We are proud to host 25 students from Edgefield Secondary School who have a special interest in Internet of Things (IoT) at the OMRON Automation Technology Centre to understand real-world experiences for commercial applications as they set their expectations for potential career opportunities in the future.
The focus of this educational tour was to help these Secondary School students explore a different perspective of how automation has evolved over the years and how it will change as technology advances going forward. The 3 hours program is touch-based on how IoT is helping people improve their everyday life, and how it works in different settings regardless of being at home or in a commercial building.
Understanding the importance of IoT and Education
The Internet of Things (IoT) is something that is new but important to Singapore’s field of education. Educating students on the adaptability in terms of deploying IoT devices to its usage, in order to make education more collaborative, interactive, and accessible to all.
IoT allows students to shift their way of learning from traditional to digital with several additional benefits and increased efficiency. With the Covid-19 pandemic, it has highlighted the importance of educational sources such as smart attendance devices, assessment checking tools, and cameras, everything can move from the physical world to a centralized system to control with automation.
Importance of IoT in a Factory
Computer Numerical Control (CNC)
Apart from education, students were briefed on smart manufacturing processes in a factory, using a typical rubber stamp going through the sequence of Computer Numerical Control (CNC). CNCs are operated by computers executing pre-programmed sequences of controlled commands. The rubber stamp uses CNC machining language to construct precise measurements for production, like feed rate, speed, location, and coordination.
Traceability
It then moves on to introduce the students to the process of traceability where every part of the manufacturing process is being tracked, from the moment when raw materials enter the factory to the moment when final products are shipped. By including traceability, it helps improve quality and efficiency by giving manufacturers real-time visibility into their operations and by facilitating root-cause analysis.
Flying Trigger Technology
Lastly, OMRON’s Flying Trigger Technology was highlighted in the process of smart manufacturing. Accuracy in high-speed vision inspection can help improve the quality of products. When it comes to high-speed production of more than 1000ppm, it becomes challenging to capture images accurately. When producing the rubber stamps at such high speed, it is challenging yet crucial, to coordinate and control the system for accurate image inspection.
