ISA Interchange

Welcome to the official blog of the International Society of Automation (ISA).

This blog covers numerous topics on industrial automation such as operations & management, continuous & batch processing, connectivity, manufacturing & machine control, and Industry 4.0.

The material and information contained on this website is for general information purposes only. ISA blog posts may be authored by ISA staff and guest authors from the automation community. Views and opinions expressed by a guest author are solely their own, and do not necessarily represent those of ISA. Posts made by guest authors have been subject to peer review.

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ISA Interchange's Top 20 Blog Posts of 2020

At this time of year, we often find ourselves looking back and reflecting on what we did, how we spent our time, and what events defined our lives.

Of course, this year was 2020.

It would be an understatement to say that 2020 has been one of the most unusual years in recent memory. The pandemic has altered personal and professional lives in countless ways, and for many of us, it has been a brutally difficult year.

We may be more than ready to leave 2020 in the dust, but it's also important to learn what we can from the past. Automation professionals showed their strength and adaptability this year. At the International Society of Automation (ISA), we honored our 75th anniversary in mostly virtual settings. The value of resiliency has never been more clear.

Looking back, we compiled a list of the some of the articles that you, our ISA Interchange blog readers, have been most interested in this year. They represent items pulled right from the news, emerging conversations and technologies in industry, and enduring topics that aren't going away anytime soon. These are the top 20 most popular blog posts published in 2020.

To everyone who read and/or contributed to the blog this year, thank you for sticking with usand congratulations for making it to 2021! We're wishing you a happy, safe, and healthy new year.


20. What Factors Affect Dead Time Identification for a PID Loop? by Greg McMillan (ISA Mentor Program)

19. Inclusion Work in STEM: An Interview with ISA Member and EMPower List Nominee Rhonda Pelton [Q&A] by Kara Phelps

18. State of the Mining and Metals Industry in 2020 by Bas Mutsaers

17. The Role of Standards in Functional Safety by Jennifer Infantino Halsey

16. Are You Celebrating Ada Lovelace Day This Year?

15. Harvard Business Review Analyzes the Supply Chain Impacts of COVID-19

14. What Is Industry 4.0? by Jeff Winter

13. Vision-Guided Robotics by Vikas Anwekar

12. The COVID-Free Smart Building (Part 1) by Vinod Bijlani

11. What Is an HMI? by David Schultz

10. What’s the Difference Between Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning?

9. The Future of Automation: Will Robots Take Your Job? by Chris Sciulli

8. What Is IIoT? by Manjunath Hiregange

7. How to Quickly Identify Tuning Mistakes (ISA Mentor Program)

6. Learning Automation Cybersecurity from the TV Show ‘Mr. Robot’

5. Newsweek Vantage Report on Cyber Risks to Critical Infrastructure: ISA’s the Expert Partner

4. What’s the Difference Between Industry 4.0 and Industry 5.0? by Sugata Bandyopadhyay

3. Automation Ethics: An Ongoing Challenge for the Future by Eric B. Litwack, Ph.D.

2. Leveraging Digital Technology in Manufacturing by Rajabahadur V. Arcot

1. 5 Ideas to Help Green the Automation Industryand Make Some Green


Interested in reading more articles like this? Subscribe to ISA Interchange and receive weekly emails with links to our latest interviews, news, thought leadership, tips, and more from the automation industry.

Kara Phelps
Kara Phelps
Kara Phelps was the content manager for ISA from 2019-2021.

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