IEC 61499 vs IEC 61131-3: Distributed Control for Industry 4.0 (2026)
IEC 61499 vs IEC 61131-3 compared: event-driven function blocks vs scan-cycle PLC logic, portability, distribution, tooling, and a decision matrix for modern control.
Ethernet-APL Reference Architecture: Two-Wire Ethernet for Process Automation (2026)
An Ethernet-APL reference architecture for process plants: 10BASE-T1L physical layer, power over two wires, intrinsic safety zones, switches, and OPC UA field integration.
Module Type Package (MTP) Reference Architecture for Modular Process Automation (2026)
A reference architecture for Module Type Package (MTP): the VDI/VDE/NAMUR 2658 model, MTP services, POL orchestration, and how modular automation decouples equipment from the DCS.
W3C Web of Things (WoT) Reference Architecture for Industrial IoT (2026)
A reference architecture for the W3C Web of Things: Thing Descriptions, the four building blocks, protocol bindings, and how WoT unifies fragmented IoT without replacing your stack.
Industrial Machine Vision Defect Detection: Edge AI 2026
A reference architecture for industrial machine vision defect detection: edge AI inference, camera-to-PLC pipelines, model training, and MLOps on the factory floor.
Physical AI on the Factory Floor: The 2026 Inflection
Why physical AI - foundation models for robots and machines - is reaching the factory floor in 2026: VLA models, humanoids, simulation, and the deployment reality.
Asset Administration Shell Architecture: The I4.0 Digital Twin
A reference architecture for the Asset Administration Shell (AAS): submodels, the Industry 4.0 digital twin metamodel, AASX, repositories, and PLM integration.
Industrial AI Copilots: Agentic Operations on the Plant Floor (2026)
How LLM-assisted copilots are entering MES and SCADA operator workflows in 2026: architecture, guardrails, human-in-the-loop safety, and ROI.
Industrial Protocol Gateway Architecture: OT/IT Translation (2026)
A 2026 reference architecture for industrial protocol gateways: Modbus, OPC UA, MQTT and Profinet translation, edge buffering, security zones, and redundancy.
EtherCAT vs Profinet vs Sercos III: Motion Control 2026
EtherCAT vs Profinet vs Sercos III: Motion Control 2026 - updated October 2026 with verified facts, diagrams and FAQ.