Innovators honoured.

Company honours the people behind its pioneering achievements.

Endress+Hauser has honoured the company’s inventors at the 2026 Innovators’ Meeting in Basel (CH). 294 initial applications were filed with patent offices worldwide last year, 41 new products and R&D expenditure of €281.4 millions underscore the company’s innovative strength. In total, more than 9,400 active patents and patent applications protect the company’s intellectual property.

Dr Mirko Lehmann, Chief Technology Officer and Dr Christine Koslowski, Director of Intellectual Property Rights, Endress+Hauser.  

Developers from across the Group who have been involved in patent applications come together to exchange ideas and present their most notable inventions. “The Innovators’ Meeting highlights just how much expertise, creativity, teamwork and perseverance go into our products,” says Dr Mirko Lehmann, Chief Technology Officer of the Endress+Hauser Group.

25 years of the Innovators’ Meeting: continuity and new momentum.
The first Innovators’ Meeting took place in July 2001. Following a hiatus in 2020 due to the pandemic, it was held for the 25th time in 2026. Of the 101 innovators from the first meeting, 35 are still active in the company today. Fifteen of them filed patents again in 2025. At the same time, 89 inventors from Endress+Hauser were involved in a patent application for the first time.

“Our innovative strength thrives on the collaboration between experienced and new inventors. Endress+Hauser’s long-term focus and values-based culture create an environment where experience is passed on and new ideas can flourish,” says Dr Christine Koslowski, Director of Intellectual Property Rights at Endress+Hauser.

Significant investment in research and development.
Last year, Endress+Hauser invested 281.4 million euros in research and development, 2.1 percent more than in the previous year. This represents 7.0 percent of sales. The slight decrease in this ratio compared with last year is attributable to accounting effects related to the acquisition of the gas instrumentation business from Endress+Hauser SICK. More than 1,300 employees at Endress+Hauser work exclusively in research and development, developing new solutions for customers across various industries.

Innovation for greater sustainability.
Endress+Hauser’s innovation efforts are aimed at making industrial processes more efficient and sustainable. In addition to product development, this includes improvements in production, logistics, IT and administration. The internal Ecodesign & Circularity Award, introduced in 2025, recognises solutions that combine environmental considerations, resource efficiency and technical benefits.

With the digitalisation of measurement technology, the importance of firmware, connectivity and the instruments’ integration capabilities is becoming more significant. In addition, the company develops software-based solutions and services, including cloud applications and artificial intelligence-based approaches. Another key focus of the innovation efforts is the analysis and measurement of material properties. 

---

@Endress_Hauser @Endress_UK @Endress_US #PAuto 

Combustible gas detection capabilities.

Lower explosive limit monitoring over WirelessHART, for greater hazard visibility without added power or signal wiring

The capabilities of Emerson's Rosemount™ 928 Wireless Gas Monitor have been expanded by adding combustible gas detection, enabling percent lower explosive limit (%LEL) monitoring over the secure WirelessHART® platform. The update helps users monitor combustible hazards in remote or hard‑to‑wire locations without the need for additional power or costly signal wiring.

“Adding combustible gas detection to the Rosemount 928 gives customers more flexibility as safety requirements evolve,” said Dave Ruhland, global flame and gas product manager for Emerson’s measurement instrumentation business. “Facilities can extend their wireless gas detection strategy to include combustible hazards on existing WirelessHART platforms – simplifying installation and supporting reliable monitoring in more hard-to-reach areas across their facilities.”

The updated Rosemount 928 device supports measurements from 0% to 100% LEL, which gives users early warning and complete visibility into combustible gas hazards, helping them detect risks sooner and respond more effectively as conditions escalate.

The combustible sensing technology is also designed to help reduce maintenance over time. Because the sensor does not rely on consumable elements, such as catalytic beads, that can degrade with repeated gas exposure, it can support longer service intervals and reduce the need for frequent recalibration.

Secure WirelessHART communication transmits combustible gas data in real time, enabling deployment with no added power or signal wiring in hard-to-reach areas. The update is intended to complement existing gas detection programmes by helping teams add monitoring points in locations that may be logistically impractical or too costly to hardwire.

