Feature

Turning data into action: How intelligent sensors and AR optimise operations

If the PLC is the brain of industrial operations, sensors are the nerve endings that collect information and send it to be interpreted. But can you optimise what you can’t see? David Hannaby, SICK UK’s Product Manager, explains how augmented reality enables us to see what was previously unseen and how sensors will play a central role in the factories of the future.

05/02/2025 17:28:07

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Industrial automation operations work very much like the human body, with the brain (the PLC), the organs and limbs (production machinery) and the nerve endings (sensors).

Just like nerve endings, sensors allow things to happen. They grab all the information and transmit it to the PLC. The whole range of sensors – pressure level, flow, colour, distance, luminescence, and many more – provide different signals that are then interpreted by the PLC/controlling machine, creating a complex organism.

In the same way that the brain makes decisions based on the data it receives from the nerve endings, the information from sensors is used by the PLC and by businesses to optimise production.

Nothing would happen without nerve endings and, in a smart factory, the same can be said for sensors.

Read the full article in DPA's February 2025 issue

Written By Sophia Bell

Sophia Bell is the Group Editor of DPA, Connectivity, and PBSI. She joined the team in 2020 as Assistant Editor after achieving a First-Class Honours BA in English Literature and Film Studies from the University of East Anglia. In her current role, she leads the editorial strategy, driving digital growth and ensuring each title continues to deliver trusted, relevant insight for engineering and manufacturing professionals.