Yokogawa strengthens Linux‑based offshore automation systems through OIN 2.0
Yokogawa Electric Corp. has joined Open Invention Network 2.0 (OIN 2.0), a move the company says will strengthen long‑term intellectual‑property protection for Linux‑ and open‑source‑based control and monitoring systems widely used across the offshore sector.
The expanded OIN framework extends patent non‑aggression coverage into fast‑growing technology domains, including artificial intelligence, machine learning and energy systems, reducing patent‑related risks when multiple open‑source components are deployed together in mission‑critical environments.
For offshore operators, Yokogawa identifies its OpreX Collaborative Information Server as the most immediate beneficiary of the expanded protections. The platform, which can run on Linux or Windows, is already in extensive offshore use as an integrated remote operations and monitoring solution.
According to the company, the server relies on a broad set of open‑source software components, and OIN 2.0 reinforces the long‑term stability, scalability and security posture needed for remote operations architectures that must remain supportable for decades.
Yokogawa also emphasized that OIN 2.0 strengthens the foundation for its broader open‑architecture initiatives, including Open Process Automation (OPA) and industrial‑edge orchestration work through the Linux Foundation’s Margo project. While OPA systems have not yet been deployed offshore, the company expects future adoption as operators pursue interoperable, containerized and multi‑vendor automation strategies.
"Moreover, as evidenced by our participation in OPAF (OPA Forum) and Margo, we believe that the standardization of interoperability and orchestration between applications and devices in the industrial edge domain will contribute to more advanced digitalization, including enhanced data utilization and operational optimization in offshore facilities," a Yokogawa spokesperson told Offshore.
Yokogawa’s OpreX Open Automation SI Kit and OPC UA Management Package, which are both designed for Linux‑based, containerized environments, are positioned for that shift.
Although Yokogawa reports no current offshore projects directly tied to OIN 2.0, the company told Offshore it sees the framework as a strategic enabler for emerging operational models rather than as a catalyst for specific 2026 deployments. Offshore automation contracts such as Europe’s large‑scale renewable hydrogen projects, while technologically relevant, are not explicitly driven by OIN participation. Instead, Yokogawa describes OIN 2.0 as strengthening the ecosystem required for long‑term maintainability and seamless multi‑vendor integration across future offshore digitalization programs.
Looking ahead, Yokogawa expects the expanded open‑source framework to support increasing operator demand for remote, autonomous and unmanned operations—areas where robotics, edge orchestration and standardized interoperability are becoming central.
"We also receive a growing number of requests from offshore operators for remote and unmanned operations using robots and drones," Yokogawa told Offshore, "and we expect collaboration in this area to accelerate as well."
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Prior to her current role, she served as Offshore's editor and director of special reports from April 2022 to December 2024. Before joining Offshore, she served as senior managing editor of publications with Hart Energy. Prior to her nearly nine years with Hart, she worked on the copy desk as a news editor at the Houston Chronicle.
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