Collaborative automation breaks through boundaries

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Dec 13, 2004

A new Collaborative Automation Programme will enable manufacturers to develop products and automation systems in partnership with Schneider Electric.

Schneider Electric has launched its Collaborative Automation Programme - an initiative that enables manufacturers to develop products and automation systems in partnership with Schneider Electric.

The foundation for collaborative automation lies in opening Schneider Electric's hardware, software and technology to the partnering companies so they can codevelop solutions to benefit the end user.

Typical collaborative automation partners will be other technology driven companies looking to create open, flexible, comprehensive solutions.

These partner companies will be able, by taking advantage of Schneider Electric's best in class products, to offer enhanced capabilities and solutions through the use of de-facto open standards and technologies.

In turn, these developments give partners a more competitive edge.

A further advantage of collaborative automation is the ongoing service and long-term support from Schneider Electric.

"The openness of collaborative automation breaks through boundaries", explained Jez Palmer, Product Marketing Manager at Schneider Electric.

"Together with our partners, we will be making our tools more flexible and more effective".

"By working together we are able to offer end users much more".

Collaborative automation partnerships are formed through three key axes, which are based on integrating expertise and technologies.

The first of these is through Unity, which will be launched in the UK early 2005.

This is the next generation automation controller hardware and software products that have been developed to employ recognised open standards and familiar Microsoft technologies.

Unity software enables the development of expansive tools for the collaborative enterprise and results in complete, integrated solutions.

The second axes is Schneider Electric's Transparent Ready initiative, a term that describes the deployment of Ethernet and web based technologies across the spectrum of electrical distribution, industrial control and automation systems.

Transparent Ready products, software and services capitalise on web technologies enabling, for instance, the use of standard browsers to access real-time information from control devices wherever and whenever required.

Schneider Electric's Unity Partners Programme provides the third axis to collaborative automation.

It is intended that all Schneider Electric products will be compatible with Unity software - integrating partner and end user tools into one collaborative automation environment.

Again, the result will be broader and more open solutions for end users.