An automation evolution exploration from industry veteran Carl Henning. I’ve been around PROFIBUS and then PROFINET for a couple decades now and I have to admit that I’m still excited by these technologies. It’s been fun to watch them mature and grow. I’ve been doing automation for decades before that so I’ve seen the long arc of automation’s evolutionary growth. Our evolutionary position is currently the Industrial Internet of Things. And it is an evolution I believe.

To ensure that everything runs smoothly in drive technology, clean interfaces between all components involved are required. To further ensure the interoperability of drive and motion control applications, certification of products with the Encoder profile will be available starting immediately.

2015 ended successfully for IO-Link. At SPC IPC Drives, 39 members of the IO-Link member community presented 170 devices and components under the motto "Enabler for Industrie 4.0“. The various sensors, actuators, masters, and services illustrate the possibilities of high-performance point-to-point communication. More and more companies are convinced of the benefits.

For PI, the Industrial Internet of Things is a subset of Industrie 4.0. Karsten Schneider, Chairman of PI explains how PROFINET (and PI) fit in Industrie 4.0. Openness, data speeds and volumes, and collaboration on standards secure PROFINET's role.