---

@EmersonExchange  @EMR_Automation @Emerson_News @HHC_Lewis #PAuto #Safety

Simplify secure connectivity.

A unified industrial connectivity platform that combines plug-and-play edge gateways with a cloud-based subscription service to deliver simple, secure remote access from day one.

The solution offered by New Ewon Edge & Cloud from HMS Networks, enables machine builders and end users to get started quickly and progressively expand into data services, advanced analytics, and fleet management, providing deeper insights into machine performance as their digitalisation needs and business models evolve.

Shift toward service-driven industrial models.
Industrial connectivity has become crucial in driving performance and securing a competitive edge.

Market data* clearly reflects this shift:

• Aftermarket services are growing more than 10% annually, outpacing new equipment sales
• Service gross margins can be up to 2x higher than those of new machine sales
• For complex equipment, service EBIT margins can be almost 4x higher
• Only 4% of machine builders generate recurring revenue from digital services

At the same time, expectations among machine operators continue to evolve. They need instant remote support, real-time visibility of machine performance, and long-term, service-oriented relationships rather than one-off transactions.

The growing disconnect between market expectations and industrial capabilities highlights the need for secure, scalable connectivity as a critical foundation for modernisation. In this environment, user experience is becoming an increasingly important factor in technology adoption.

To address these evolving needs, HMS Networks introduces a scalable platform that simplifies secure remote access and lays the foundation for future digital services and industrial applications.

New generation of industrial remote access.
Industrial companies face increasing pressure to maintain uptime, manage complex machine fleets, and comply with stricter cybersecurity requirements, including IEC 62443, NIS2, and ISO 27001.

The new Ewon Edge & Cloud platform addresses these challenges with:

• Secure, IT-aligned remote access with VPN, SSO (Single Sign-On), MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication), and comprehensive audit logs
• High-speed remote access delivering up to three times faster performance than the previous generation
• Centralised access governance for internal teams and external partners
• Standardised connectivity across machines, production lines, and sites
• Scalable deployment from a single machine to global operations
• Seamless edge‑to‑cloud integration for future analytics and digital services

“Industrial companies need remote access that is secure, simple, and built for real operational environments,” said Marco Bulacher, Strategic Product Manager - Access at HMS Networks. “With Ewon Edge & Cloud, we are delivering a platform that aligns with IT expectations while remaining true to the realities of OT.”

Designed for Machine Builders - Trusted by End Users Ewon Edge & Cloud has been engineered to meet the needs of both machine builders and industrial end users. 

For machine builders.
Faster troubleshooting and reduced service costs
Secure, controlled access for service teams
A scalable platform that grows with evolving machine builder needs
A unified architecture that eliminates fragmented tools

For end users.

• Full control over third‑party access
• Standardised connectivity across multi‑vendor environments
• Improved uptime through faster diagnostics
• Compliance support for modern cybersecurity frameworks
• A user-centric platform that provides full control over user access and permissions

“Machine builders want a reliable service tool. End users want control and security. The new Ewon platform finally brings both together,” added Marco Bulacher.

A future‑ready foundation.
The Ewon Edge & Cloud platform is designed to evolve alongside customers’ digitalisation journeys.

Organisations can start with secure remote access and expand toward:

• Advanced edge computing
• Machine data collection
• Predictive maintenance
• Integration with IIoT platforms
• Fleet‑wide machine performance insights

This modular approach ensures organisations can scale without replacing their existing systems.

20+ Years of industrial expertise
With more than 600,000 Ewon gateways deployed worldwide, HMS Networks brings decades of expertise in industrial connectivity and secure remote access. Supported by more than 23 offices worldwide and a global industrial support network, HMS delivers local expertise with international reach. 

A unified Edge & Cloud architecture

• Industrial‑grade hardware designed for harsh environments
• Development processes backed by HMS Networks, certified to ISO 27001
• Structured security lifecycle management
• Long-term product and cloud support
• Continuous platform evolution

The result is a secure and scalable platform that is robust enough for OT, aligned with IT, and ready for the next generation of industrial digitalisation.

