Balluff: Will Healy III, Marketing Manager Americas, and Dennis Lewis, Managing Director, Sales and Marketing

Automation and Robotics Key to Overcoming Labor and Other Industry Challenges

Business strategies should include automation and robotics to help extend the careers of experienced employees while also making work easier and safer.

responses provided by (top) Will Healy III, Marketing Manager Americas, Balluff Worldwide, and (bottom) Dennis Lewis, Managing Director, Sales and Marketing, Balluff Inc.

Data, IoT & Connectivity

What potential do you see in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented/virtual reality (AR/VR)?

Healy: By using AR/VR, we can dramatically shorten the cycle of operator training. Many of these technologies have proven that they can reduce training from weeks to days or days to minutes.

What challenges remain for the continued adoption of data, IoT and connectivity related technologies or systems?

Healy: Skillset. We have a silver tsunami washing over us right now with baby boomer retirements in...the U.S. workforce as a whole. We’ve not done a good job bringing millennials, generation Z, women or minorities into our industry and until we find ways to recruit and retain large segments of these groups, we will struggle to successfully implement technologies into our companies.

Lewis: Creating standards for data will be a challenge, especially in the industrial world. There are so many industrial networking protocols already in operation that make creating one platform for transmitting, receiving and storing data difficult. |

Head to the Web

Visit www.oemoffhighway.com/21723059 to watch our video interview with Will Healy for more industry insights.

Eaton’s mVEC

Economical CAN Network Oversight for High-Power Circuits

The Multiplexed Vehicle Electrical Center (mVEC) is a rugged power distribution node on the J1939 network. With the use of patented Bussmann VEC “power grid” technology, the mVEC is ideal for high-current circuits found in the heavy truck and commercial vehicles industries.

Features include relay control as well as diagnostic reports for fuses, relays and circuit breakers via the vehicle’s CAN bus

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Embedded Software Development and Validation

In the area of commercial and off -highway vehicles, innovations in future drive technologies, as well as in highly automated and autonomous systems, are advancing rapidly. Specialty vehicles and machines in construction and agriculture segments are also becoming increasingly sophisticated, automated, and connected. dSPACE – your partner in simulation and validation – off ers comprehensive, end-to-end solutions to develop and test the software and hardware components of new vehicles. For decades, dSPACE solutions have accelerated the development of innovative vehicle technology and made its validation more reliable.

Autonomous Commercial Vehicles

The development of highly automated and autonomous commercial vehicles is progressing fast. Driverless shuttle buses are already deployed in many cities. Autonomous, self-driving trucks and other commercial vehicles are becoming more of a reality. With dSPACE, you can bring safe autonomous vehicles to the road. dSPACE solutions provide an integrated development and test environment for data-driven development of highly intelligent autonomous systems – from data logging to comprehensive component and product testing.

Specialty Equipment and Specialty Vehicles: Intelligent and Increasingly Autonomous

Specialty equipment and specialty vehicles do amazing things, for example, lifting heavy loads, digging deep pits, plowing fi elds, harvesting crops, rescuing people, and extinguishing large fi res. This typically involves intelligent electronics. Even autonomous, self-driving specialty vehicles become reality in many application areas. dSPACE solutions help you develop, test, and optimize these vehicles and their equipment.

Contact us – we look forward to being your development partner.

info@dspaceinc.com