♦  The Safety over EtherCAT protocol has become an international standard after being accepted unanimously by the IEC’s 27 national committees. It will now be included in IEC 61784-3 as Functional Safety Communication Profile (FSCP) 12. The bus-independent protocol, which has been in use since 2005, allows safety and standard communications to share a single bus. It is suitable for applications up to SIL3.

♦  The US motor developer Millenial Research has collaborated with US Highland, a manufacturer of high-performance sports motorcycles, to develop an electric hub motor based on its patented magnetronic technology which, it claims, uses up to 70% less battery power and weighs up to 40% less than rival motors.

♦  A Dutch software developer working for ATS has developed a Java-based system for putting real-time data from industrial processes onto mobile phones or other devices running the Android operating system. Freddy Martens has posted instructions on the ATS TechLab blog.

♦  HMS Industrial Networks has released an embedded communication module for CompoNet as the latest member of its Anybus CompactCom family of products, thus providing manufacturers with a quick and easy way of connecting automation devices to CompoNet. The Anybus-CC family of interchangeable plug-in modules now supports 18 different fieldbus and industrial Ethernet technologies.

♦  The Canadian embedded systems specialist Arcturus Networks has demonstrated a software module that allows voice control of embedded devices. The system decodes human voice using a speaker-independent speech recognition model based on the equivalent of about 73 hours of speech. Arcturus says the system will allow voice-actuated controls to be implemented for a fraction of the cost of using conventional HMIs.