---

* Source BGC : Aftermarket Services: Industrial Manufacturer Growth | BCG
* Source McKinsey: How digital can grow revenue from aftermarket services | McKinsey

@hmsnetworks @ewonrouters @mepaxIntPR #PAuto #Cybersecurity

Top marks for "Hidden Gem" in automation publications.

Many years ago when this writer was Publications VP for The International Society of Automation (ISA), the leading professional society for automation — ISA Transactions was highlighted by me as the great hidden gem of the Society Publications. This news confirms the great work still being done by this unique publication.

The ISA Transactions journal achieved the top CiteScore in its category from Elsevier, publishers of ScienceDirect.

ScienceDirect is a full-text scientific database of articles and book chapters from more than 2,500 peer-reviewed journals and more than 11,000 books. Elsevier’s CiteScore for ISA Transactions this year is 13.9, compared to 12.3 in the previous year, and its Impact Factor is 6.5.

The Impact Factor measures the average number of citations received in a particular year by papers published in the journal during the two preceding years. The CiteScore measures the average citations received per peer-reviewed document published in ISA Transactions. The chart below depicts the ISA Transactions Citescore for the last two years compared with other competing journals in the same/similar domain.

ISA Transactions, a bimonthly publication, publishes advances and state-of-the-art in the science and engineering of measurement and automation. It provides value to leading-edge industrial practitioners and applied researchers. Its intended audience is research and development personnel from academia and industry in the fields of control systems, process instrumentation, systems and automation.

CiteScore measures the average number of citations received by a journal in a single year to documents published in the previous four years. This chart depicts the ISA Transactions Citescore for the last two years compared to other competing journals in the same/similar domain.

Recent topics covered.
Editor-in-Chief Dr. Ahmad Rad and the volunteer editors and editorial board members of ISA Transactions seek to bridge the gap between theory and practice. Automation professionals throughout the world rely on ISA Transactions for its scholarly value and quality, and for the credibility and usefulness of its peer-reviewed content.

Articles published recently on digital twins, for example, include:

• Digital twin-assisted self-supervised contrastive learning: A novel framework for electromechanical equipment fault diagnosis
• Digital twin-based fault tolerance approach for Cyber–Physical Production System
• A novel quantitative diagnosis method for rolling bearing faults based on digital twin model
• A faulty simulation model guided Ramanujan Digital twin architecture for rotating machine health monitoring
• Straddle-type monorail train gearbox fault diagnosis based on digital twin and domain adaptation

A search of recently published articles shows the range of content covered:   Design of the GPPI controller for stability and performance of unstable plant models with long dead times, by Alejandro Rojas and Daniel Sbarbaro Observer-based output-feedback stabilization of nonlinear systems with periodically event-triggered sampled-output-data by Xueling Li, Min Wang and Xiangze Lin Adaptive distribution transformation for enhanced bearing fault detection in independent cart systems, by Abdul Jabbar, Marco Cocconcelli and Gianluca D’Elia Deep learning-enhanced prescribed-time cooperative guidance with switching topologies under time-varying velocity by Heng Li, Zheng Guo, Xiwang Dong High-resolution sound source localization via non-synchronous measurements based on symmetric sparse planar array in the differential domain by Dong Lv, Guojin Feng, Fengshou Gu Scaled containment control for first/Second-order multi-agent systems in a noisy environment by Chongyang Wang, Shuzhi Sam Ge, Yingxue Du Successive ridge detection framework: A novel method for valve stiction detection by Xun Lang, Songhua Liu and Bingfei Dong Active disturbance rejection control with neural network-based ESO for gas turbine control system by fractional fuzzy-PSO optimization by Sara Majidi Shilsar, Alireza Khosravi and Hamed Mojallali.

---

@ISA_Automation @Sciencedirect @automation_com #Pauto #Research

Stainless steel shaft couplings for pharma.

Meet hygiene requirements, corrosion-resistant, easy to clean, and highly hygienic.

Stainless steel shaft couplings are used in the food, pharmaceutical, and medical technology sectors because they are corrosion-resistant, easy to clean, and hygienic. Their smooth, stainless surface prevents the accumulation of dirt and germs, meeting stringent hygiene requirements.

