Data-driven automation made easy

AI-supported control, automation, visualization and monitoring of machines, technical systems and test stands

InstruNEXT Automation Center

Whether it to be industry or research – InstruNEXT Automation Center enables you to realize customer-specific automation solutions in no time. Our ready-to-use software smoothly connects automation, visualization, data analysis, machine learning and computer vision and can be easily adapted to individual applications using building blocks based on a modular principle. Modularity and its uniform interface allows a high level of flexibility and maintainability.

Features

  • Free parameterization and configuration of the graphical interface
  • Fully integrated development environment
  • Easyto-learn and powerful script language
  • Clear visualization of process sequences
  • Industrial machine vision
  • Aquisition, evaluation and visualization of data
  • Machine learning

This features are smoothly combined in one product, the InstruNEXT Automation Center. Applicable for both industry and research the InstruNEXT Automation Center is a highly adaptable software platform, with which you can easily achieve the automation of complex processes, machines, experimental setups, test stands, and more - freely according to your individual requirement profile. Straightforward designable by drag & drop, fast to configure and to parameterize with integrated widgets and provided with a powerfull, easyto-learn script language, the InstruNEXT Automation Center is your oportunity to generate your application specific automation software without much programming effort.

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Are you interested in our product or our services? Do you have  questions, suggestions or wishes?

Then do not hesitate to contact us! We look forward to hearing from you and will process your inquiry as quickly as possible.

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Instrunext Automation Center
flexible, intuitive and versatile

Our highly customizable software platform for control, automation, visualization, data analysis, machine learning and computer vision, which allows you to create individual solutions with less programming effort.

Why InstruNEXT Automation Center

Whether in producing industry, R&D or academic research - InstruNEXT Automation Center provides many advantages, which will save you time and reduce total cost of ownership:

Reduction of application development time: Based on a modular principle, InstruNEXT Automation Center allows you to create tailored solutions with less programming effort. Our Software is deployed ready to use. No need to struggle with confusing frameworks, libraries or toolchains.

Straightforward integration:  InstruNEXT Automation Center can be easily integrated into existing infrastructures, processes and complete systems, making our software an ideal solution for retrofitting existing equipment.

Higher flexibility in terms of instrumentation and hardware devices: InstruNEXT Automation Center allows easy cross-vendor integration of a wide range of drives, sensors, instruments, fieldbuses and communication protocols. Even customer specific non-standard communication protocols can be easily implemented.

Hohe Wartbarkeit: Durch einen modularen Aufbau gewährleistet das InstruNEXT Automation Center eine hohe Wartbarkeit. Auch enthaltene Elemente können beliebig gelöscht und hinzugefügt werden.

Configuration and Parametrization

The realization of individual applications can be easily achieved, as every part of the software can be configured and parametrized directly in the graphical user interface.

Many different kinds of cross-vendor hardware devices, such as drives, motion control devices, sensors, fieldbus devices, test & measurement equipment, etc. can be interfaced.

Communication interfaces and protocols can be integrated via plug-ins in a modular way. The interfacing of hardware devices can be configured and parametrized in detail, down to individual device-specific commands at the protocol level. In this way, even customer-specific or non-standard communication protocols can be described and implemented directly from the application using customizable generic protocol drivers.

Every device data, such as control parameters, setpoints and actual values, process image data, configuration parameters, etc. can be arranged in freely configurable device widgets in the graphical user interface. Parameters and data physically originating from different hardware devices, though having a logical relationship between each other (e.g. control parameters from a camera device und parameters from a corresponding lighting controller) can be combined in a flexible manner. Mathematical expressions can be used for each parameter to achieve conversion between internal values and user-friendly physical values with automatic unit conversion.

Even attributes of passive parts or sections of a machine or a process, such as trays, containers, components and assemblies, etc. can be described and represented in the application by widgets in the same way.

Implementation of control and process flow sequences

Our powerful, easy to-learn script language enables a fast realization of sequential control and the conception of machine vision and data analysis processes at different levels and degrees of complexity – ranging from simple recipes to complex control of multi-axis positioning systems.

