Co-operation for next-generation corrosion management solutions.

Advanced sensing to digitalise industrial corrosion monitoring for improved decision-making.

Emerson’s Hussein Zein (left), vice president, Saudi Arabia & Bahrain, signs an agreement with Aramco’s executive vice president technical services Wail A. Al Jaafari and Walid Al-Naeem, vice president and chief engineer Aramco, to collaborate on advanced sensing to digitalise industrial corrosion monitoring research and development.

The co-development of next-generation corrosion management solutions for the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Aramco), one of the world’s leading integrated energy and chemicals companies has been announced bt Emerson.

For Aramco, corrosion management is a strategic priority tied directly to operational performance, safety and environmental responsibility. Continuous corrosion monitoring eliminates difficult, inefficient and dangerous manual corrosion measurements and provides a reliable digital data stream for improved decision-making.

As part of the corrosion research and development collaboration, Aramco will combine its expertise and intellectual property with Emerson’s advanced corrosion solutions to digitalise and transform corrosion management. Emerson will provide its technology leadership in ultrasonic online corrosion monitoring technology; seamless wireless connectivity for corrosion wall thickness monitors, and real-time and continuous data collection to develop a fit-for-purpose corrosion management solution for Aramco processes.

“Emerson, with our complete technology stack, is uniquely positioned to co-innovate the next-generation corrosion monitoring solutions that are cost-effective, scalable and customised for Aramco,” said Ram Krishnan, chief operating officer for Emerson. “We look forward to working with Aramco to develop not only a corrosion solution for its vast operations, but one that will also be a valuable tool for many other industries.”

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 @EmersonExchange  @aramco @EMR_Automation @Emerson_News @HHC_Lewis #PAuto 

CCO appointed to R&D leader.

The appointment of Dr Nathalie Huther as the new Chief Commercial Officer (CCO)with High Force Research has been announced. This strategic hire follows the company’s most recent Management Buyout (MBO), initiating a new chapter of growth and expansion.

Dr Nathalie Huther

In the newly created role, Nathalie will lead High Force Research’s commercial strategy, overseeing business development, client relations, and market expansion. With over 15 years’ experience of commercial leadership in the chemical and pharma/biotech service sectors, Nathalie brings a strong track record of driving revenue growth and forging strategic partnerships.

"I am delighted to join High Force Research at such a pivotal time," said Nathalie "The company’s reputation for scientific expertise and customer-centric solutions is exceptional. I look forward to building on this foundation, strengthening existing partnerships, and identifying new opportunities for growth."

The appointment comes as High Force Research looks to strengthen its position following the latest MBO, led by Tristan Sillars (CEO), which has given the company greater flexibility to accelerate its growth strategy. "We are thrilled to welcome Nathalie to the team," he declared. "Nathalie’s expertise will be invaluable as we focus on expanding our commercial reach and delivering even greater value to our clients. The recent MBO has positioned us for growth, and Nathalie will play a key role in driving that forward."

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 @HFResearch #PAuto #Research #Scientific

Artificial intelligence and pharma R&D.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to significantly reduce pharmaceutical R&D costs by streamlining drug discovery, optimising clinical trials, and minimising costly failures through data-driven predictions and effectiveness assessments. This potential was acknowledged by the pharmaceutical industry professionals in a survey* conducted by GlobalData.

GlobalData’s report, “The State of the Biopharmaceutical Industry - 2025,” reveals that although opinions varied, the respondents* agreed that the AI has the capacity to both: increase R&D productivity and reduce the costs in the next 12 months.

Urte Jakimaviciute, Senior Director of Market Research and Strategic Intelligence in the healthcare division at GlobalData, comments: “Enhancing productivity in pharmaceutical R&D is fundamental as it accelerates the development of new drugs, enabling companies to innovate more effectively, respond to emerging medical needs, and maintain a competitive edge in a fast-evolving market, while addressing the rising costs and lengthy timelines that threaten long term sustainability.

Improving productivity is also vital as it aligns with the broader trend of AI adoption across industries, which is also pushing pharmaceutical companies to integrate advanced technologies to remain competitive and keep up with digitalisation trends.”

In the same survey, the pharmaceutical industry professionals identified lead generation and optimization in drug discovery as the area in which AI has been most effectively integrated so far. This was followed by target identification—another crucial process in R&D.

Jakimaviciute concludes: “While AI’s role in drug discovery is still evolving, with many drugs still being in discovery or early stages of clinical trials, increasing numbers of AI discovered drugs are expected to enter the markets in the future. This will be driven by the ongoing need to enhance efficiency and speed in the process, cost-effectiveness factors, and continuous advancements in AI itself, as well as increasing regulatory acceptance towards the use of technologies.”

