IEN: What strides do you see in: ease of integration? Flexibility and scalability?
Moline: With the availability of less expensive memory (Flash) and faster processors for a lot less money, drive, control, and plc manufacturers can pack more into the product. Combine that with Windows style wizards and Ethernet -- now the customer has more capability in their product, but with ease-of-use that they are familiar with on their own PCs.
IEN: What improvements can users expect in drives, motors, servers, advanced control, Distributed Controls, Programmable Automated Controls, software, MEMS, deterministic Ethernet, PID tuning, customization, robustness, and elsewhere?
Moline: Users will start to see more common IT protocols in their products. Companies will merge from private Ethernet protocols to open Ethernet communication to take advantage of general purpose IT enhancements and products. The benefits will be an increased level of familiarity for the customer. Running the products above will be like knowing how to use Windows Explorer or connecting wireless in your home.
IEN: How about open standards and data sharing?
Moline: Given above, we will see more TCP/IP versus private protocols. 1G Ethernet is faster than 1M CAN bus even with collisions, and set up properly, collisions can be virtually eliminated. Data sharing will also be more flexible when using open Windows-type programs available right on your desktop.
IEN: Which R & D advances are closest to commercialization?
Moline: Ethernet and Windows wizard-based assistance in setup.