Embedded for Automation - Friday, April 30, 2010

     What is Embedded?

GE Intelligent Platforms is made up of Automation Hardware, Software and Embedded Systems. As a customer of the automation portions of the company, you may be wondering, "What is Embedded Systems? And why should I care?"

The term "embedded computing" is a very general descriptor for almost any sort of electronic intelligence embedded within another product, device or process. Today more than ever, industrial companies are adopting embedded electronics to create solutions for manufacturing and infrastructure control.

     Converging Paths: Automation and Embedded.

Over the course of the last decade or two, Industrial Automation has seen an accelerating adoption of open standards. Embedded computing has followed a similar path, moving from proprietary technology to open standards. The inevitable result is that the two markets now share a common technological base.

     Common Technologies

Two key themes in both embedded computing and automation have been:

• To add more intelligence and processing power wherever possible, and
• To connect devices with each other and with other communication networks. The GE Intelligent Platforms embedded products listed below play to these themes and are designed to serve as a guide to help you uncover potential uses and benefits for your application.