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* GlobalData’s survey fielded with 128 GlobalData pharmaceutical industry professionals between 15 November to 04 December 2024.

@Technology_GD #PAuto #Pharma #AI

Electrical measurement technology R&D in Europe & Asia.

New offices in Munich and Shanghai to be closer than ever to major customers.

New research and development facilities in Munich (D) and Shanghai (CN) have been opened by LEM. This is to go to satisfying the growing global demand for current and voltage sensing driven by the push towards decarbonization and greater electrification.

“As a leader in electrical measurement, we strongly believe that integrated current sensing is a critical part of our future growth and competitive advantage, and it is vital that we have an ICS offering that can meet our customers’ needs," said LEM CTO Verena Vescoli. "The new R&D center in Munich will enable us to accelerate on IC design and enable a broad ICS portfolio. It is always a delight to see multiple teams working together to share the depth of their ICS design expertise and application know-how and I am very excited by the potential for growth that the new Munich and Shanghai sites will offer.”

Verena Vescoli & John McLuski

The two new sites will enable LEM to build greater intelligence into its sensors and to have development bases closer to key customers, while also promoting deeper collaboration on projects and the efficient sharing of vital product design information. While the China site will be kitted out with the very latest laboratory equipment, the site in Germany will focus on application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) design and semiconductor technology that will help accelerate LEM’s innovation in integrated current sensors (ICSs).

This latest R&D investment in Europe and Asia follows on from LEM’s recent inauguration of a state-of-the-art factory in Malaysia which incorporates advanced manufacturing technology. LEM’s investment in the state of Penang was an acknowledgment of the region’s expertise in ASIC technology and its specialization in semiconductor design and production. The Penang factory was the latest example of LEM’s quest to secure its operations while diversifying its global footprint so that it could serve customers better through a combination of advanced production facilities and skilled personnel.

“In an increasingly competitive market place, we are continuing to invest in the future and to develop solutions that our customers value," said LEM SVP Asia John McLuski. "China is an important source of technology and innovation, both for our customers and for LEM. The new R&D facility in Shanghai will work together with the existing site in Beijing and enable us to be physically closer to our customers and to deliver our solutions to them even faster than was possible before.”

LEM is now backing up this significant investment in production capacity and flexible delivery with R&D capabilities that are designed to complement the existing site in Lyon (F), which opened in 2017, and to build on R&D activities that were already ongoing in Sofia (Bulgaria), now in their new office in the city centre. Led by Matthias Tänzer, the development team at the new Munich semiconductor facility will work closely with LEM’s existing ICS team in Geneva (CH). There are already 10 employees in place at Munich and this number will increase in line with LEM’s ambitious growth plans for the site. At the 1400m2 Shanghai facility, there are currently 30 staff with the capacity to more than double that number in the future, many of whom will be involved in R&D.

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@LEM_Inc @NapierPR #PAuto #TandM #Eurasia

Expansion shows commitment to large scale remote access technologies.

Westermo formally opened its new site in Westland Park, Dublin (IRL) recently.  Plans for continued growth in Ireland, expanding capacity and adding a range highly skilled engineering, research, and supply chain positions, along with a broad range of additional support roles were announced.

This expansion of Westermo’s R&D and technology centre in Dublin includes plans to hire 50 new employees over the next three years and will be supported by the Irish Government through IDA Ireland.

LtoR: Mary Buckley, Executive Director of IDA Ireland, Declan Carew, MD at Westermo Ireland, Jenny Sjödahl, Westermo CEO and Minister Dara Calleary T.D.

Having previously operated as Virtual Access, which was acquired by Westermo in 2019, the Dublin team have been designing, developing, and manufacturing in Ireland since 1996 and have consistently demonstrated their capacity to innovate and deliver industry leading solutions. With solutions that are engineered with tools for remote provisioning, management, and control – Westermo ensures that networks are more sustainably commissioned and operated over extended lifespans for minimal environmental impact.

The Minister for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company regulation, Dara Calleary TD said: “I am delighted to hear that Westermo have announced plans to expand their presence in Ireland creating 50 new engineering and supply chain roles in Dublin. It is encouraging to see a globally recognised technology company further invest and grow in Ireland. The announcement again underscores Ireland’s position as a global hub for the world’s leading tech companies. Our skilled workforce is highly sought after, and this announcement ensures they will again play a huge part in advancements in the software and technology space. Best of luck to all the team at Westermo.”

"This investment is a critical part of Westermo’s investment commitment to the market for large-scale remote access technologies where quality and reliability capabilities are so essential," said Westermo CEO, Jenny Sjödahl. "The closeness of our development-and deployment-teams in Dublin demonstrates how deep technical expertise and support is such a great foundation to securing strategic long term framework agreements in critical infrastructure markets right across the globe’’.

