Now, we’re beginning to hear about the potential of combining MES (manufacturing execution systems) and SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) technologies. One early example of this can be seen in the evolution of MRP (materials requirement planning) into ERP (enterprise resource planning), as more front office and plant applications were combined with, what was originally, a production planning and scheduling tool. With respect to the latter purpose, it’s as much a technology consolidation as a combination. This combination of existing technologies, particularly in industry, serves two purposes-to extend the capabilities of each technology beyond what each could do on its own and reduce the amount of systems operators or managers need to rely on for information. This kind of convergence happens in the industrial sector too.Ī couple of high-profile examples include the programmable automation controller, which extends the capabilities of a programmable logic controller with broader industrial computer capabilities and, more recently, the growing combination of robot and vision technologies to expand and enhance industrial robotic picking and placing. We’ve all seen it happen in the consumer tech sector, most notably as our cell phones transformed into smartphones that allow us to make and receive phone calls, visit websites, provide GPS travel directions, conduct video meetings, take high quality photos, and much more. Technology convergence is well-known in nearly every sector.
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