Industrial automation is this operation of manufacturing processes under the control of computers or programmable controllers (PLCs). Industrial automation can be applied to both discrete and continuous manufacturing processes. With continuous manufacturing, it is also called “process control,” and the automation systems are called SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition).
Industrial automation uses analog sensors to measure real-world conditions and digital computers perform analysis and control industrial and manufacturing processes. Control commands are converted to analog signals to control actuators. For decades, industrial automation has used direct wire connections between the sensors, actuators and the controlling computers. Recent technological advances in low-power, low-cost wireless communications now make wireless communications a desirable alternative to direct wired connections. Low-powered wireless systems enable connections to assets not easily monitored with previous technologies.
Industrial automation is used not only with manufacturing production processes, but it is also applied to:
oil and gas production
electric power generation and distribution
water and wastewater treatment, and
a broad range of other production processes.
Almost all production facilities around the world now use some form of industrial automation.