“As a leader in our segment, we are proud to invest in technologies that play a key role in important societal infrastructure such as trains, railways, energy production and electricity distribution. There is a wealth of talent in Ireland, and we are excited to be able to invest in the engineers of the future.” 

Mary Buckley, Executive Director of Ireland's Industrial Development Authority (IDA) added: “The expansion of Westermo to grow their R&D and Supply Chain teams here is most welcome and Ireland is an ideal location in terms of availability of talent. Westermo’s focus on minimal environmental impact through sustainably operated networks is a great development in the area of green energy. I wish the team continued success here.’

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• See also Remote substation connectivity. (18/9/2023) 

 @WestermoUK @westermo @DeptEnterprise @IDAIRELAND @daracalleary@HHC_Lewis #PAuto #Power #Ireland

Support for R&D in combustion engineering.

Ametek Land is increasing its support for research and development in combustion engineering and technology by joining the British Flame Research Council (BFRC).

The BFRC is a unique network of companies, research organisations and universities which have a common interest in industrial combustion engineering and technology, to meet the demands on industrial combustion to become more efficient and safer, with minimal impact on the environment.

Ametek Land has long been focused on developing technologies and systems to help energy-intensive heavy industries reduce their carbon emissions. James Cross, Global Industry Manager, HPI, said: “Joining the British Flame Research Committee is a great opportunity for us. Our technologies and solutions are well aligned with the ambitious aims of the Committee, especially regarding research around increasing the quality of combustion monitoring technology and hydrogen combustion.”

Peter Droegmeller, Director of Innovation and Technology added: “Working alongside the Committee partners, our expert understanding of the industry as well as our existing connections to research organisations and academia will help to develop the technology, processes and systems needed to improve combustion efficiency and safety.”

@landinst @codacomms #PAuto #Britain #BFRC

Thermal cameras for efficient data analysis.

When decision makers seek to integrate new hardware into their automation process, they are often looking at a few key areas: the ease of use, price point, features, and the ability to utilize the hardware at multiple points throughout their system. The new FLIR A50 and A70 thermal cameras come in three options—Smart, Streaming, and Research & Development to fit the needs of professionals across a variety of industries—from manufacturing to utilities to science. The new cameras offer improved accuracy of ±2°C or ±2% temperature measurement, compared to the previous accuracy of ±5°C, or ±5% temperature measurement. The cameras all include an IP66 rating, along with a small, compact size with higher resolution options compared to previous versions.

Featuring a thermal resolution of 464 × 348 (A50) or 640 × 480 (A70), professionals can deploy the A50 or A70 cameras in a variety of capacities. These include condition monitoring programs to maximize uptime and minimize cost through planned maintenance, or when used in early fire detection applications to safeguard the lives of workers and secure the profitability of the business by protecting materials and assets. With improved temperature measurement accuracy of ±2°C, professionals can rely on consistent readings over a period of time, or through varying environmental factors, eliminating any guesswork from data analysis.

The IP66 rating for both the A50 and A70 provides protection from dust, oil, and water, making the cameras ideal for tough, industrial environments. This ruggedness is especially helpful when the camera is being moved from one application to the next. Whether the camera is fix-mounted inspecting a production line or when required for bench testing, professionals benefit from its versatility.

A50/70 Smart Designed for condition monitoring programs to reduce inspection times, improve production efficiency, and increase product reliability, the A50 and A70 Smart cameras introduce “on camera / on edge” smart functionality. This means temperature measurement and analysis can be done on the camera, easily and effectively without the need for a PC. These cameras allow automation system solution providers to hit the ground running with a camera that is easy to add, configure, and operate in HMI/SCADA systems (with REST API, MQTT and Modbus master functionality). A50/70 Image Streaming Built for process and quality control, the A50/A70 Image Streaming cameras improve through-put time and the quality of what is being produced, all while reducing operating costs. With its GigE Vision and GenICam compatibility, professionals can simply plug the camera into their PC and choose their preferred software. In most cases, the addition of A50 or A70 Image Streaming cameras complement machine vision systems that looks at defects such as size, with the A50 or A70 providing temperature variance in these products. A50/70 Research & Development Kit Primarily used as a research and development solution, the A50 and A70 Research & Development Kit provides an easy entry point into thermal imaging analysis for applications within academia, material studies, and electronic and semi-conductor research. The Research & Development Kit include the Advanced Image Streaming versions of the A50 and A70 cameras and FLIR Research Studio software for camera control, live image display, recording, and post‐processing for decision support.

