Cloud and cyber security in critical energy applications - Digitalization and IoT (Internet of Things) is a clear trend within power plants and substations, just as it is in industrial automation. The Smart Grid is certainly a driving factor, but there are also other reasons for this change. Operators often find that only having data available in the control room is insufficient. Instead, they want to monitor transformers remotely, implement new maintenance concepts from anywhere, optimize utilization and commissioning, or retrieve environmental data online. This requires a solution with a high level of cybersecurity that guarantee critical control data to be strictly separated from monitoring data. The solution should also be easy to use and have a compact form factor to ensure that it is suitable for retrofitting and that it fits into existing cabinets.

Lifting a steel beam, moving a container or controlling a crane does not require much raw strength nowadays. On the contrary, what is required is dexterity and a joystick. Kristianstads Lyftdon AB in Sweden has long experience of producing ergonomic solutions for the operator cabins from which you control cranes and industrial operations. With the help of HMS Anybus technology, their new joystick can be used in industrial applications using PROFINET.

HMS Industrial Networks AB, a wholly owned subsidiary of HMS Networks AB (publ), has on July 1st, 2021 acquired 60% of all shares in the Spanish company Owasys Advanced Wireless Devices S.L. Headquartered in Bilbao with 20 employees, Owasys is a wireless communication company designing and manufacturing products for utility vehicles and industrial machines.

Since its launch five years ago, the Anybus^® Wireless Bolt has provided thousands of industrial applications with wireless Ethernet access. With a rugged and unique form factor for bolt-on-machine mounting, it is today proven and trusted in the most demanding industrial applications. Use cases vary from warehouse installations and AGVs to manufacturing of food, underground mining or rough outdoor applications. Building on the success, HMS now launches the Anybus Wireless Bolt CAN, featuring CAN-based communication to the host equipment.

HMS Networks now launches a new IR-based Intesis^® AC interface that enables integration of any Air Conditioning unit, regardless of brand, into Modbus or BACnet Building Automation Systems.

Every year, HMS Networks carries out a study of the industrial network market to analyze the distribution of new connected nodes in factory automation. This year’s study shows that, despite the Corona pandemic, the industrial network market is expected it to grow by 6% in 2021. Industrial Ethernet still shows the highest growth and now has 65% of new installed nodes (64% last year), while fieldbuses are at 28% (30). Wireless networks continue to climb and are now at 7%. PROFINET passes EtherNet/IP at the top of the network rankings with 18% market share compared to 17%.

HMS Networks is now expanding its Ixxat^® SG-gateway series for networking of energy components. Two new multi-IO versions allow traditional IO-sensors as well as sensors or devices in Wi-Fi networks to be connected to energy systems using IEC 61850 and IEC 60870. Users benefit from direct and seamless access to sensor data from the control room, as well as IIoT capabilities for monitoring, maintenance and forecasting purposes.

HMS Networks launches new PTC Marketplace solution which enables users to bridge machine data to PTC’s ThingWorx^® Platform using Ewon^® Flexy and the Talk2M^® cloud.

HMS Networks now releases the first commercially available industrial 5G router optimized for industrial private networks. The Wireless Router 5G supports Ericsson Industry Connect 5G networks and allows users to get started with 5G in their own location. HMS also offers a ready-made starterkit for test and evaluation of typical industrial use cases.

With the cyber threat landscape constantly evolving, Ewon, a business unit within HMS Networks and the global leader in industrial remote connectivity, has partnered with NVISO, an expert in cybersecurity, to bring industrial cybersecurity to the next level.