Automation has been dominated by hierarchies and long decision-making paths, but the levels are becoming increasingly permeable.

You can now utilize sensors that detect machine wear, RFID tags that tell the machine whether it is correctly configured for the next step and what it has to do, or an I/O module that decides independently to operate an actuator. It is no longer possible to place the present and future of automation at the levels of the classic automation pyramid. Decentralized preprocessing reduces machine data to valuable information and thus lays the foundation for a new era of automation.