Next-generation industrial vision systems collaboration.

Building on a proven existing joint development and successful commercial track record, IDS Imaging Development Systems GmbH (IDS) and Prophesee SA, inventor of the world’s most advanced neuromorphic vision systems, have announced an expanded collaboration to develop next-generation industrial cameras integrating Prophesee’s Metavision® event-based vision technology.

Expanded partnership with newly signed agreement will explore new sensing architectures combining conventional imaging with Prophesee’s Metavision® event-based vision for developing faster, more accurate and power-efficient machine vision systems.

“Over the past years, our collaboration with Prophesee has demonstrated the powerful benefits of event-based vision for industrial machine vision,” said Jan Hartmann, CEO of IDS Imaging Development Systems. “Neuromorphic sensing is key to the future of industrial vision. Working closely with Prophesee enables us to advance this technology faster and more consistently. Our collaboration is built on trust, shared goals and a clear technological direction.”

The two organisations have signed a Letter of Intent to jointly pursue the development of next-generation industrial vision systems integrating event-based sensing, combining Prophesee’s expertise in event-based hardware and software with IDS’s strengths in camera integration, multi-sensor system design, and industrial manufacturing. The collaboration will explore several technology directions and builds on the successful commercialisation of IDS uEye EVS cameras incorporating Prophesee’s event-based sensing technology, marking the next phase of cooperation between the companies.

Jan Hartmann, IDS & Jean Ferré, Prophesee
signing the letter of intent

“The new initiative combines conventional imaging with event‑based sensing to enable new capabilities in machine vision, such as high‑speed motion analysis and emerging sensing technologies. In parallel, the companies intend to strengthen their joint commercial engagement, coordinating business development activities and approaching selected customers together with complementary solutions — IDS providing camera hardware and integrated systems, and Prophesee delivering its sensors, development tools, and event-based vision software stack. ”

“Our partnership with IDS shows how event-based sensing can bring a new level of performance to industrial machine vision,” says Jean Ferré, CEO of Prophesee. “Through the open, flexible and accessible nature of our Metavision technology platform and recent enhancements to our sensor products, we can advance this by working together to explore next-generation sensing architectures and machine vision systems incorporating event-based technology. This further pushes the boundaries of what machine vision can achieve, delivering faster detection, higher accuracy, and significantly improved power efficiency for demanding real-world applications.”

The companies plan to work closely with shared customers and partners to explore new machine vision solutions across industries including industrial automation, robotics, logistics, transportation, and intelligent systems.

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@IDS_Imaging @Prophesee_ai @mepaxIntPR #Pauto  

Fibres for high temperature.

Laser Components is expanding its portfolio of high-performance and infrared fibres with two new product lines: metal-coated silica fibres and polycrystalline infrared fibres (PIR fibres). Both fibre types set new standards for demanding technical environments and applications such as industrial processing, sensor technology, spectroscopy, and medical systems. They offer outstanding performance, high mechanical robustness, and broad infrared transmission ranges.

PIR fibres are made from a specially engineered polycrystalline material with exceptionally high transparency. Their low attenuation enables excellent transmission even in the mid-infrared range. Metal-coated fibres, in contrast, are designed for environments where heat, cold, moisture, vacuum, or chemical exposure push conventional fibres to their limits.

"With these new fibre technologies, we are reaching an important milestone for applications that require the highest precision and maximum reliability," says Florian Tächl, Product Manager at Laser Components. :"Our customers benefit from robust, durable solutions that deliver consistently strong performance even under extreme conditions."

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@LaserComponents @lasercomp_uk @UnnGmbh @PresseBox #PAuto

Developing smart manufacturing talent.

Rockwell have expanded their long-standing partnership with Tecnológico de Monterrey (MX), supporting closer connections and learning on advanced manufacturing technologies. Mexico’s top-ranked university and member of the International Association of Learning Factories uses Rockwell technologies and curriculum input to create the smart manufacturing environment in a college learning setting. Tec de Monterrey shares the experiences of this environment at the Conference of Learning Factories every year.

In July, a team from Tec de Monterrey met with instructors and administrators in Cleveland State University’s Rockwell Automation Connected Enterprise Laboratory. The Tec team also forged relationships and found new synergies at Rockwell’s 2025 Automation Fair® in Chicago (USA).

In October, Tec’s mechatronics community, Rockwell experts, and manufacturers delved into digital engineering together at an international conference hosted at the university’s Toluca and Monterrey campuses, with more industry collaboration in Monterrey. “Manufacturers are looking for specialized talent in digital twin software,” said Oscar Lopez Suarez, Rockwell solution consultant lead. “We’re working with Tec de Monterrey to cover this gap and prepare students for smart manufacturing jobs in their region.”

