- Emerson introduces Ovation 4.0, a new software-defined, AI-ready automation platform.
- The platform aims to improve operational excellence and meet demands for sustainable power and water.
- Ovation 4.0 integrates advanced automation, simulation, and AI capabilities to optimize performance.
- It supports complex portfolios of distributed energy resources, such as wind farms and solar panels.
- Grid edge ecosystem enhances real-time data management and load/demand management.
- Features include advanced pattern recognition, machine learning, and digital twin technology.
- Generative AI models offer prescriptive guidance on operational and maintenance practices.
- The Guardian digital customer experience provides real-time monitoring and actionable insights.
Main AI News:
Global automation and technology leader Emerson has announced a major update to its Ovation Automation Platform, introducing Ovation 4.0. This new version promises to revolutionize the power and water industries with a software-defined architecture designed to harness the power of data, advanced technologies, and artificial intelligence (AI). The update aims to drive operational excellence and address the growing need for reliable, affordable, and sustainable resources in these sectors.
As the power and water industries undergo a significant transformation due to energy transition, global sustainability goals, and the shift towards “electrification of everything,” the need for adaptive, interconnected technologies has become crucial. Emerson’s Ovation 4.0 addresses these needs by offering a comprehensive, software-defined platform that integrates siloed data and provides a holistic operational view, enhancing performance and availability.
The Ovation 4.0 Automation Platform builds on Emerson’s Boundless Automation™ vision, which focuses on optimizing operations by integrating reliability, safety, production, and sustainability data across enterprises. Key features of this updated platform include advanced automation, simulation, and AI capabilities, which collectively promise to modernize power and water operations.
Bob Yeager, president of Emerson’s power and water business, highlighted the platform’s capabilities: “Our next-generation platform will help modernize power and water operations, unlocking predictive strategies to help utilities meet the evolving pressures of the industries. Ovation 4.0 offers a single automation platform with real-time data, enabling customers to keep pace with rapidly changing markets, providing the insights they need to work smarter, better, and faster.”
Ovation 4.0 is particularly beneficial for operators managing complex portfolios of distributed energy resources (DERs), including combined cycle plants, wind farms, hydro facilities, solar panels, battery storage, microgrids, and electric vehicle charging stations. The platform’s grid edge ecosystem is designed to handle real-time, bidirectional inputs and deliver distributed data across entire networks. Grid edge controllers offer a granular view of the grid through high-speed, localized computing environments, improving load and demand management by securely bringing rich data closer to operators.
The software-based platform is part of Emerson’s broader solutions portfolio, which includes advanced pattern recognition and machine learning technologies. These tools are available for use in both local and remote operation control centers, centralizing knowledge, predicting maintenance needs, and optimizing operations. Features such as the new Ovation View Human Machine Interface and the integration of Ovation Green renewable supervisory control and data acquisition software provide enhanced visibility, advanced analytics, and forecasting tools. These updates aim to improve holistic awareness across traditional and renewable generation and energy storage segments, reducing costs while enhancing plant safety, reliability, and sustainability.
Additionally, Ovation 4.0 introduces generative AI models trained on secure Ovation knowledge-based data, offering prescriptive guidance on operational and maintenance practices. The platform’s digital twin technology, powered by AI models, provides extensive analytical computing capabilities, enabling data-driven decision-making, business-wide collaboration, and on-demand support.
All technologies within Ovation 4.0 are supported through the Guardian™ digital customer experience, offering a single access point for real-time monitoring, in-depth analytics, and actionable insights.
Yeager emphasized the significance of this advancement: “With our extensive portfolio unified under the Ovation 4.0 Automation Platform, power and water companies now have access to a comprehensive technology ecosystem, unmatched industry expertise, cohesive customer support, and decades of engineering innovation and efficiencies. This enhancement will help us strengthen our position as a go-to partner, assisting our customers in modernizing with a software-defined architecture that delivers advanced control systems without overhauling existing infrastructure.”
Conclusion:
Emerson’s introduction of the Ovation 4.0 Automation Platform represents a significant advancement in automation technology for the power and water industries. By leveraging AI and a software-defined architecture, Emerson addresses the growing need for more efficient, adaptable, and sustainable operations. This innovation positions Emerson as a leading provider in the market, offering utilities a comprehensive solution to manage complex energy and water systems more effectively. The integration of advanced analytics and real-time data management will likely enhance operational efficiency, reduce costs, and support the transition towards more sustainable and reliable energy and water resources.
