11th IEEE Inter. Conference on Emerging Technologies and Factory Automation Technology Trends In Industrial Automation   (pdf. 1.6MB) Sujeet Chand, Sr. Vice President and Chief Technical Officer, and Kenwood Hall, Vice President Architecture and Systems, Rockwell Automation, USA Abstract: Industrial Automation has evolved from stand-alone, hard-wired relay panels to a contemporary, networked system of today that supports flexible manufacturing and enterprise integration. From precision control of machines and robots on the factory floor to flexible coordination of multiple cells of automation, advancements in control, communications, electronics and software technologies have driven the evolution of industrial automation. The confluence of these technologies is shaping the future direction of industrial automation systems. This presentation will summarize the major technical trends and highlight the opportunities and challenges for the evolution of future industrial automation systems.                                                                      Dr. Sujeet Chand is Senior Vice President for Advanced Technology and Chief Technical Officer for Rockwell Automation. His responsibilities at Rockwell Automation include the development of technology strategy for business growth, R&D portfolio management, technical innovation, and global standards and trade. He runs a distributed, global R&D organization with operations in Prague, Shanghai, Milwaukee and Cleveland. Prior to assuming his current role, Chand held the positions of Director for Information Sciences, and Manager and Principal Scientist for Control and Signal Processing at Rockwell Scientific Company. During the period 1998-2001, he also served as the Chief Operating Officer for a successful software start-up company. He represented the United States as the head of delegation to the International Manufacturing Systems (IMS) consortium from 2001 - 2004. Chand has published over 50 technical papers in research journals and conferences, and holds four patents.