Industrial automation means using control systems (such as computers) instead of people to guide and control industrial machinery and production processes in which the aim is to reduce the need for human intervention. Automation, literally means "automatic control and guidance of a device." The purpose of automation and the use of robots is to enhance the efficiency of industrial and production equipment. The coordination between devices and robots and the creation of a network of a production system are the consequence of the use of automation technology. 

The industrial automation system is responsible for more than controlling the production process regulated by relevant experts, including:

Exchange of information between different parts of production

 Develop control strategies in the factory

 Create an interface between the user and the under controlled complex

The production process, according to the type of the product, is divided into three parts including production, packaging and distribution, the most important of which is the production process. Handling and cutting robots are the mainstay of this sector in most production lines from evaluating the quality of raw materials, conducting initial manufacturing operations on them to processing the final product and doing final product control tests, but since all products need to be packaged up at the end of the production process, and factors such as transportation, consumption time and health issues affect the quality of the product and its sales distribution, manpower supervision is required. From the time the products are placed in trucks to the time the products are offered in stores, distribution is done. At this stage, the use of special loading robots and intelligent transportation system is one of the most significant achievements of automation in the distribution sector. The industrial automation system plays a leading role even in the production management levels. This is done by human machine interfaces (HMI) because in addition to controlling the system, gathering, synchronizing and displaying information are easier at different levels of management. With the help of HMI, it is perfectly possible to control the system remotely.

Control Components in an Industrial Automation System

Automation consists of three major parts: meters, controllers and actuators.

Meters: Meters are actually considered to be the eyes of control systems. Each metering device consists of three crucial components: sensor, transducer and transmitter.

 Sensor: A sensor is a component that is sensitive to physical parameters such as motion, heat, light, pressure, electricity, magnetism and other states of energy, and reacts when stimulated and no external energy is required for this reaction.

 Transducer: A transducer is a component that is responsible for converting energy states into each other. The sensor transmits the measured parameter to the transducer, afterwards the transducer converts it into an intelligible signal for the controller; Therefore, to carry out this conversion, an external energy source is needed.

 Transmitter: A transmitter is a device that converts a transducer output signal into a standard transferable signal. The most famous standards of transmitters are the standard 4-20 mA and 0-10 volts.