Empowering a Boundless Industrial Future
On June 4, Emerson hosted the Boundless Automation™ Summit in Nanjing under the theme “Boundless.” The event gathered leaders from petrochemical, energy, and manufacturing sectors to explore how intelligent, connected systems can break traditional industrial barriers.
Susan Hughes, President of Emerson Asia-Pacific, emphasized that China is Emerson’s second-largest global market. With eight R&D centers and fifteen manufacturing bases in the country, Emerson continues its “In China, for China” strategy—leveraging local supply chains, global expertise, and strong delivery capabilities to serve Chinese customers more effectively.
Three Key Challenges in Modern Manufacturing
Peter Zornio, Emerson’s Chief Technology Officer, identified three major challenges facing the global manufacturing industry:
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Balancing Safety and Efficiency:
AI-driven predictive maintenance enables real-time safety monitoring, reducing downtime and operational risk while maintaining productivity. -
Reconciling Cost Optimization and Sustainability:
Manufacturers must maximize profitability while meeting carbon reduction targets—requiring a holistic approach to operational efficiency and environmental responsibility. -
Bridging Data Silos:
Fragmented data across PLC, DCS, and energy systems limits decision-making. Companies need unified data integration to achieve global optimization across production ecosystems.
Trends Shaping Three Decades of Automation Evolution
AI Integration Across the Automation Lifecycle
Artificial intelligence continues to redefine automation across three areas:
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Automated System Configuration: AI reduces engineering workloads by expanding and adapting control systems autonomously.
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Production Copilot: A digital assistant that supports equipment lifecycle management—offering troubleshooting, installation guidance, and performance optimization.
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Operator Copilot: By integrating digital twins, physical models, and natural language processing, operators receive intelligent, real-time decision support.
The Rise of Edge and Cloud Convergence
The combination of edge computing and cloud analytics is now foundational. Edge computing enables millisecond-level responsiveness close to the data source, while cloud computing provides large-scale data analytics and predictive modeling for long-term strategic decisions. Together, they deliver a balanced and agile automation ecosystem.
The Vision of Boundless Automation
Emerson’s Boundless Automation concept represents a paradigm shift—merging intelligent field, edge, and cloud layers into a unified architecture. This framework unlocks data silos, amplifies software and AI capabilities, and drives enterprise-wide digital transformation.
The architecture integrates reliability, safety, productivity, and sustainability within a single operational continuum—bridging traditional automation hierarchies and enabling organizations to operate as cohesive, data-driven ecosystems.
Intelligent Field: From Dumb Devices to Smart Assets
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Wireless Innovation: Emerson’s new Synchros series introduces LoRa-based software-defined wireless devices that cut installation and maintenance costs by 60%, ideal for IIoT monitoring such as tank level management.
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APL (Advanced Physical Layer) Deployment: Enables Ethernet data and power transmission via a single twisted pair cable in hazardous areas, already adopted in chemical plants for real-time data integration.
Edge Computing: The Nexus of Control and IT
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DeltaV™ Edge Integration: Allows secure export of DeltaV data and knowledge to open edge environments—without the need for additional OPC or data servers.
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IQ Controller and “Soft Control” Innovation: Emerson’s IQ Controller migrates traditional control software to redundant IT servers, achieving 4× performance gains and 50% cost reduction, supporting scalable, virtualized control environments.
Cloud Architecture: The Digital Core of Manufacturing
At the cloud layer, Emerson’s Emerson Connect unifies data from field devices, edge nodes, and enterprise systems through an open metadata framework. This integration bridges OT and IT systems, enabling AI training, cross-site optimization, and enterprise-level decision-making.
The cloud architecture facilitates global collaboration, allowing enterprises to analyze multi-plant efficiency in real time and integrate DeltaV control with AspenTech optimization into a cohesive “Enterprise Operating System.”
Security is ensured through a zero-trust model, one-way communication protocols, and physical data diodes.
Redefining Industrial Transformation Through a Boundless Architecture
Emerson’s Boundless Automation reimagines industrial architecture with data as the foundation, AI as the engine, and a three-tiered computing model as the backbone. From intelligent devices and IT-driven edge control to cloud-based optimization, Emerson’s approach spans the entire manufacturing value chain.
As Peter Zornio aptly summarized:
“The factory of the future isn’t a collection of technologies—it’s a self-evolving system that continuously learns, adapts, and optimizes.”
The summit not only reaffirmed Emerson’s technological leadership but also illustrated its transformation from an equipment supplier to a value co-creator, fostering an open ecosystem for collaboration and leading global manufacturing toward a smarter, safer, and greener future.