By the Numbers – 2009-10-01

15 summaries on this page are described in greater detail on the Control Engineering Website. Use the search box at the top of www.controleng.com and type in keywords, such as hybrid motorcycle or Cybernet, to see more on each item. $31,650 was the fine assessed to a glass manufacturer in Pennsylvania for air quality violations.

October 1, 2009

15 summaries on this page are described in greater detail on the Control Engineering Website. Use the search box at the top of www.controleng.com and type in keywords, such as hybrid motorcycle or Cybernet, to see more on each item.

$31,650 was the fine assessed to a glass manufacturer in Pennsylvania for air quality violations. Also required was implementation of emissions monitoring devices, to ensure compliance. A batch wetting system was installed on the unit to control particulate matter emissions. More than $50,000 in fines also were assessed in 2006 and 2007.

32 -bit microcontroller (MCU)-based robotics development kit from Microchip Technology is available through Digilent Inc. to address the growing interest in robotics applications in the academic and hobbyist markets. The Cerebot 32MX4 is designed to work with Digilent’s Robotic Starter kit.

2 motives: A hybrid motorcycle, being built by Orange County Choppers and Schneider Electric, integrates an intelligent energy management system.

5 “most popular articles” at www.controleng.com in late September included a handheld infrared thermometer (and other sensors), microenergy cells, and a new control system platform.

10.4 -in. human-machine interface can give as much pixel coverage as a traditional 12-in. unit, according to Maple Systems.

11 suppliers of wind turbines larger than 1 MW and 15 component suppliers are listed in the online Control Engineering article: Winds of Change for Power and Control.

>12 automation, control and information events were listed on www.controleng.com/events , as of late September. Plan now for events occurring through the end of the year.

>25 MW within two years is expected to be added to the 60 MW being produced from landfill gas at Innovative Energy Systems plants in New York and Vermont, says GE Fanuc Intelligence Platforms.

$30 is the admission price to see a fully autonomous ground vehicle at an Oct. 23 Cybernet event in Michigan. RSVP by Oct. 20.

45% annual increase for U.S. solar manufacturing, 2008-2012, says GTM Research, could create create 20,000 jobs by 2012.

60 frames per second is the refresh rate for a virtual reality stereoscopic headset used with the EyeSim simulator from Invensys Operations Management. Using the headset, a 3D projector and plant simulation software, trainees experience 3D interactions with actual process control situations.

>90 days was the pace from first meeting to completed Smart Grid standard, NEMA says. The application level standard, called SG-AMI 1-2009 Requirements for Smart Meter Upgradeability, advances interoperability for modules and meters.

2 new U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) grants went to CyboSoft for “Intelligent Industrial Furnace Control Using Model-Free Adaptive Control Technology” and “Intelligent Actuation Control Using Model-Free Adaptive Control Technology.”

>100 new B&R products received UL certification, including X20 SafeIO modules.

8.5 : Opto 22 PAC Project 8.5 automation software suite supports recent additions of more Ethernet-based components: intelligent Snap I/O processors (“brains”) and Snap PAC standalone and rack-mounted programmable automation controllers with wireless LAN (Wi-Fi) capabilities referred to as Wired+Wireless hardware.