Agilent Technologies Inc. has announced the newest version of its Command Expert software for faster and easier instrument control in many test application development environments.  This release includes support for Python, a common development environment for engineers. It also includes updates to the newest versions of the other development environments, along with continuing software enhancements.

"Command Expert users have told us this is one of the best programming aids available today," said Scott Sampl, software marketing manager, Agilent's Electronic Measurement Group. "Our customers face constant time pressure. It's critical that we enhance this software to ensure they can quickly gain insight into their designs and bring their products to market faster."

This release of Command Expert simplifies connecting to and controlling instruments using Standard Commands for Programmable Instruments or IVI-COM command sets in many application environments. Features include:

• Support for Windows 8.1 and add-on support for new versions of Excel, Visual Studio, MATLAB, SystemVue and LabVIEW.

• A new Python add-on.

• More programming examples, with a new search capability to more easily find the appropriate example for faster startup.

• More SCPI command sets.

• A Connection Wizard for easier connection to instruments.

The free software can be downloaded at www.agilent.com/find/commandexpert; registration is required.

MatrikonOPC has announced the release of MatrikonOPC Tunneller 5.0, which includes key system health monitoring and diagnostics tags capabilities.

OPC Tunneller from MatrikonOPC is used to establish and maintain secure, reliable OPC communications in today’s complex network environments. It does this by facilitating OPC connectivity accross domains and workgroups, firewall compatibility, bandwidth optimization, timeout and disconnection recovery, and data encryption.

Version 5.0 adds key system health monitoring and diagnostics tags to enable users to easily track the status of their connections, license information, and performance metrics. In addition, OPC Tunneller version 5.0 also adds 64 bit support for both Client and Server side connections.

Other key features of MatrikonOPC Tunneller Version 5.0 include:

• Enhanced user experience for configuration import and export, logging and etc. ;

• Support for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008;

• Alarms and Events features.

“OPC Tunneller from MatrikonOPC is the utility of choice for data connectivity professionals to resolve DCOM related OPC headaches. MatrikonOPC has now made it even easier for users to more quickly set up, configure, and monitor the performance of their OPC communications,” said Darek Kominek, marketing manager at MatrikonOPC. “MatrikonOPC is committed to responding to industry needs and providing its customers with the highest value possible through each of its products. ”

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Yokogawa Electric Corporation announces that in April it will begin offering new solutions for optimizing plant operations in the oil & gas, petrochemical, and other industries. These solutions will be provided as part of Yokogawa’s VigilantPlant Services® suite to support safe, stable, and highly efficient plant operations. The technology underlying these solutions is Yokogawa’s newly developed MIRROR PLANT online simulator.

The MIRROR PLANT simulator can visualize the internal state of a plant process and make near-term predictions on plant behavior. An industry first, this simulator operates in synchronization with the plant control system and features the good performance required in commercial plants.

Development Background:

In recent years, there has been increasing focus on improving plant safety and strengthening competitiveness by making plants more efficient. For example, in the chemical industry, plant operators need in real time to manage or adjust the state of catalysts and the composition of the reagents and product materials in a chemical reactor, to optimize both plant productivity and product quality. However, many of the process variables are difficult to measure or cannot be measured directly. Based on actual process information such as flow rate, temperature, and pressure, simulation technology can make predictions on items that cannot be measured in real time, for example the amount of each component in a product, and thus simulate the state of a plant. By means of high-speed calculations, the simulator can make near-term predictions on the state of a plant. Operators can then anticipate events and take action earlier to ensure safe operation.

Yokogawa and its subsidiary, Omega Simulation Co., Ltd., jointly developed the MIRROR PLANT online plant simulator. It operates in synchronization with the plant control system and constantly updates a process model. Based on this simulator, Yokogawa will offer support solutions that help its customers optimize their plant operations.

The PPC-6150A and PPC-6170A are 15” and 17” panel PCs designed to give customers greater control in a smaller footprint. Previously customers needed to have four units (camera, IPC, HMI and monitor) with the PPC all-in-one solution for machine inspection this is reduced to just two (camera and PPC) and provides powerful computing capabilities with the intuitiveness of a panel PC that can be installed in many ways the PPC can be installed in a wide array of configurations to fit any production line.

With a high performance Intel 3rd generation Core i5 processor and extra four GbE LAN ports (giving a total of six) the PPC-6150A and PPC-6170A have been designed to be the best fit for machine vision inspection.

The other key selling point of these new PPC models is that they contain dual expansion slots, dual hard disk drives with RAID 0/1 and a wide range of I/O ports including: six GbE ports, one isolated RS-232/422/485 port, one GPIO/RS-232, three USB 3.0 ports and one USB 2.0 ports. This large number of ports enables users to connect a wide array of devices and quickly process the information.