IIoT & Connected Manufacturing
HiveMQ expands from MQTT broker into a full industrial data platform
HiveMQ launched HiveMQ Platform, extending the MQTT infrastructure it has run in mission-critical environments for more than 12 years into an industrial data platform. It adds OT/IT connectivity, contextualization under consistent governance rules and real-time analysis, pitched as preparing data for agentic AI.
If HiveMQ is already your broker, test its contextualization layer against your UNS or historian plan before adding another data vendor.
Automation & Controls
Study: over a third of industrial firms see cyber risk as a top obstacle to growth
More than a third of industrial organizations see cybersecurity risk as a top obstacle to growth, according to a Rockwell Automation study. Companies are raising security spending as connected operations, AI adoption and IT/OT convergence expand operational risk.
Every new connection or AI pilot widens the OT attack surface. Budget segmentation and asset inventory in the same line item.
Edge Computing & Inference
Why AI that optimizes a cement flame can't wait for the cloud
At the Industrial AI Summit 2026, Barbara's David Purón used a cement manufacturer's flame, which changes in fractions of a second, to show why some control AI cannot wait for a cloud round-trip. He set out three factors that determine where industrial AI runs.
Sort AI use cases by loop time: sub-second control belongs at the edge; planning and analytics can live in the cloud.
Smart Manufacturing & Digital Twin
WEF names Schneider Electric's El Paso and Beijing plants Global Lighthouses
Schneider Electric was awarded two World Economic Forum Global Lighthouse Network designations, for its El Paso and Beijing plants, recognized for combining digital innovation, operational excellence and business impact.
El Paso gives North America a visitable lighthouse benchmark. Ask what it measured, not just what it installed.
Process Technology
ABB APC takes Japanese cement mills above 90% automatic operation
ABB reports that its advanced process control (APC), used to stabilize and optimize Japanese cement mills, achieved better than a 90% automatic operating rate, improving productivity and efficiency. The figure is vendor-reported.
APC is the proven, unglamorous layer. If operators still run mills or kilns in manual, close that gap before any AI project.
Robotics & Cobots
IFR: 5 million industrial robots now at work worldwide; China still leads
The International Federation of Robotics reports that 5 million robots are now working in factories worldwide. China still leads the world in industrial robot installations, with the U.S. and Germany also significant markets.
China's installed-base lead compounds every year. Benchmark your robot density against competitors, not against last year's budget.