Each semester, Tec engineering students participate in challenge-based learning. “Our objective is for students to develop not only technical skills, but also knowledge and ability in critical thinking, project management, safety, and international manufacturing standards,” said Dr. Raquel Tejada, a Department of Mechatronics professor in Tec’s School of Engineering and Sciences. “We want them to integrate all of these, to have the whole picture, so they are ready for real-world success.”

Developing digital twin talent.
Demand for digital twin skills is skyrocketing as manufacturers adopt 3D emulation technology, which saves time and resources during automation systems design and implementation. At Tec de Monterrey, engineering students built cutting-edge 3D emulation skills in their final project when they integrated technologies from Rockwell Automation, Endress+Hauser Group, and our partner NVIDIA in emulations that connected virtual design with physical plant control systems and instrumentation, and created immersive virtual reality tours. Through the collaborative learning experience with Tec de Monterrey professors and industry experts, the students developed the tools and confidence to launch their careers in Industry 4.0.

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@ROKAutomation @TecdeMonterrey @ROKAutoEMEA #PAuto #Mexico

Cyber resilience in European industry.

Strengthening industrial automation in OT environments by monitoring and tracking vulnerabilities across software supply chains.

The European research and innovation project ENFORCERS (Enhanced Cooperation for Cybersecurity)* has officially started, bringing together a strong consortium of industrial manufacturers and cybersecurity technology providers, supported by applied research organisations to address one of Europe’s most pressing challenges: ensuring resilient, trustworthy software throughout the lifecycle of industrial automation systems.

Consortium partners at the ENFORCERS project kickoff meeting, February 2026

The project’s official kickoff took place during February 2026 at WIBU-SYSTEMS AG in Karlsruhe (D), where consortium partners met in person for the first time to align on the strategic roadmap for the coming three years. The meeting marked the operational starting point of ENFORCERS and set the stage for close cross-border collaboration enabled by EU funding.

From incident detection to secure recovery: closing the cybersecurity loop.
ENFORCERS is designed to go beyond isolated security measures. Its central objective is to close the loop between cybersecurity incident detection, coordinated response, certification, and secure software redistribution in industrial environments. This is particularly relevant for automation and manufacturing, where software must often be updated across segmented, partially disconnected, or heterogeneous Operational Technology (OT) networks.

At the heart of the project is a Cybersecurity System Platform that links multiple trusted instances into a securely chained “system circle.” This includes:

• Private Security Operation Centers (SOCs) that collect, correlate, and classify incident and vulnerability data,
• Secure Elements that act as trust anchors at OT edges and gateways,
• Automated playbooks for vulnerability mitigation, certification, and secure software updates,
• and cross-border data exchange mechanisms that allow SOCs and stakeholders to cooperate while respecting data sovereignty.

The technical approach directly supports compliance with NIS2 and anticipates requirements of the Cyber Resilience Act, while remaining adaptable to future regulatory and technological developments.

“ENFORCERS brings together technologies, processes, and stakeholders into an operational cybersecurity framework,” explained Alvaro Forero, Project Coordinator at WIBU-SYSTEMS AG. “As coordinator, our responsibility is to ensure that we are building a cooperative system where incident handling, trust anchors, and secure software deployment work together across organisational and national boundaries. The kickoff meeting confirmed a shared understanding that cybersecurity resilience must be engineered into the full lifecycle of industrial software.”

Clearly defined roles across a strong European consortium.
ENFORCERS brings together partners with complementary expertise across Europe. As project coordinator, Wibu-Systems contributes its long-standing expertise in software protection, licensing, and secure update mechanisms for industrial environments, while ensuring technical coherence and cross-partner integration across the project. Industrial companies such as Balluff (Germany and Hungary), Schneider Electric (France), TTTECH Computertechnik (Austria), and Technology Nexus Secured Business Solutions (Sweden) contribute real-world requirements from automation, manufacturing, and industrial networking. Technology and cybersecurity specialists including Infineon Technologies (Germany), Langlauf Security Automation (Germany), DYNAMIKI (Greece), AITAD (Germany), and ResilTech (Italy) provide expertise ranging from AI and embedded systems to secure elements and cryptography to SOC operations and incident response. Applied research is supported by subcontractors such as Fraunhofer SIT, while VDMA contributes its industrial network and policy interface.

From a partner perspective, the project is also seen as a commitment to European cooperation.

“At ResilTech, we look forward to contributing with full commitment and to working alongside such high-level partners to strengthen Europe’s industrial cybersecurity,” said Francesco Brancati, Security Solution Manager and R&D Program Manager at ResilTech Srl, underlining the importance of cross-border collaboration as a prerequisite for resilient industrial systems.

The project effectively integrates three essential layers of work, ranging from structural activities such as system requirements and architecture design, through practical implementation efforts including SOC integration, digital elements, and secure connectors, to quality-oriented tasks focused on dissemination, standards compliance monitoring and training.

