Rockwell Automation announces mobility co-innovation with Microsoft

Industrial workers are increasingly turning to mobile devices to improve productivity and collaboration. However, interfaces need to be tailored to the specific device that is being used, especially to design, operate and maintain industrial automation systems. To meet this user preference, Rockwell Automation and Microsoft are announcing a mobility co-innovation project designed for industrial environments where a wireless network connection is not always reliable.

The co-innovation brings together IP technology from Microsoft’s Project Thali team, which includes JXcore from Nubisa, and complements the expanding mobile foundation toolkit from Rockwell Automation. The toolkit enables Rockwell Automation offerings with a consistent web-based user interface for a specific device — tablet, smartphone or desktop — and now includes a prototype app, dubbed Project Stanton.

The mobility developments support the vision of a connected enterprise: the convergence of operations and information technology that will deliver the next wave of manufacturing productivity. Enhanced by the emergence of the IIoT and advances in enabling technologies — including mobility, data analytics and remote monitoring — a connected enterprise creates opportunities for unprecedented benefits in productivity and global competitiveness through greater connectivity and information sharing.