Jakob Antriebstechnik GmbH now offers various stainless steel couplings as standard product series: the KG-VA, KGH-VA, and MKG-VA metal bellows couplings; the WD-VA and WDB spacer coupling series; the EKM-VA elastomer coupling; and the SKVA-N and SKVA-K safety couplings (including variants).

It is particularly worth noting that both the KGH-VA metal bellows coupling and the WD-VA series feature a split-hub design that facilitates easy installation. This construction allows for simple mounting and dismounting, even in confined spaces. The fixed hub halves are simply placed onto the shaft and bolted to the loose split-hub sections. This saves time—especially with fixed shaft ends—by eliminating the need for the complex disassembly of drive or output units. Thanks to their stainless steel construction, these couplings are also ideally suited for use in the food industry.

Various series for diverse applications.
The KG-VA series is suitable for temperatures up to 350°C and is designed for shaft diameters ranging from 10 to 90 mm and torques from 30 to 1000 Nm. The KGH-VA series is wear-free and maintenance-free; it is also rated for temperatures up to 350°C and covers shaft diameters from 7 to 85 mm and torques from 10 to 1200 Nm. It is available in variable overall lengths with either 2- or 4-convolution bellows. The MKG-VA is a miniature metal bellows coupling featuring a clamping hub; available with either a two- or four-convolution bellows, it can transmit up to 15 Nm of torque and operate at temperatures up to 350°C.

A new addition to the product range is the EKM-VA elastomer coupling, capable of transmitting torques up to 500 Nm and operating at temperatures up to 90°C. It features an easy-to-install clamping hub.

The WD-VA spacer coupling is available in variable lengths of up to 3 meters and ensures backlash-free torque transmission. It is also suitable for temperatures up to 350°C and accommodates shaft diameters ranging from 7 to 85 mm, with torque capacities between 10 and 1200 Nm.

The SKVA-N and SKVA-K series safety couplings are designed for indirect drives, while the SKVA-EK and SKVA-KG series are intended for direct drives. They are suitable for use in the food processing and medical technology sectors, where exceptionally high hygiene standards are required. The non-elastomer series offer superior heat resistance, making them ideal for applications in ovens or refrigeration systems.

---

@UnnGmbh @PresseBox #jakobantriebstechnik #Pharma #Pauto

Best workplace!

Annual list recognises businesses that set the standard for workplace success and awards excellence in company culture.

Seeq has been named to Inc.’s 2026 Best Workplaces list. The list, available at Inc.com, honors American companies that have built exceptional workplaces and vibrant cultures that support their teams and businesses, whether in-person, remote, or hybrid. The award recognizes standouts among hundreds of applicants, each of which are comprehensively measured and evaluated in numerous categories.

The process involved a detailed employee survey conducted by Quantum Workplace that covered critical elements, including management effectiveness, perks, professional development, and overall company culture. Each company’s benefits were also audited to determine the overall score, and Seeq is honored to be included among the companies recognized this year.

“Our people are at the heart of everything we do at Seeq, and being recognized by Inc. as one of the Best Workplaces reflects the culture they have helped create,” said Dr. Lisa Graham, CEO of Seeq. “We are committed to fostering an environment where employees are empowered to do meaningful work, grow together, and bring their expertise to solving manufacturing's most complex challenges. That commitment to teamwork helps employees feel supported and connected, while giving them the flexibility to thrive professionally and personally.”

Seeq creates industrial AI and decision intelligence solutions that enable organizations to turn industrial data into faster, better decisions that drive enterprise-wide outcomes. By amplifying human expertise with AI, Seeq delivers actionable operational insights and creates decision traceability that enables engineers, operators, and business leaders to improve reliability, optimize performance, increase productivity, and advance more sustainable operations.

Organizations across oil and gas, specialty chemicals, pharmaceuticals and life sciences, semiconductors, mining, and many more industries rely on Seeq to make better operational decisions at scale. Investors in Seeq include Second Avenue Partners, Altira Group, Insight Partners, Sixth Street Growth, Chevron Technology Ventures, and Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures.

