective too. Autonomous systems enforce mask policies consistently and drive accountability. That can make us all safer.

Read more:

Red Lion's Advanced Networking And Automation In One Operating System | Security News - SecurityInformed

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. & PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--DISH (NASDAQ:DISH) today announced that it has chosen VMware (NYSE:VMW) for the cloud platform to deploy the nations first 5G, cloud-native Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN). The platform will help bring to life the first network in the U.S. to combine the efficiency of the distributed telco cloud, public cloud and private cloud environments while delivering consistent, low-latency edge computing. In addition to DISHs selection of the VMware Telco Cloud platform, the company also selected cloud infrastructure services to support the IT needs of the broader DISH enterprise.

The VMware Telco Cloud will enable DISH to utilize software from the nations industry-leading vendors to optimize and accelerate its 5G network deployment. Additionally, it will provide DISH with enhanced automation, resiliency, security and flexibility. The VMware Telco Cloud provides an abstraction layer across multiple network domains and enables DISH to leverage hyper-scale public cloud capacity where needed, while maintaining core control points. The software-defined nature of the VMware Telco Cloud is part of the platform to support the DISH ecosystem of partners to accelerate 5G leadership in the U.S.

VMware software will serve as a powerful foundation for our cloud-native, software-defined 5G network, said Marc Rouanne, executive vice president and chief network officer, DISH. By bringing together innovations such as the distributed cloud, edge computing and network slicing, this software will help us provide our customers with customizable, secure solutions that will be more cost-effective than legacy, vertically-integrated, hardware-reliant alternatives.

Were excited to work with DISH to architect and build a state-of-the-art, nationwide cloud-first 5G mobile network platform, said Shekar Ayyar, executive vice president and general manager, Telco and Edge Cloud Business Unit, VMware. This software-led approach will enable DISH to innovate and deliver new services to all types of customers enterprise, small business, and consumer across the U.S.

DISH and VMware have tested and onboarded dozens of cloud-native 5G network functions from multiple software vendors on top of the VMware Telco Cloud. Running Kubernetes and following cloud-native design principles, it will enable DISH to dynamically move and scale workloads within the cloud, based on consumer demand.

DISHs network deployment using the VMware Telco Cloud illustrates the use of U.S.-based foundational technology for realizing a next generation greenfield 5G network. This network will result in significant benefits for both consumers and enterprises by delivering a combination of secure, high-capacity and low-latency services.

About DISH

DISH Network Corporation is a connectivity company. Since 1980, it has served as a disruptive force, driving innovation and value on behalf of consumers. Through its subsidiaries, the company provides television entertainment and award-winning technology to millions of customers with its satellite DISH TV and streaming SLING TV services. In 2020, the company became a nationwide U.S. wireless carrier through the acquisition of Boost Mobile. DISH continues to innovate in wireless, building the nation's first virtualized, standalone 5G broadband network. DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ: DISH) is a Fortune 250 company.

For company information, visit about.dish.com.

About VMware

VMware software powers the worlds complex digital infrastructure. The companys cloud, app modernization, networking, security, and digital workspace offerings help customers deliver any application on any cloud across any device. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, VMware is committed to being a force for good, from its breakthrough technology innovations to its global impact. For more information, please visit https://www.vmware.com/company.html.

Continue reading here:

DISH Selects VMware to Help Build the Most Advanced, Automated, End-to-End 5G Network in the U.S. - Business Wire