E80 Group secures its AGVs with Cisco industrial options and Italtel system integration

Image a manufacturing unit flooring. The air hangs heavy, thick with the metallic tang of equipment and the oil that retains all of it turning. Each sq. foot appears to be utilized. Rows of hulking machines dominate the area. Between them are slim pathways that staff and machines should navigate.

These are the circumstances for which E80 Group, an Italian multinational, primarily based in Viano, Italy, builds its autonomous and laser guided autos (AGVs and LGVs) that may transfer round a facility, transport supplies, and work together with different machines and methods in warehouses, distribution facilities, and manufacturing crops. E80 Group has outfitted greater than 450 built-in factories in numerous components of the world putting in over 2,800 robotic methods, greater than 9,000 AGVs and LGVs, and a number of other high-density automated warehouses. Each day, E80 options deal with greater than 1 billion€ of merchandise worldwide.

Fashionable AGVs make the most of refined applied sciences like laser scanners, imaginative and prescient cameras, and LiDAR that enables for dynamic path planning, impediment detection, and secure operation in advanced environments. Fashionable AGVs are additionally networked – speaking with different AGVs, robots, and central management methods, which permits higher coordination and fleet administration. They’re a key enabler of good manufacturing, and a part of Trade 4.0, making doable extra automated, data-driven, and optimized manufacturing processes, by delivering the best factor to the best place on the proper time.

However intensive connectivity can even improve the specter of cyberattacks. “The elevated reliance on know-how and connectivity in trendy AGVs introduces new cybersecurity challenges that producers and distributors want to handle,” says Fabio Oleari, Supervisor of OT cybersecurity at E80 Group, “Along with knowledge theft, malware assaults, and so forth., malicious actors might probably hack into the AGV’s management system, hijack its motion, or disrupt its operations.”

Bringing collectively industrial safety, mobility, and networking

E80 Group is dedicated to creating their AGVs as safe as doable. For that function, they depend on Cisco’s unified industrial safety and networking structure. This structure embeds safety inside industrial networking tools equivalent to Catalyst Industrial Ethernet Switches and Catalyst Industrial Routers, and serves to get rid of level safety merchandise, simplify the structure, and make deployments simpler to scale.

“At E80 Group we use Catalyst IE3400 Rugged Sequence switches with enlargement modules in our AGVs to attach the PLC, sensors, and different tools within the car,” mentioned Oleari, “The IE3400 switches host Cisco Cyber Imaginative and prescient sensors that present us with visibility into all linked tools and the community visitors.” This depth of visibility lets E80 Group detect any unauthorized tools or any uncommon visitors which may point out presence of a risk.

“We use ISE [Cisco Identity Services Engine] to authenticate linked tools, Cyber Imaginative and prescient to logically group tools on every AGV, and ISE to set segmentation insurance policies.  Segmenting the community restricts visitors out and in of the AGV and helps stop malware or any malicious exercise from getting into or propagating inside the system,” remarked Oleari. Due to Cisco’s converged OT cybersecurity and networking structure, E80 Group can accomplish all this with out deploying further tools.

The diagram beneath reveals the easy three step course of that enables E80 Group to safe their AGVs. Gadget and visitors particulars gathered by Cyber Imaginative and prescient sensors are despatched to Cyber Imaginative and prescient Heart for visualization and formulating segmentation insurance policies which are outlined in Cisco ISE, which communicates these insurance policies to the Catalyst IE3400 for enforcement.

Making it straightforward to automate, deploy, and monitor

E80 Group delivers a whole lot of AGVs to a buyer. Configuring and monitoring switches and Cyber Imaginative and prescient on these many autos manually will not be solely time consuming however can even result in inaccuracies. To automate such duties and scale back time to deploy, E80 Group teamed up with Italtel, a system integrator and Cisco Gold Associate. Based in 1921 and headquartered in Milan, Italy, Italtel has a storied previous and has lengthy been a pioneer in telecommunications, software program outlined networking, 5G, and industrial IoT, with specialization in areas of good manufacturing and OT cybersecurity.

“We designed a system for E80 Group that enables them to provision and configure Catalyst IE3400 switches and Cyber Imaginative and prescient in a whole lot of AGVs at their buyer places”, mentioned Simone Ogadri, Cyber Safety Engineering Supervisor at Italtel. This technique permits E80 Group to supply managed companies to make sure safety of their AGVs deployed in buyer websites.

“We used the APIs out there in Catalyst IE3400’s IOS XE working system, Cyber Imaginative and prescient, and ISE to construct this dashboard,” defined Ogadri, “By utilizing open-source instruments for IT automation equivalent to Ansible, we’re in a position to provision switches, configure Cyber Imaginative and prescient, and replace software program mechanically.”

Utilizing these instruments, E80 Group can remotely activate their AGVs at buyer websites. “As soon as provisioned, we use Cyber Imaginative and prescient and ISE to group linked belongings in every AGV, create segmentation insurance policies, and instruct the Catalyst IE3400 to implement these insurance policies, with point-and-click simplicity”, defined Oleari. Utilizing Cyber Imaginative and prescient, they will now constantly monitor every AGV.

The diagram beneath reveals linked parts and related visitors inside an AGV as visualized in Cyber Imaginative and prescient.

Driving good manufacturing

Because the momentum in direction of the evolution to Trade 4.0 accelerates, analyst knowledge reveals a gentle development in adoption of AGVs, AMRs, cell handheld tooling, and so forth. Left unaddressed, the ensuing improve within the risk floor can have a number of destructive penalties that would impression productiveness, result in monetary losses, and even threaten employee security. By taking proactive measures to safe cell units, organizations can mitigate these dangers and guarantee secure, environment friendly, and dependable operations.

With complete safety constructed into the networking tools, Cisco makes it straightforward for machine builders to attach, shield, and deploy their industrial options, and supply managed companies to their prospects.

Be taught extra about Cisco Industrial Menace Protection, our manufacturing options, or schedule a free, no obligation, session with one in every of our industrial specialists.

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