IIoT & Connected Manufacturing
Minnesota water attack renews the case against firewalls as OT isolation
A coordinated cyberattack hit operational technology at more than 30 community water systems in Minnesota in July 2026, prompting an FBI and EPA warning covering utilities in several states. IIoT World uses the incident to argue a firewall alone does not isolate an OT network.
If your OT segmentation is a firewall rule, it is one configuration away from failing. Ask whether a data diode belongs on your most critical segment.
IIoT & Connected Manufacturing
The EU Cyber Resilience Act reporting deadline lands 11 September 2026
EE Times sets out seven steps to meet the EU Cyber Resilience Act’s 11 September 2026 reporting deadline. The obligation reaches products with digital elements placed on the EU market, which covers a great deal of industrial equipment sold out of North America.
If you ship connected equipment into the EU, the reporting clock is days away. Confirm who in your organisation owns the disclosure.
Automation & Controls
Siemens folds four automation businesses into one unit under Rainer Brehm
Siemens has named Rainer Brehm president of a new unit combining four of its automation businesses, Control Global reports, advancing the company’s "ONE Tech Company" strategy.
A reorg at your largest automation vendor moves roadmaps and account teams. Ask where your product line sits in the new structure before your next renewal.
Edge Computing & Inference
Toradex builds its first Qualcomm Dragonwing module for the industrial edge
Toradex announced the Aquila IQ8, its first System on Module built on the Qualcomm Dragonwing IQ-8275, aimed at OEMs designing robotics, computer vision and industrial edge systems that run demanding inference workloads on the device itself.
Qualcomm becomes a third credible option next to NVIDIA and Intel for edge inference. Worth a quote on your next machine-vision refresh.
Process Technology
A lifecycle view puts real separation cost well above the purchase price
Flow Control Network works through decanter centrifuge design on a lifecycle basis, showing how energy use, process control, cleaning, maintenance and adaptability — rather than the capital cost — shape what separation actually costs over the life of the asset.
The same arithmetic applies to most rotating equipment. Ask for an energy-and-cleaning model before signing off on the cheaper machine.
Robotics & Cobots
NexCOBOT on what still holds physical AI back on the plant floor
NexCOBOT, which supplies functional safety and motion controllers, discusses where physical AI is accelerating and where it is not, arguing the field benefits from big-tech investment but remains gated by safety and motion control, The Robot Report reports.
Functional safety, not model quality, usually decides whether a robot cell ships. Bring your safety integrator into the AI conversation early.
