Control Intelligence
Welcome to Control Intelligence, a ControlDesign.com podcast that goes deep inside the automation and technology that machine builders, system integrators and end users rely on to keep production humming efficiently
Episodes
In this episode of Control Intelligence, editor in chief Mike Bacidore spoke to Robert Little, founder and executive advisor of Robert Little Robotics in Raleigh, North Carolina, and the 2026 application winner of the Joseph F. Engelberger Robotics Award. He will be recognized at the awards dinner during the Automate Show in Chicago the week of June 22.
With more than 40 years of experience in robotics, automation and manufacturing...
Whether they’re used for position detection on gantries, for detecting parts for assembly or for innumerable other cases, the use of non-contact presence sensors has been a mainstay of industrial controls since the development of the first versions in the 1950s.
In this episode of Control Intelligence, written by contributing editor Joey Stubbs, editor in chief Mike Bacidore...
In this episode of Control Intelligence, editor in chief Mike Bacidore is joined by an important figure in the controls and automation world, Dr. Brian Romano, director of technology development at Arthur G. Russell Company.
With more than four decades of experience in industrial automation and control systems engineering, Romano’s career has centered around innovation, leadership and a forward-looking commitment to advanced techno...
Control Design editor in chief Mike Bacidore spoke Mark Arisman, manager of business development for control products at Nord Drivesystems, about Nord's advancements in drive technology and the digital twin.
The space shuttle had three computers and needed a two-of-three voting system to determine if a sensed variable was real or phantom. This would be a good thing regarding a leaking door seal on the capsule. Safety sensing isn’t a new technology, but it seems that understanding what a safety system function is might be lacking a bit.
In this episode of Control Intelligence, written by contributing editor Jeremy Pollard, editor in chi...
Controls engineers are surrounded by protocols. Proprietary protocols are less common today than before, but they are still around.
In this episode, written by contributing editor Tobey Strauch, Editor-in-Chief Mike Bacidore discusses how to choose between Ethernet IP and SSI.
In most factory lines, the soft PLC and PAC are commonly based on Industrial PC hardware. It is this hardware platform that has quietly become one of the most important components of a factory line’s control hardware.
In this episode of Control Intelligence, written by contributing editor Joey Stubbs, editor in chief Mike Bacidore discusses fanless controller housings.
In this episode of Control Intelligence, written by contributing editor Tobey Strauch and originally aired in March 2025, editor in chief Mike Bacidore discusses the similarities and differences between PLCs and PACs.
It’s the beginning of the new year, and everyone’s capital budget is going to be reset and revised. People will come out with their five-year and 10-year and 20-year plans, and once again plant management will ask the question: “Can we upgrade the control systems?”
In this episode of Control Intelligence, written by contributing editor Tobey Strauch, editor in chief Mike Bacidore discusses when to upgrade control systems.
In this episode of Control Intelligence, written by contributing editor Tobey Strauch, editor in chief Mike Bacidore discusses on-machine sensing and IIoT implementation.
Once you’ve finished listening to the podcast, take Control Design's quiz about on-machine sensing and IIoT implementation.
Many electrical engineers will ignore mechanical properties of a machine because it’s not their specialty. Control systems engineers cannot do that. Controls require an understanding of the electrical and mechanical interface.
In this episode of Control Intelligence, written by contributing editor Tobey Strauch, editor in chief Mike Bacidore discusses how to monitor and manage the health of hydraulic systems.
During commissioning and after, if you hear three definitions of I/O checkout and then get residual failures after a down and an install because no one is going off a commissioning plan, writing up a test plan or adhering to a commissioning plan, then there is a problem.
In this episode of Control Intelligence, written by contributing editor Tobey Strauch, editor in chief Mike Bacidore discusses machine commissioning and I/O checko...
With the advent of common communication platforms, new layers of automation devices became available to control systems on the plant floor.
In this episode of Control Intelligence, written by contributing editor Jeremy Pollard, editor in chief Mike Bacidore discusses the impact of I/O on the interoperability trend.
In factory automation, safety systems are no longer the peripheral add-ons of the past. They are integral to the design, operation and long-term viability of production lines. As automation increases and machinery becomes more interconnected, engineers are routinely tasked with specifying safety controllers, networks, sensors and safety I/O devices that carry a defined safety integrity level (SIL).
In this episode of Control Intell...
In this episode of Control Intelligence, which was written by contributing editor Shawn Cox in June of 2023, more than two and a half years ago, editor in chief Mike Bacidore discusses the predictions for control systems. Cox’s article was revisited by many as we closed out 2025, and it became one of Control Design's most popular reads in December. Let’s revisit his thoughts from the summer of 2023.
Control systems engineering requires a broad knowledge base of many components. Why? Applications of all shapes, sizes, functionality and needs are brought to machine-builder tables, and automation is requested to provide solutions to manufacturing problems.
In this episode of Control Intelligence, written by contributing editor Tobey Strauch, editor in chief Mike Bacidore discusses motor starters and variable-frequency drives.
Did Industry 4.0 go away? No. It seems that, behind the scenes, the open-source platform community is just working along, developing the next go-around of competitive devices for the traditional automaton folks to keep up with.
In this episode of Control Intelligence, written by contributing editor Tobey Strauch, editor in chief Mike Bacidore discusses Ethernet-APL.
Integration of PLCs and robots has become standardized. Standard robot command interface is a means for robots to increase its interface capacity with programmable logic controllers, but SRCI has been around for a while.
In this episode of Control Intelligence, written by contributing editor Tobey Strauch, editor in chief Mike Bacidore discusses the standard robot command interface.
Field-mounted devices change the way controls engineers approach industrial networking. The shift toward on-machine connectivity can simplify design, streamline wiring and enable strategies like conveyor zone management.
In this episode of Control Intelligence, written by contributing editor Rick Rice, editor in chief Mike Bacidore talks about how field networking unlocks automated setup and diagnosti...
While China's technical design report for its proposed circular electron-positron collider (CEPC) is still awaiting government approval for inclusion in the next five-year plan, hope is still strong that construction of the $5.2 billion supercollider could begin as soon as 2027 and be completed in a decade, surpassing CERN's large hadron collider (LHC) as the world's largest machine.
In this episode o...
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