Internet of Things Gateways Expedite IoT Adoption

Internet of Things Gateways Expedite IoT Adoption

When we wish to bring new technologies into industrial applications–especially connectivity ones, devices known as gateways bridge the gap from old to new.

For example, when we were moving toward a variety of industrial wireless protocols and some analysts and engineers were concerned about a multiplicity of connectivity points and networks, I told them that gateways would be a solution on the path to complete integration. I guess I learned that in the 80s when my first resource for computing connectivity problems was a great catalog from “Black Box.”

I wrote previously about Dell’s announced Internet of Things Gateway. Two additional ones have hit my Inbox.

First–Mentor Graphics

Mentor Graphics Corporation announced the availability of the embedded industry’s first [note: marketing people are never shy] customizable edge-to-cloud IoT solution that enables companies to get to market quickly while reducing risk, cost, and development cycles. The Mentor IoT solution comprises a customizable IoT gateway System Design Kit (SysDK), a cloud backend, and runtime solutions on which to build a wide array of IoT edge devices. It enables the most demanding IoT requirements with support from 8-bit microcontrollers to the latest 64-bit microprocessors, and deployments of 100,000+ gateways each supporting dozens of edge devices.

Customizable Gateway Reference Design

Mentor Graphics provides a feature-rich hardware and software gateway platform that can be used as-is or customized in both hardware and software to meet specific gateway requirements, including compatibility with legacy and new IoT deployments. The Gateway SysDK reference hardware utilizes the ARM Cortex-A9 based i.MX 6 series applications processor from Freescale Semiconductor.

The base reference software includes a rich Linux BSP with full support for the reference board.  To support secure convergence, the Mentor Gateway SysDK can be customized to include secure gateway partitions using ARM TrustZone, which enables secure applications such as certificate management and secure remote firmware upgrades.  The integration of cloud middleware supports the functionality provided from the cloud backend.  By leveraging the Gateway SysDK, customers can move from concept to production in as little as eight weeks.

Connected and Secure from Edge to Enterprise

The Mentor Graphics end-to-end IoT solution includes support for a comprehensive set of physical connections complemented by a breadth of IoT and cloud protocols for wired and wireless edge device aggregation, and secure communication between the cloud backend, gateway, and edge devices.   End-to-end security is provided for data communications, access control, software execution, and intrusion detection.  Security integration with enterprise IT infrastructure is provided by Icon Labs’ Floodgate for McAfee ePO.

Second, Advantech

Advantech 1252 GatewayAdvantech’s Industrial Automation Group announced the UNO-1252G industrial computer designed to act as a gateway for industrial applications. As small as a micro-sized PLC, the UNO-1252G is only 10cm high and DIN-rail mountable. It comes with a low power Intel Quark processor which only uses 10 watts but powerful enough to perform data transmission and sensing in IoT gateway applications.

Gateway computers are useful because they help to connect legacy devices to the IoT without needing to replace the entire infrastructure. This small, economic UNO-1252G is ideal for this purpose since it has an array of integrated I/O ports and the ability to expand even further by using a choice of iDoor modules which is Advantech’s new modular way of adding versatile functionality to choose functions that are needed without purchasing devices that have excess cost or functions that are not needed. iDoor modules can be used to add additional cards such as Wi-Fi and GPS making the UNO-1252G ideal for use in remote locations.

The UNO-1252G includes one GB SD card to run a Yocto Project Linux distribution. The Yocto Project is an open source Linux distribution which allows the development of applications using an SDK. The UNO-1252G supports Advantech software applications such as SUSIAccess for remote control and monitoring. Also, two 10/100 LAN ports, a mPCIe card slot, five LED indicators for power, battery, SD card, COM ports and three programmable indicators to assign your own functions.

Industrial Control Systems Cybersecurity Experts

Industrial Control Systems Cybersecurity Experts

cybersecurityIndustrial Control Systems cybersecurity discussions often spill over from trade press to mainstream media. An incident in a large plant leads to economic and human consequences drawing interest from the big media companies.