Early milestones include the definition of legal and technical requirements, the design of the Cybersec System architecture, and the setup of initial SOC and platform components, followed by demonstrators and validation in later phases.

Industrial partners see ENFORCERS as a strategic investment in long-term resilience. Dr. Markus Jung, VP Engineering at Balluff GmbH emphasised during the project launch, “ENFORCERS is a great opportunity for Balluff to build a strong network with leading partners in the cybersecurity domain. The project will support us in further strengthening our cybersecurity measures and enhancing best practices across our industrial automation products, processes, and manufacturing sites. The strong consortium enables us to anticipate emerging trends in the coming years, well beyond the requirements of the Cyber Resilience Act, and ultimately helps us empower our customers to increase their own cybersecurity.”

Over the next three years, ENFORCERS will deliver technical demonstrators, best practices, training activities, and contributions to standardisation and certification discussions. By combining industrial deployment experience with cybersecurity expertise, the project aims to create results that are replicable across sectors and that strengthen Europe’s digital sovereignty in industrial software and automation.

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* Co-funded by the European Union, under the Grant Agreement No. 101249745, the project is supported by the European Cybersecurity Competence Centre (ECCC). Views and opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Cybersecurity Competence Centre.

Additional Dedicated Resource: R&D project dedicated web page.

@WibuSystems  @Balluff #Cybersecurity #PAuto

Robotics: Ready for the next generation.

Into the future of drive technology with new dimensions and features for robotics.

Human-like movements place extremely high demands on precision, force and dynamics––from delicate grip movements to powerful, coordinated joint movements. This is where the FAULHABER BXI steps in. The internal rotor motor of the 9317 BXI G series combines robustness and exceptional compactness and defines new standards for integrated drive systems in robotics. With a maximum torque of up to 20 Nm, it enables dynamic movements, fast reaction times and a highly precise movement control.

The motor covers a voltage range of up to 50 V and, thanks to the available interfaces and an installation length of just 34 mm, is easy to integrate in existing system architectures. The BXI is thereby especially well suited for applications in which every millimeter, every gram and––above all––high power density are decisive, e.g., as a compact joint drive in humanoid robots.

Maximum performance with minimum space requirements.
The drive system forms a functional unit made up of motor, integrated stepped planetary gearhead and high-resolution encoder. Its special strength lies in the systematic integration: maximum performance with minimum space requirements. The flat aluminum housing offers corrosion resistance and also supports optimized thermal dissipation. The internal rotor construction with 21 pole pairs, grooved stator and iron-core winding ensures a low cogging torque and a high torque density. The integrated absolute encoder with 15-bit SSI, line driver and compensation algorithm performs the precise positioning, is resistant to interference and makes a significant contribution to the reliability and accuracy of the entire system.

Perfectly matched to the overall system.
In combination with the FAULHABER MC5010 Motion Controller, an optimally matched overall system is created for torque-sensitive and highly precise positioning tasks. At the same time, motor and drive are reliably protected, while commissioning is particularly simple and efficient thanks to the Motion Manager software. The FAULHABER BXI thus offers a high-performance, future-oriented solution for demanding robotic applications in which innovation, application and new technology interact seamlessly.

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@mepaxIntPR #Faulhaber #Robotics

Thar she blows!

Thermal imagery provides 24/7 edge-AI and real‑time expert verification to address a leading cause of death for large whales.

WhaleSpotter is the latest collaborator in the Thermal by FLIR program, supporting efforts to prevent fatal whale strikes through AI‑powered thermal infrared detection. The WhaleSpotter solution combines Teledyne FLIR OEM’s Boson+ thermal camera module with WhaleSpotter’s proprietary AI and real‑time expert verification to address a leading cause of death for large whales.

Pic: Whalespotter

"WhaleSpotter’s solution embodies our mission to enable intelligent thermal with edge-based AI that addresses critical, global challenges," said Paul Clayton, president, Teledyne FLIR OEM. "The scalable, plug-and-play solution protects both the environment and the global supply chain."

The WhaleSpotter system leverages thermal imaging to reliably detect marine mammals in real time, day or night, and through light fog. The solution alerts crews to whales surfacing at distances of up to seven kilometers (four nautical miles), comparable as humans with binoculars during daylight. This provides ships and offshore operators more time and distance to adjust course or speed.

"WhaleSpotter was born from more than ten years of research at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) to solve the 'unseen whale' problem," said Dr. Daniel Zitterbart, co-founder and chief scientist of WhaleSpotter. "By pairing Teledyne FLIR OEM’s thermal imaging with our AI and global network of expert marine specialists, we deliver 99 percent efficacy. This ensures captains have the confidence to act without the 'alert fatigue' caused by false positives."

