Charting the path to industrial autonomy

Matheus Bulho’s mission was clear: decode how software-defined automation (SDA), artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics combine to deliver autonomy today. As the third of three consecutive keynote presenters at this week’s Automation Fair 2025 in Chicago, Bulho, Rockwell Automation’s senior vice president, software and control, was the natural follow-up to the visionary messages delivered by CEO Blake Moret and CTO Cyril Perducat.

Moret opened by highlighting the growing complexity of automation and the industry’s need for simplification through advanced technologies and AI. He wanted attendees to know that the path forward leads from automation to autonomy. This transition, he noted, demands systems that can “adapt, learn and adjust” with increasing independence. SDA, AI and robotics are the foundation of these new systems that will execute next-generation industrial operations, said.

Perducat built on Moret’s thesis by explaining how Rockwell Automation’s strategic SDA approach provides the flexibility and agility needed to make the vision Moret describe a reality. He broadened the discussion to include the merging of human and robotic intelligence and invited the audience to view the current technological environment as an opportunity for reinvention amid intense industry change.

That message set the stage for Bulho to showcase the solutions at this year’s Automation Fair. 

Software-defined automation

The journey starts with SDA, said Bulho, with the aim of approaching the entire production system in a holistic way, spanning every layer of the stack, rather than focusing narrowly on a single layer, such as control.

“Much of what you hear in this market today is very narrowly focused on one dimension of the production system, typically software-defined control,” Bulho said. “But here at Rockwell Automation, we’ve been doing that in every layer of this stack. FactoryTalk Design Studio, for example, is now one system-wide application, logically defined, object-oriented, completely abstracted from hardware. Today and into next year, you’re going to continue to see significant enhancements across FactoryTalk Design Studio—things like support for motion control, support for functional safety, deeper online interactions and, yes, support for on-premise, disconnected workflows.”

Once a system is designed, it can be virtualized. Tools like FactoryTalk Echo and Emulate3D handle the tasks of simulation and testing in the virtual space. This year’s updates to Emulate3D include fault-insertion frameworks and scenario test runners.

In addition, Emulate3D this year “offers much deeper support for automation DevOps pipelines, including enhanced version control integration,” said Bulho.

In terms of visualization, FactoryTalk Optix offers a unified, software-defined runtime that scales from simple operator interfaces to complex, plant-wide information solutions. Users can look forward to upcoming releases that will deliver advanced support for “much larger distributed architectures, true orchestration of distributed Optix nodes as part of a single system,” said Bulho, adding that these advancements move beyond traditional client-server models.

Taking control: The logic behind Logix

“No one in this industry has done more for software-defined control than we have,” declared Bulho. He offered the example of Logix, the core technology framework for Rockwell Automation’s control systems, as evidence for his claim.

Logix transformed the industry in many ways, Bulho said, but its most significant contribution to software-defined control was to quash dependence on disparate hardware traditionally surrounding a PLC. That would include hardware meant for safety, motion control, robotics and even DCS-based process control tasks.

“All of those things became software-defined capabilities integrated as part of the Logix runtime,” said Bulho. “And that alone not only has had the most contribution to software defined control in this industry, but has made, and continues to make Logix the most valuable control system runtime on this Earth.”

The next evolution: Logix SDA

Logix SDA is Rockell Automation’s next iteration of Logix. Bulho characterized the approach taken to the upgrade as “quite different” to traditional approaches to soft control, which he admits has struggled to gain adoption.

Bullish about the coming success of Logix SDA, Bulho said it addresses the shortcomings of predecessors. Firstly, he said, it integrates all the control disciplines, such as functional safety, that made Logix successful in the first place. This accommodation eliminates the need for dedicated hardware on some functions and solves a barrier to scaling soft control.

Secondly, Logix SDA can now tackle the complex lifecycle management task of running real-time control on open platforms. Challenges associated with provisioning control, managing operating system dependencies, ensuring resilience when other applications fail and maintaining a secure environment, can be assertively addressed with Logix SDA, said Bulho.

Closely tied to the success of this solution is FactoryTalk AssetIQ, a coherent plan for inventory management and for organizing OT assets. The suite offers visibility into asset lifecycle status and integrates with Rockwell Automation’s product compatibility and download center for bulk updates.

Future updates will include more capabilities across FactoryTalk AssetIQ for situations like disaster recovery, applications code management, deeper integration with LifecycleIQ Services, cybersecurity and installed base evaluations.

“We expect an increasing [number] of synergies in value creation across this offering and our lifecycle services offering,” touted Bulho.

Rockwell Automation’s first variant of Logix SDA is Logix Edge (in other words, Logix SDA running on edge compute). “You’ll see it widely showcased on the show floor, along with other forms of Logix SDA, including versions embedded in our autonomous mobile robots (AMRs),” said Bulho.

From software-defined automation to autonomy

Building on the sweeping vision for SDA and AI presented by Rockwell Automation’s CEO, Bulho laid out the practical work involved in developing “true autonomy.” Once automation becomes software-defined, said Bulho, compute resources across the enterprise open up. However, autonomy still requires intelligence.

“Blake and Cyril talked about the different layers where this capability is available today,” said Bulho. “But the real question is: how can we use AI? Here at Rockwell, we’re focused on applying AI where we believe the most value is created”

 According to Bulho, the areas of greatest value are:

• AI used in production system design – using AI to streamline and optimize design processes. FactoryTalk Design Studio is being augmented with agentic production system design capabilities. Two new agents, Plan and Build, are expected to expand functionalities.
• AI used for process optimization – enabling systems to continuously improve after deployment. For example, Rockwell Automation is integrating NVIDIA Nemotron Nano, a purpose-built small language model (SLM) into FactoryTalk Design Studio and other product workflows.
• Agentic plant information systems – applying AI across visualization, maintenance and MES for smarter, more autonomous operations. In this category, agentic tools can predict asset risks, manage spare parts and automatically generate work orders.  “Plex is exposed to literally tens of billions of transactions every single day — trillions across the span of a year — across thousands of plants,” said Bulho. “When you have such a rich dataset, you can train, inform and build the best AI agents in the industry—agents that simplify what it takes for you not just to build, but to consume MES capability.” Rockwell Automation will introduce six agents into the Plex environment this year, Bulho said, along with capabilities to construct custom agents that handle MES-related tasks.

In addition, Rockwell Automation is advancing its hardware with machine platforms, PowerFlex 330 drives, high-density PointMax I/O modules, expanded EtherNet/IP options and a robust robotics portfolio that includes third-party integration to software-defined control through Logix.

“When you combine what’s available to you today with software-defined automation, with artificial intelligence and with robotics, you can start to build towards the future of autonomy today,” reiterated Bulho. “You know, a future of autonomy, where you have systems that are a lot more agile, systems that are a lot more resilient, systems that always run optimized and perhaps most importantly, systems where your workforce is a lot more empowered.”