I just returned from an informative 1.5 days back in my old “stomping grounds” in Fort McMurray and the annual Oil Sands Conference where I not only had  a chance to reconnect with my former colleagues but also learn about several new exciting developments in the oil sands industry. The conference featured a couple presentations by Steve Rubin; one on the use of cameras in industrial settings, and the second a recap/forecast of the HMI industry.

There are lots of tools available to test and manage corporate or business networks, but how many options are there available to perform the same role on the control side of the firewall? One would think that the Physical Layer tools (Ethernet) will be the same however if you are trying to work on  Layers 5+ of the OSI model it gets a little more difficult because the market size is not there to justify the development.

The 7th annual Oil Sands Conference concluded one week ago in Fort McMurray, the heart of the oil sands and it was evident that automation will play a significant factor in the continuing development of this important hydrocarbon resource. Topics covered at the event include how automation and control will be a factor in improvements to the process and environment including such diverse areas as:
•    Robotics, Vision Systems and load monitoring/control in mines