Moore's Lobby: Where engineers talk all about circuits

The "old school" way was simple: a sensor sees a part, tells the controller, and the actuator moves. It was pure hardware logic, and it worked. But in today's smart factories, that's only half the story.
Modern sensors aren't just on/off switches anymore—they are eyes and ears, and sometimes even the brains, of the automation. However, surprisingly few engineers really understand both the hardware and software sides of machine data.
In this episode of the Moore's Lobby podcast, Control.com's David Peterson discusses sensors with Nils Beckmann, an expert with a background in both sensor hardware and IIoT software analytics. They explore the various solutions and best practices that ease the pathway to productively using sensor information.
Emerson has been a leader in measurement instrumentation for over 50 years. They have a broad portfolio of measurement and analytical instrumentation, software, integrated systems, and services.
Meet Nils Beckmann
In his role as Director of Engineering, Intelligent Automation at Emerson, Nils Beckmann brings extensive industry experience in Digital Transformation, IIoT, and Software across a wide range of applications in the discrete manufacturing industry. He leads globally distributed team that supports Emerson's Discrete Automation group with hardware and software solutions designed to enhance productivity and overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), while minimizing waste and promoting sustainability. The team also facilitates connectivity, AI and data analytics across all brands within the group.
Nils previously served in various positions across IT, software, data analysis, AI, product management, and development. He holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in Applied Computer Science from Fachhochschule Hannover.

Automation engineers have heard a lot about condition monitoring in recent years as one of the most common examples of how AI and digital transformation are actually hitting the ground with real results for industry. Sensing is certainly the foundation of the process, but it requires the proper mix of equipment and know-how to move from a simple project to a fully scaled-up implementation.
In this episode of the Moore's Lobby podcast, Control.com's David Peterson visits Salim Dabbous, the Director of Consulting & Digital Solutions at SICK. Salim has a broad background that includes working with end users and integrators. He is now a director for a leading sensing manufacturer. Salim brings insights to help get started and move forward with successful projects that deliver tangible results.

In this episode of the Moore's Lobby podcast, we sit down with Antonio Di Vaira, Senior VP for Power Product of Schneider Electric to discuss the massive shifts happening in the world of energy distribution. The conversation kicks off by exploring how the explosive growth of electric vehicles and energy-hungry technologies like AI are pushing traditional power grids to their breaking point. He also explains that while building out new grid capacity is part of the long-term solution, the industry needs ways to sustain this growth in the short term.
This sets the stage for a deep dive into microgrids. Di Vaira breaks down how intelligent software is needed to manage the complex orchestration between sources and loads.
The discussion also explores the exciting potential of native DC (direct current) power distribution. As more sources (like solar panels) and loads (like EVs and data centers) are native to DC, creating dedicated DC microgrids can offer significant gains in efficiency and simplicity.
The episode concludes with a look at the future of the industry. Di Vaira emphasizes the need for engineers to adopt a multidisciplinary mindset and the critical importance of staying customer-centric to drive true innovation.
Meet Antonio Di Vaira
Antonio Di Vaira is the Senior VP for Power Products in North America, Mexico, and Central America at Schneider Electric. He oversees strategy, R&D, market development, and go-to-market for the ANSI, NEMA, and LV portfolio, including Services.
He previously spent over 20 years at ABB in global and local leadership roles across R&D, product management, M&A, and supply chain. Antonio holds a master's in computer engineering from the University of Pavia.

Technologists and leaders will be interested in hearing Mike explain how 3M's R&D culture that emphasizes collaborative problem-solving. They continue to leverage their "15% time" philosophy to fosters creative solutions that are being applied to our rapidly electrifying world.
If you're passionate about how fundamental material science is enabling breakthrough innovation in the electrical engineering world, this is an episode you don't want to miss.  :
-The Surprising Role of Adhesives and Tapes: A look at how 3M's advanced materials are critical components in everything from wind turbines to EV battery packs and motors.    
-Solving Thermal Runaway in Batteries: An engineer's perspective on the challenge of preventing cell-to-cell propagation during thermal runaway and the novel materials being designed to maintain electrical insulation at extreme temperatures.    
-Innovations in Electric Motor Design: A discussion on the latest trends to boost motor efficiency and simplify manufacturing, including advanced cooling strategies and the development of an expandable slot liner that incorporates adhesive.    
-Digital Twins and the R&D Cycle: How simulation and digital twins are used to model complex, chaotic events like thermal runaway, significantly reducing the development and iteration time for new technologies.

Dr. Mital Kanabar is the Senior Director of Innovation, Grid Automation, Grid Solutions at GE Vernova. He joins our podcast to discuss the explosive electricity demand driven by electric vehicles, AI data centers, and the general electrification of industries. This increased demand puts a strain on an aging infrastructure, necessitating new solutions to ensure a reliable and resilient power supply.
Check out this engaging conversation that touches on a number of important topics, including:
Decarbonization and Green Electrons: The push to generate electricity from renewable sources like wind, solar, and nuclear power to reduce carbon emissions.
Software-Defined Automation: The shift from rigid, hardware-based grid control to flexible, software-driven systems like GE Vernova's GridBeats platform, which uses AI and machine learning.
Bi-Directional Power Flow: The concept of "prosumers," where consumers of electricity, such as electric vehicle owners, can also supply power back to the grid.
Cybersecurity in the Digital Grid: The increasing importance of protecting the power grid from cyberattacks as it becomes more digitized and interconnected.