How going wireless contributes to safer operations

Transcript

Stan Miller: Hello everyone and welcome to ROKStudios.  I’m Stan Miller, I’m the PR and Analyst Relations Manager for Rockwell Automation, in the EMEA Region.  And I’m here with Rafaella Wulff.  She is the Channel Partner Manager for R3 Solutions.  Rafaella, welcome to the studio.

Rafaella Wulff: Thank you, Stan.

Stan Miller: So, we are here to talk about how going wireless can contribute to flexibility in manufacturing.  But before we even get into the topic, could you just tell us a little bit about R3 Solutions, what you guys do?

Rafaella Wulff: Yes, of course.  So, R3 Solutions is a pretty young company and we’re experts in ultra-reliable, low latency communications.  That means we developed wireless technology that is more reliable and fail-safe, so that you can make safety applications wireless, for example.  So, any safety device can be wireless now.  So, what we did is we developed our own architecture behind it, wireless architecture, and it has performance beyond wi-fi.

Stan Miller: Interesting.  Okay.  So, we need to learn more about this.  So, let’s get into it.  How does going wireless make operations more flexible?  How does it work?

Rafaella Wulff: The main thing is, you can have mobile applications, but it’s not only wireless, we’re talking about the ultra-reliable, low latency wireless technology.  For example, safety applications.  In the past, it has not been possible to have safety applications wireless because safety – functional safety needs to work, right?  There’s – there are people behind and you don’t want to have insurance.

Stan Miller: Mitigate, right.  You don’t want to create any risks?

Rafaella Wulff: Right.

Stan Miller: Yes.

Rafaella Wulff: And with our technology, you can have these possibilities to have, for example, an emergency stop - wireless, and this is a huge thing now, because operators can walk through the plant, for example, having a stop on every machine with just one – for example, hand-held device with an emergency stop, and they don’t need to exchange the hand-held device.  So, you are saving time, you’re increasing productivity, it’s just one example.

Stan Miller: That’s a great example.  Well, let’s talk about , can you help us understand why are ultra-reliable, low latency communications beneficial in a manufacturing environment?

Rafaella Wulff: As I said, safety applications haven’t been wireless before.  Think of another example, in the entertainment industry, for example.  You have these rollercoasters, they need to be flexible, and they need to be safe as well.  And this is really fundamental.  Sometimes, cables break and then in this case, the whole plant stands still, you have these downtimes, no one wants to have downtimes, right?  And in this case, you can have either an emergency kit, so just plug in our devices and just make the plant run, and search for the mistake or the error; or you implement the devices beforehand and therefore, you don’t need to search for the errors; you know, cables can break.

Stan Miller: Really compelling examples.  You know, as you’ve kind of explained how this technology can increase flexibility, increase productivity, support workers in the environment, I’m curious to get your thoughts on, how do you see Rockwell and R3, in the solutions coming together, to help manufacturers embrace a wireless future?

Rafaella Wulff: Let me ask you something.  Do you have a wireless solution in your portfolio, that is so reliable?  Maybe you have not.

Stan Miller: That’s a good question.  Good question.

Rafaella Wulff: So, you bring the components, we make them wireless.  So, I think this is the key here.

Stan Miller: Fantastic.  Thank you so much, Rafaella.

Rafaella Wulff: You’re very welcome.  Thank you for having us here.

Stan Miller: Absolutely.  And thank you for watching.  If you’d like to learn more about Rockwell Automation or R3 Solutions, visit www.rockwellautomation.com.