OSAKA -- Panasonic has developed a system for remote operation of machinery, betting that it will appeal to businesses that want to go beyond monitoring and cut down on operators for their factories abroad.

Machinery-mounted sensors will enable companies to not only keep tabs on equipment, but also start it up, shut it down and change its speed from computers or smartphones. The system will also allow for subtle adjustments to output at multiple factories.

Panasonic foresees such applications as industrial robots, transport devices, and machines for soldering electronic components onto printed-circuit boards. It will market the system to Japanese manufacturers seeking to cut assembly line jobs and reduce equipment operators amid rising labor costs in emerging economies.

While remote monitoring of factory machinery is growing common, Panasonic is one of the first to also offer remote control.

The system embodies the company's focus on the factory automation business. Factory automation requires a broad range of products and technologies, including sensors and control devices. So Panasonic plans to tie up with 100 partners, including information system developers and machinery builders, in the next three years to develop systems based on the Internet of Things. A line for testing out new technologies has been installed at a factory in Kofu, Yamanashi Prefecture.

Panasonic is a new provider of factory automation systems, having previously supplied individual devices only, including servomotors. Germany's Siemens, Swiss concern ABB and Mitsubishi Electric are top players in the global market, while Omron is big in Japan.

Panasonic aims to generate factory-automation-related sales of 400 billion yen ($3.7 billion) in fiscal 2018 -- up 30% from the fiscal 2014 level. Sales of machinery and services based on Internet of Things technologies are expected to account for 50 billion yen.

(Nikkei)