“This year’s Best Workplaces list goes beyond great company culture—it highlights companies making meaningful and sustained investment in their employees,” says Bonny Ghosh, editorial director at Inc. “Even in a labor market that favors employers, these companies understand that an intentional and authentic commitment to their teams drives stronger employee retention, engagement, and ultimately, a stronger business overall.”

---

@SeeqCorporation @Inc #Award #PAuto  #Ai

Automotive ethernet product.

A new era of In-Vehicle Network Communication with seamless automotive Ethernet connectivity.

HMS Networks has introduced its first-ever Automotive Ethernet product under the PEAK brand, entering a new era of IVN communication: The PAE-Media Converter is a robust and compact device designed to connect Automotive Ethernet (100BASE-T1 or 1000BASE-T1) with standard Ethernet (100BASE-TX or 1000BASE-T) networks. As a media converter, it enables automotive engineers to simplify development, testing, and validation workflows within the 100 Mbit/s and 1,000 Mbit/s domains.

Unique Features for Automotive Testing.
The PAE-Media Converter addresses crucial market challenges in automotive development and validation with three core innovations. It enables realistic fault simulation by allowing physical interruption of the Automotive Ethernet link. This can be triggered directly on the device or via an API, supporting reproducible and controlled test scenarios.

“We empower engineers with simple and powerful tools. With our unique physical link interruption functionality, we enable them to create real fault conditions in test scenarios without unplugging the device – saving time and wear”, explains Kristofer Koch, Product Manager at HMS Networks (Pictured right). At the same time, the device combines H-MTD and MATEnet connector support in one unit, reducing hardware complexity, investment risks, and enabling faster setups.

“With only one device we cover the two de facto connection standards in the market – with no additional adapters needed”, says Koch. In terms of useability, the PAE-Media Converter provides what engineers enjoy: true plug-and-play operation with optional API control and a selectable (via DIP switch) dual-speed conversion (100/1000BASE-T1). The benefit of this hardware-only configuration is that engineers can start immediately without software, while still having the flexibility to integrate the device into automated test environments.

Designed for Practical Engineering Use.
The PAE-Media Converter comes with a robust aluminum housing (145 × 61 × 46 mm), and an extended operating temperature range from -40 °C to +85 °C that ensures reliable performance in testing environments. For intuitive on-device diagnostics, LED indicators provide direct feedback on link status, signal quality, and errors. This enables fast diagnostics without additional tools and supports efficient troubleshooting during development and testing.

The media converter easily integrates into existing Ethernet environments. It connects directly to standard tools, enabling immediate use in development and analysis workflows. An integrated frame generator supports link validation and wiring tests. Available accessories include H-MTD and MATEnet cables for Automotive Ethernet connections, as well as a DIN rail adapter for integration into test benches and industrial setups. These components enable quick adaptation to different environments and reduce setup effort.

“Automotive Ethernet - especially within the 100/1,000 Mbit/s domains - is a key technology for software-defined vehicles”, says Koch, highlighting PEAK’s strategic move into this emerging market. “With our strong background in CAN, PEAK has long been a proven expert in in-vehicle communication. With the addition of Automotive Ethernet, we are now extending this expertise to cover the full IVN landscape. For engineers, this means one reliable partner across both technologies. With the PAE-Media Converter, we provide a first simple yet powerful tool to bridge development and testing environments – with a lot more to come in the future.”

Key Technical Features. • Conversion between 100BASE-T1 / 1000BASE-T1 and 100BASE-TX / 1000BASE-T • Dual-speed support with hardware selection via DIP switches • Integrated support for H-MTD and MATEnet connectors • Power supply via USB-C (5V) or 6 to 36V DC • Robust aluminum housing with IP20 protection • Extended operating temperature range from -40 °C to +85 °C • Hardware-based configuration without software • LED diagnostics for link status, signal quality, and errors • Integrated frame generator for link validation • Controlled link interruption for testing scenarios • Optional USB API for automation and system integration • Compatibility with standard Ethernet tools and infrastructure

---

@hmsnetworks @HMSAnybus @mepaxIntPR #Automotive #Communications