“In addition to its small, compact packaging, which makes it easier to mount these cameras inside of machinery with tight spaces, we are excited about the A50/A70’s IP66 rating, a feature that eliminates the need to add an enclosure around the camera when it is deployed it in tough environments. Another added benefit is having the ability to inspect and analyze data through the camera’s Wi-Fi capability, eliminating the need for users to run wires through a manufacturing facility from a computer to the piece of equipment that is being inspected.” says Roy Ray, vice president, Emitted Energy.

John Dunlop, founder and chief technical officer, Bytronic Vision Automation added: “The launch of the new A50/A70 camera is really exciting for FLIR customers. Its new software capabilities now allow for dual functionality with two different spectrums - thermal temperature monitoring and visual inspection - within the same camera. This adds an extra level of functionality to new and existing integrated FLIR systems. Users can combine thermal functionality, to check packaging seals for example, with visual inspection of the packaging itself. This can now be completed by one camera without the need for any additional hardware - just a simple software change.”

“We are excited about the launch of the new FLIR A50/A70 thermal imaging camera and the value it will add for our customers," said Andy Beck, co-founder and co-owner, Viper Imaging. "With its expanded communication capabilities, ViperVision can do more with the camera information we’ve always had. The more data and more ways to access that data the customers have, the better. We are now able to take the same critical data that has always been provided by FLIR cameras and make it more available and thus more useful to our customers. Whether this means integration with VMS and security systems or more plant control networks (DCS, PLC, SCADA), we are now able to accomplish multiple tasks simultaneously and more efficiently.”

@flir @mepaxIntPR #PAuto #RandD

Accelerating AI development with thermal imaging.

The data lifecycle management (DLM) application optimizes dataset development with access to an annotated infrared and visible library for neural network training and advanced model performance testing.

Conservator™, a cloud-based dataset development subscription software for perception engineers using thermal infrared and visible image datasets to train neural networks has been announced by Teledyne FLIR.

Subscribers also gain access to application specific segments of their annotated image library of more than one million images with more than 100 object label categories. Designed to meet the workflow demands of data scientists in automotive, security, and smart cities applications, Conservator scales to support enterprise artificial intelligence (AI) teams in the research and development of object detection models.

“Conservator is a powerful application for data scientists developing datasets with a full complement of workflow functions including annotation, version control, data right access and model performance,” said Arthur Stout, director of AI product management at Teledyne FLIR Infrared Imaging OEM. “AI starts with quality data and this application supports collaboration to advance multi-sensor neural network development in commercial and defense AI applications.”

Conservator includes dataset workflow tools for annotation, curation, quality assurance, and dataset version control. Built on a scalable and stable database, Conservator can manage petabyte scale libraries. In addition, the included Conservator Insights™ desktop tool provides analysis and visualization of model performance against ground truth references. This empowers data scientists to quickly pinpoint the specific images in large datasets causing false positives or missed detections, enabling rapid dataset iteration and neural network re-training.

Conservator follows the recent release of the Teledyne FLIR expanded free starter thermal dataset for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and self-driving vehicle researchers and developers. With both thermal and visible annotated images across fifteen object categories, the free starter thermal dataset allows the automotive and academic community to quickly evaluate the vehicle safety algorithm performance, neural network testing, and thermal sensors, such as the FLIR ADK™.

@flir @mepaxIntPR #PAuto #Automotive

R & D Vice President with Vision!

Ametek Surface Vision has enhanced its senior management team with the appointment of Dr Shean McMahon to the newly created role of Divisional Vice President of Research and Development.

Shean McMahon

Acquired by Ametek in 2015, Surface Vision offers web and surface inspection and monitoring solutions, combining powerful software, line-scan camera technology and high- intensity lighting. In addition, it has a deep applications’ knowledge base across process industries, including metals, paper, nonwovens and plastics.

Scott Harrison, Divisional Vice President and Business Unit Manager for AMETEK Surface Vision and Ametek Land comments, “Shean’s impressive expertise and extensive experience will benefit our customers, as he leads the enhancement of our existing product range and development of new solutions. Congratulations to him on this new role.”

Dr. McMahon is an experienced director of innovation with an accomplished background in developing solutions, creating more than 20 unique digital and information technology products. A physics graduate from the University of California, Santa Cruz, he attained a doctorate in information and computer science from the University of California, Irvine, and is a former NASA researcher.

He will head up Ametek Surface Vision’s research and development teams and build on its reputation for providing market-leading and industry-focused solutions. He will apply his broad expert knowledge and proven problem-solving to the further development of Ametek Surface Vision’s growing product portfolio of inspection, monitoring and process surveillance systems.

@AMETEKInc #PAuto