Brussels, July 30, 2024 – The independent non-profit organization UniversalAutomation.Org (UAO) has recently grown to 88 members. Founded in 2021, the organization had its annual general meeting in Barcelona during the ARC Industry Forum Europe on 13 May, of which UAO is a global sponsor. New members, including ASRock Industrial Computer and Yokogawa, joined the management committee. John Conway, currently President of UAO, also announced his retirement for the end of the year. He has already been succeeded as the representative of Schneider Electric by Raquel Torres (Spain), who is also Ecosystem Director at UAO. Individual members such as Gr3n, Aalto University, LTU University, Kongsberg Maritime and R. STAHL also presented their IEC 61499-based projects and solutions in which the UAO runtime is implemented in Barcelona.
Automation without proprietary systems
“Interest in our automation approach has yet again increased massively over the past 12 months,” reports Greg Boucaud, Chief Marketing Officer at UAO. “Many experts now have a better idea of what exactly we are doing and how we are positioning ourselves.” In contrast, but not in competition with approaches such as MTP, NOA, OPC UA or O-PAS, the UAO Runtime Execution Engine enables the elimination of proprietary automation structures. If the runtime is implemented in a PLC controller, for example, it does not require a development environment from the same manufacturer or generation to program it. As a result, the lifecycles of hardware and software are decoupled and the reuse of program code is simplified. This offers considerable advantages when it comes to migration and integration, but also for the flexibility and modernization of systems.
In terms of content, UAO’s approach is not based upon IEC 61131, as is usually the case in the automation world, but upon IEC 61499, which was first published in 2005. The main features of this standard include a decentralized automation approach that provides for the hardware-independent distribution of program code. To this end, manufacturer-neutral software items that are not tied to a specific project via global variables are used. Two scientists, Prof. Valeriy Vyatkin from Aalto University in Finland and, as of this year, Prof. Alois Zoitl from the Johannes Kepler University Linz in Austria, are part of the UAO. Both have made a significant contribution to academic research in the field of IEC 61499 in recent years. The Technical University of Košice in Slovakia, the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte in Brazil, and the University of Warwick in the UK were also recently added as members from the university sector.
Where Universal Automation is already in use
Various member companies have already proven the effectiveness of the UAO approach. Tech group Schneider Electric, for example, has implemented the first automation projects based upon IEC 61499 with its UAO-ready EcoStruxure Automation Expert software platform, together with GEA, Wilo and German machine manufacturer Lödige. A demonstrator developed for BASF was also shown at NAMUR’s Annual General Meeting last year.
Another use case comes from Switzerland: The Chiasso-based startup Gr3n uses the UAO approach to automate its modular systems for the environment-friendly recycling of polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Decoupling hardware and software lifecycles is a huge advantage, especially for startups that are constantly developing their new systems and need to try out different hardware configurations. Additionally, the manufacturer is no longer the deciding factor when it comes to selecting the right hardware. Instead, Gr3n can decide purely based upon functional aspects (or according to what is currently available).
Manufacturers that have already implemented UAO’s Runtime Execution Engine in selected products include Advantech, ASRock, Belden, ESA, Flexbridge, Kongsberg, MatriBox, Odot, Phoenix Contact, R. Stahl and Schneider Electric.
How to get more information
UniversalAutomation.Org is very active on LinkedIn. The non-profit organization now has more than 3,500 followers and, together with representatives from member companies, regularly hosts live events on various topics relating to the manufacturer-neutral approach to automation.
The recording of the event on June 6 on “Unveiling Universal Automation: What Advantages Beyond Total Cost Ownership?” can be found here.
About UniversalAutomation.org
UniversalAutomation.org (UAO) is an independent, not-for-profit association that will unleash innovation by decoupling application software from the hardware on which it executes.
UniversalAutomation.org manages and shares a runtime execution engine based on the IEC 61499 standard which decouples automation application software from the hardware it executes on. UAO provides a ready-to-go solution that enables flexible Industry 4.0 automation architectures and drastically improves return on investment on application software by supporting reusability and portability across hardware platforms.
The ongoing development of the runtime is managed by the association following shared source principles to ensure compatibility. Members act collectively, sharing technology development, insights, and information to create a market of “plug and produce” automation solutions.
