Moore's Lobby: Where engineers talk all about circuits

In this insightful interview, embedded computing pioneer Christian Eder sits down with host Daniel Bogdanoff to explore the past, present, and future of modular systems design. As a co-founder of congatec, Christian draws on over 30 years of industry experience to highlight how Computer-on-Modules (COMS) have transformed modern electronics.
Christian discusses the strategic decisions that fueled congatec's growth into a leading board manufacturer and outlines why standardizing technology benefits the entire ecosystem. He details the development and roll-out of critical open standards, particularly PICMG's COM-HPC. This standard addresses the ever-growing demand for high-performance edge computing, massive memory throughput, and server-level capabilities in compact footprints.
The conversation highlights several key technical insights and future directions, including:
The Power of Open Standards: How collaborative standards lower design complexity, prevent vendor lock-in, and accelerate time-to-market.

The Shift to the Edge: Managing massive data requirements and the rise of edge AI processing through next-generation modular form factors.

COM-HPC vs. COM Express: Understanding the performance leaps, pinouts, and architectural shifts required for high-speed PCIe Gen 5 and Gen 6 interfaces.

Building a Tech Giant: The entrepreneurial lessons learned from co-founding congatec and driving global standards.

Drawing on his experience, Christian offers unique insights into why the smartest hardware strategies start with a modular mindset.

In this fascinating interview, Sergiy Nesterenko details the journey that ultimately drove him to solve a critical bottleneck in hardware engineering: the manual, slow process of printed circuit board (PCB) layout.
In his discussion with our Moore's Lobby host, Daniel Bogdanoff, Sergiy shares engaging anecdotes from his early career, including a SpaceX internship where he was assigned to literally watch paint dry. He also describes his first attempt at PCB layout at SpaceX, where a power switch board caught fire in his hands. This experience fueled his desire to bring robust automation to the PCB design field.
Sergiy explains why traditional auto-routers have failed to gain widespread adoption for sixty years. He then explains how Quilter solves this by leveraging reinforcement learning and computational physics.
They discuss several major technical insights and future directions, including:
-The software compiler analogy. 
-Physics-based automation.
-Tackling complex boards. 
-His 10-year vision.

In the engineering world, we rely on sensors to acquire data from real-world processes and machines. Deciding how to use that data is very important. The right decisions impact process efficiency, system reliability, and even worker safety.  
Join Control.com's David Peterson as he chats with Kate Sokolnicki of Rockwell Automation in this episode of the Moore's Lobby podcast. Sokolnicki explains the evolution of industrial sensing and the shift toward data-driven manufacturing. 
They discuss many key technological advancements, including:
-IO-Link as a standard: Simple sensors are transitioning into "smart" devices that provide dual-channel feedback—process data and health analytics—without typical price premiums.
-Commoditized vision AI: High-end vision systems are being replaced by affordable cameras capable of quality checks and AI-driven processing at the edge or in the cloud.
-Smart safety protocols: Learn how operators can now pinpoint specific faults in a daisy-chained system (e.g., identifying exactly which door is ajar), significantly reducing troubleshooting time.
Sokolnicki notes that while AI is powerful, it requires robust metadata (machine, shift, and location context) to be actionable. She highlights how condition monitoring—such as tracking "heartbeats," sensor margins, or cable tension—allows plants to move from reactive repairs to proactive maintenance.
She concludes by encouraging young engineers to prioritize back-of-the-napkin math and the common-sense test. Instead of relying solely on theoretical calculations, she advocates for interrogating results to ensure they align with physical reality.
Rockwell Automation is committed to enabling the next generation of smart manufacturing. Under their Allen-Bradley brand, Rockwell has a broad portfolio of high-performance sensors and switches. This includes proximity and photoelectric sensors, limit switches, safety switches, and RFID and operator safety devices. 
Meet Kate Sokolnicki
Kate Sokolnicki is the Global Business Director for Rockwell Automation's Sensing & Safety business unit and serves as the site lead for Rockwell's Chelmsford, MA location. She oversees product portfolio strategy and is responsible for global sales growth. 
Kate joined Rockwell in 2015 as a product specialist and was promoted to portfolio manager supporting Sensing, Safety, and Connectivity. Most recently, she was a business manager responsible for in-cabinet infrastructure products, including single-pair Ethernet/IP. 
Prior to joining Rockwell, Kate worked in the biomedical industry as an applications engineer. Kate holds a BSc in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and lives in Chelmsford, MA.

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.