Boson+ Camera

Proven global scale. WhaleSpotter is a direct spinoff of Dr. Zitterbart’s work at WHOI, bringing laboratory-grade science to commercial fleets and offshore energy platforms worldwide. Following a decade of field testing, WhaleSpotter has achieved more than 250,000 verified detections. With nearly 100 systems active at more than 50 global sites today, the technology is in service with customers around the world, including Matson, a leading U.S. cargo carrier in the Pacific.

In an announcement from November 2025, Matt Cox, Chairman and CEO, Matson, said, “The technology is remarkable, and now refined to meet our zero-false alert requirements. Our crews are enthusiastic about this new tool and are already using it to help protect whales."

Beyond the tragic loss of life, whale strikes carry massive economic consequences. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) values a single great whale at more than two million dollars due to its role in carbon sequestration, fishery enhancement, and ecotourism. For critically endangered species like the North Atlantic Right Whale—of which only about 70 reproductively active females remain—a single strike can impact the future of the entire population.

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@flir @mepaxIntPR #Whalespotter #Marine #Environment

Lead for growing optimisation services appointed.

Role targets billions lost annually to poor control loop performance and process variability.

Dr Chris Christie has joined Control Station as Director of Services. He will lead the continued expansion of Control Station’s Digital Lifecycle Solutions (DLS) program, which helps manufacturers maximise the operational value of their automation and process control investments. Control Station empowers process manufacturers to increase production efficiency and throughput. The company is headquartered in the United States with offices in Ireland*.

Dr Chris Christie

Demand for Control Station’s services has grown rapidly as manufacturers seek to extract greater value from existing control systems. Over the past year alone, contracts for the company’s Digital Lifecycle Solutions services increased 29.6 percent, reflecting increased industry focus on improving control loop performance, reducing process variability, and sustaining high-performance process control across production facilities.

Control Station’s PlantESP platform enables manufacturers to continuously monitor control system health and identify poorly performing control loops, oscillations, and other sources of process instability that limit throughput and product quality. However, many organisations struggle to fully realise or sustain these improvements due to resource constraints or limited process control expertise. Control Station’s DLS services address this gap by combining advanced analytics with hands-on engineering expertise to drive measurable operational improvements.

“Manufacturers are increasingly looking for partners who can help translate data into sustained operational gains,” said Dennis Nash, President of Control Station. “Chris brings extensive experience deploying PlantESP at enterprise scale along with deep expertise in process control strategy and services delivery. His leadership will help us continue to scale our services organisation while delivering even greater value to our customers.”

Dr. Christie is widely recognised within the automation community as an authority on control and enterprise-wide process optimisation, bringing more than 20 years of industrial experience across a broad range of applications and industries. His work spans mining, oil and gas operations, and food and beverage processing, where he led initiatives focused on improving process stability, increasing production throughput, and strengthening plant-wide control performance.

Prior to joining Control Station, Dr. Christie served as Process Control Capability Lead at Cargill, where he led the enterprise rollout of PlantESP across more than 100 facilities worldwide. The deployment supported operations across Cargill’s oilseeds, food ingredients, protein, salt, and bio-industrial business units, helping engineering teams to proactively identify control performance issues and implement improvements across large and complex manufacturing environments. He holds a PhD and MS in Chemical Engineering from Virginia Tech and a BS in Chemical and Process Engineering from the University of the West Indies. Following completion of his doctoral studies, he served as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Drexel University, where his work focused on applying an engineering process control approach to biological control systems.

“Sitting at the intersection of advanced analytics and manufacturing operations, Chris brings a unique combination of industrial experience and technical depth,” said Bob Rice, PhD, Vice President of Engineering at Control Station. “Customers increasingly rely on us not only for the technology to monitor control performance, but also for the expertise needed to translate those insights into sustainable operational improvements. Chris has built his career doing exactly that.”

According to McKinsey & Company, optimising industrial process control represents a $100–200 billion annual economic opportunity globally—yet much of this value remains unrealised. Much of this value remains unrealised because organisations lack the resources required to continuously monitor, diagnose, and improve control system performance. Control Station’s Digital Lifecycle Solutions were developed specifically to address this challenge. The services guide customers through three phases of performance improvement:

• Identify — diagnosing poorly performing control loops and sources of process variability
• Implement — deploying corrective actions and optimisation strategies
• Maintain — sustaining performance through continuous monitoring and engineering support

By combining advanced analytics with deep process control expertise, Control Station helps manufacturers improve throughput, reduce energy consumption, and sustain high-performance control across their operations. Control Station’s engineering teams provide support through a combination of remote monitoring, analytics-driven diagnostics, and onsite engineering engagement, enabling manufacturers to maintain high levels of control system performance throughout the lifecycle of their automation investments.

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• See Acquisition bolsters presence within EMEA.(12/3/2025)

@Control_Station #PAuto  #ControlsPR