Functions for the direct control and interaction with hardware devices, like motion controllers, sensors and measurement instruments, can be seamlessly combined with functions for machine vision, measurement analysis or machine learning in a uniform way.

Each function or parameter can be assigned with different authorization attributes - according to different user levels, which enables the realization of precise authorization models for reading, writing and executing functions, from developer to operator level.

Scripts can be created and edited in a comfortable development environment which is fully integrated in the runtime system, allowing scripts to be tested and run without any delay. As a result, it is easily possible to modify or to expand any sequence directly in the application, even while in productive use - the development environment is available and operational at any time, whereby various analysis and monitoring tools ensure transparence and simplify troubleshooting.

 

HMI & Visualization

Appealing and intuitive graphical user interfaces can be created by drag & drop in no time.

Various freely configurable control and display elements, like buttons, numerical input and output fields, switches and selection boxes, diagrams, camera-viewers, etc. are available. In addition, customer specific graphic elements can be easily integrated.

Multiple switchable ‘subpages’ can be created and managed independently, facilitating to display and to control different process sections or aspects of a machine in a clear and intuitive manner.

Free configurable diagrams, which can be integrated as fixed components of a user interface or dynamically called by process sequences or users for graphical visualization of almost any parameter or measurement data.

The entire graphical user interface of the software is deployed as a separate application which is connected to the main application via a TCP/IP based communication interface. This allows running the GUI application on a separate computer, which provides the capability for remote-monitoring and control of a machine or test stand via network.

 

Data analysis & Monitoring

InstruNEXT Automation Center provides tools for acquisition and evaluation of machine- and process data, which can be utilized to optimize processes during run time or to timely recognize deviations from the should-be state.

Besides statistical data analysis also powerful machine learning functions are provided, such as highly developed artificial neuronal networks, which can be used to monitor sensor data and to detect anomalies or to proof the quality of components or products in connection with machine vision.

Our software also contains a wide range of tools for the acquisition and evaluation of measurement data, such as data filtering and fitting functions, DataLogging and presentation of data in terms of diagrams and reports, etc., which enable the realization of applications for tests stands, experiments, and measurement setups.

 

Machine Vision

With InstruNEXT Automation Center you have access to powerful machine vision functions for object and position detection, inspection, optical measurement, etc., which can be seamlessly integrated in control sequences and process recipes.

Using the script language, Individual machine vision processes can be easily generated in a flexible manner by utilizing various building blocks. Besides basic functions for filtering, thresholding, edge-detection, segmentation, morphological operations, matching, etc. also artificial neural networks of different topology and depth can be implemented e.g. for classification of objects.

Cross-vendor imaging equipment such as cameras, frame grabbers and lighting systems can be easily integrated.

 

Platform independence

Whether it be a powerful industrial PC or a compact embedded controller - by using InstruNEXT Automation Center you will benefit from a consistent workflow.

Our software is available both for PC-based systems (x86/x64) under Windows® XP/7/8/10 or Linux® and Arm®-based embedded platforms.


Windows® is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.
Linux® is the registered trademark of Linus Torvalds in the U.S. and other countries.
Arm is a registered trademark of Arm Limited (or its subsidiaries) in the US and/or elsewhere.

Customer specific development

Upon customer request, we also provide tailored turnkey solutions based on our software platform for control, automation and monitoring of machines, technical systems, test stands and instrumentation, for producing industries, OEM or research – don’t hesitate to contact us and we will talk about the details!

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Company profile

At the company’s location in Würzburg Germany, InstruNEXT GmbH develops both of-the-shelf software and customer specific solutions for automation of machines and processes with a focus on semiconductor manufacturing and R&D.

Our technological background based in the semiconductor science and nanotechnology and our close links to research give us the ability to quickly grasp challenging problems of our customers and to realize innovative software solutions, which are precisely tailored to our customers’ needs and at the same time flexible and easily maintainable.

Career

If we caught your interest and you would like to become part of our interdisciplinary team, do not hesitate contacting us to learn more about open positions!

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