Although embedded devices destined for industrial applications have a wide range of design requirements due to the diverse environments in which they are deployed, almost all systems need some form of wired or wireless communications capabilities. Stand-alone industrial embedded devices are relatively rare, as users now demand remote access for data collection, management, maintenance, troubleshooting, software updates, and system security. For example, businesses need to monitor and collect real-time operational or throughput statistics from individual devices to evaluate the performance of manufacturing systems and methods.
Complex embedded systems can automatically run maintenance and diagnostic routines to evaluate reductions in performance and remotely schedule hardware updates. Many remote systems also require some type of security or surveillance features to detect and possibly prevent physical or virtual attacks. The challenge for embedded designers is to find the right communications technologythat delivers reliable, high-performance connectivity in an industrial environment with possible noise, extended temperatures, shock/vibration, and interference.
In this issue of Industrial Embedded Systems, we asked contributors to take a look at the principal issues and trends affecting contemporary embedded design for industrial applications and found that connectivity was a major topic in most of the articles and interviews. For example, in the Computing section, Mike Holt of Semitech Semiconductor illustrates techniques to optimize power line communications for Machine-to-Machine (M2M) applications such as automatic meter reading or control and management of streetlights, vending machines, or solar panels. In the same section, Lantronix VP of engineering Daryl Miller offers suggestions for making smart grids smarter by integrating M2M communications features into legacy equipment to enable remote access, control, and troubleshooting capabilities. Andreas Johannsen of Vincotech describes another important design requirement for industrial equipment, especially systems that operate 24 hours a day: power efficiency. Andreas shows how electronic commutated motor drives contained in an integrated power module can be up to 90 percent more efficient than conventional motor drives in industrial applications.
In the Networking/Sensing section, connectivity is a central theme in discussions on applications ranging from building automation to smart parking technology. In a Q&A session, HomePlug Powerline Alliance President Rob Ranck explains the current state of broadband networking over existing AC wiring within the home and outlines new standards that support smart gridapplications, electric vehicle charging stations, and HD streaming for movies or gaming. In a technical article targeting Building Automation Systems (BAS), Louis-Nicolas Hamer, VP at SCL Elements, describes the industry’s slow progress due to poor interoperability among multiple automation protocols and highlights a new All-in-One embedded gateway controller that can solve this BAS divergence. Citing unprecedented grown in the M2M industry, Mike Ueland, VP and general manager at Telit Wireless Solutions North America, shows how companies are deploying remote monitoring to increase efficiency and cut costs in managing industrial assets and systems. And finally, in a completely different connectivity application, Alicia Asín of Libelium offers a unique solution for automobile parking management that could potentially eliminate billions of hours of lost productivity along with billions of gallons of wasted fuel due to motorists cruising around searching for parking spaces.
REFER:
http://industrial-embedded.com/articles/communication-reshape-embedded-technology/
