Automation for Smart Manufacturing--Trends and Technologies

In this presentation I provide a perspective on the future of smart manufacturing and the technologies and capabilities that are in development to support it. The paper will focus on technology enablers and advances and illustrate capabilities by describing global-scale mega projects. Taking a forward look at technology, I will discuss wireless and its benefits for industrial plants, the state of the art in process simulation, and supply chain optimization for manufacturing plants. The last part of the presentation will focus on energy: an analysis of energy efficiency opportunities, using refineries as an example, and the potential for improved demand-response with smart grids.