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Wednesday, January 16, 2008 |
In December Automation World, Wes Iversen wrote a fine piece on training and simulation for engineers (and others). I just heard from a Portugese company called Real Games that has developed another training product--this one for PLC training. I have no way to see it work, but the concept is both interesting and potentially valuable.
ITS PLC 1.0 Professional Edition (stands for Interactive Training System for programmable logic controllers) runs on a Microsoft Windows PC. They say there are five "real world-based" industrial systems so you can program your PLC and validate the control algorithm through real-time interactive simulation. It features 3D graphics and sound. It's called an "immersive simulated environment."
Each system is a visual simulation of an industrial system including virtual sensors and actuators, so their state can be sensed by the PLC. The objective is to program the PLC to control each virtual system as if it was a real system. The information is exchanged between the PLC and the virtual system by a data acquisition board with 32 I/O isolated channels and USB interface. ITS PLC works with any PLC from any manufacturer.
8:26:08 AM 
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Opto 22 continues to be serious about sustainability. Here's a news item (I have 37 backlogged news items to blog, so when I get some time, be prepared) I received from the company.
The company has awarded its first "OptoGreen" grant to Makila Hydro LLC. The award is complimentary automation hardware and software to businesses, research organizations and other enterprises engaged in researching, designing, developing or producing any product or service that promotes alternative or renewable energy or sustainability.
Makila Hydro LLC-which includes a group of renewable energy specialists from Hawaii Energy Group-was formed in 2001 to restore, upgrade, and operate a hydroelectric generator at a refurbished sugar mill on the island of Maui. The company plans to use its donation of Opto 22 SNAP PAC System hardware and software to upgrade and automate this generator and reestablish it as an environmentally clean producer of electricity.
"We expect the availability of OptoGreen grants will further encourage, support, and subsidize the sourcing and production of alternative fuels and renewable energy," states Opto 22 Chief Executive Officer Mark Engman. "This program formalizes and defines a simple process whereby customers can easily procure and implement Opto 22 automation technologies to more quickly accomplish their goals."
8:03:14 AM
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InfoWorld is trying to start a movement to Save Windows XP. See here and here. What are your thoughts on that? Or, maybe by the time any movement gets started, Microsoft "fixes" Vista (although some might prefer to interpret "fixes" as in something you do to a dog rather than something you do to your car). Or, are you not upgrading at all? My work computer is a Mac, so I don't care. But my family computer is Windows, and I haven't even checked to see if it'll support Vista. We're happy with XP. My wife hasn't crashed it even once...yet.
7:54:34 AM
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This is great. From Mahalo Daily, Steve Jobs' 90 minute keynote in 60 seconds.
(Mahalo is Jason Calacanis' new endeavor, a human-powered search site. For example, ever note when you search for a hotel, the first 20 hits from Google or anyone else are NOT the hotel site, but dozens of hotel room resellers? Go to a human-powered site and that stuff is filtered out and you get what you want. He started a web tv show with Veronica Belmont, a Silicon Valley video icon.)
I bought a MacBook Pro 15" yesterday. After 5 years, it's time for an upgrade. I hope the Intel processor gives me the power I've been lacking. The new MacBook Air looks cool, but I'm not sure about it, yet.
No blog yesterday--I drove to Chicago for a bunch of meetings. Look for some cool upgrades to our Web site and new "e-media" products in 2008.
7:42:03 AM
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© Copyright 2008 Gary Mintchell.
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