NIST Awards $2 million grant for flexible control systems software development

Starthis, a provider of software which allows enterprise applications running on a Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) Application Server to communicate directly with industrial machines and controllers, has been awarded a $2 million grant from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Advanced Technology Program (ATP) to develop a software infrastructure that engineers in manufacturing companies can use to design and deploy flexible control systems.

By Control Engineering Staff October 9, 2003

Starthis , a provider of software which allows enterprise applications running on a Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) Application Server to communicate directly with industrial machines and controllers, has been awarded a $2 million grant from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Advanced Technology Program (ATP) to develop a software infrastructure that engineers in manufacturing companies can use to design and deploy flexible control systems. The goal of this project is to provide engineers the tools to create control systems that respond to changing production requirements, enabling manufacturers to improve productivity and respond rapidly to new market opportunities.

The ATP grant will enable Starthis to broaden the range of automation systems supported by its current enterprise-to-plant-floor data connectivity suite and extend its use into the field of flexible manufacturing control.

ATP provides cost-shared funding to industry-led teams which can include non-profits and universities to help advance particularly challenging, high-risk R&D projects that have the potential to spark important, broad-based economic or social benefits for the United States. The program supports projects that industry cannot fully fund on its own because of significant technical risks.

—David Greenfield, Editorial Director, Control Engineering, dgreenfield@reedbusiness.com


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