A company called NexDefense formed an ICS Cybersecurity Fellows Program. Together with NexDefense, the Fellows will help educate and raise awareness of contemporary cybersecurity issues facing industry’s critical control systems that tirelessly operate in critical infrastructure facilities around the world.

In addition, Eric Byres, co-founder and former chief technology officer of Tofino Security (acquired by Belden Inc. in 2011) and leading expert in the field of process control and SCADA system cybersecurity, joins NexDefense as a strategic technology advisor and Senior Fellow to help further develop the company’s technology offerings and raise the attention level of cyber risks affecting industry.

“The NexDefense Industrial Cybersecurity Fellows Program assembles highly recognizable and well respected industrial security practitioners, consultants and advisors and allows each to speak as part of a larger cohesive unit,” said Doug Wylie, CISSP, vice president product marketing and strategy at NexDefense. “We are privileged to bring together some of the great cybersecurity minds of industry, each of whom share a common objective with NexDefense to expand business and community visibility and recognition of important security trends, emerging risks and techniques that can help to counteract threats to the safety and operational integrity of many industrial control systems.”

Members of the NexDefense Fellows Program will independently share their professional perspectives on security topics relevant to the ICS industry, including how security risks to industrial control systems can be reduced or avoided altogether through whitepapers, articles, blogs, social media and speaking engagements sponsored by NexDefense.

Joining the Fellows program are four highly reputable industrial cybersecurity authorities, each of whom continue to have a positive and meaningful affect on industry and provide control system owners and operators and the public at large with expert perspectives on cybersecurity for automation and control systems:

Eric Byres, SCADA and ICS Security Product Visionary, President Byres Security Consulting, ISA Fellow, Co-Founder and former CTO of Tofino Security—“Every digital system on which we depend has become an integral part of our connected world. This is especially true for the many industrial control systems (ICS) that produce power, move clean water and manufacture goods. The NexDefense Fellows Program will serve as a useful outlet to discuss the positive and negative consequences of today’s hyper-connectivity to these critical systems.” Eric added, “In my role as NexDefense Strategic Technical Advisor and Senior Fellow, I look forward to working closely with the team to address industry-wide security challenges with innovative solutions that can have a valuable effect on reliability, safety and productivity of control systems.”

Michael Chipley, PhD., President, The PMC Group, consultant and respected contributor to NIST cybersecurity guidelines and best practices including the Cybersecurity Framework and SP 800-82 R2—“Connected devices are at the core of building automation subsystems that provide services such as fire and physical security protection, heating and ventilation and automated lighting control, all of which are actively converging with business enterprise and industrial control systems. Cybersecurity as it relates to systems-of-systems is a topic that increasingly affects everyone and commands greater visibility with the public.”

Eric Cornelius, Director of Critical Infrastructure and Industrial Control Systems (ICS), Cylance, previously Deputy Director, Control Systems Security Program, US Department of Homeland Security (DHS)—“Electronic Perimeters alone cannot adequately protect control systems from attackers intent on stealing data, damaging equipment, or compromising the process itself. The NexDefense Fellows program will help open up discussions on security issues to more people from industry, raising awareness of what can be done to better protect people and processes from harm.”

Bryan Singer, Principal Investigator, Kenexis Consulting Corporation, and former Chairman ISA99—“The most successful industrial automation risk management programs are built on a foundation that recognizes safety and security are inextricably linked. While only a few companies have truly embraced this philosophy to date, others are still struggling with where to start. NexDefense’s Cybersecurity Fellows program will be a valuable opportunity to share and discuss risk management concepts like this with a broader audience.”

Each NexDefense Fellow will deliver their messages through a variety of mediums, with the intention to reach the public and private sectors and raise security awareness about the importance of expanded investment in the design, operation and maintenance of critical control systems around the world.

Robots and Humans Collaborating for Manufacturing Success

Robots and Humans Collaborating for Manufacturing Success

Rethink Robotics SawyerMy grandson was asking about why can’t we build a better light bulb and design better batteries. He’s eight. If he keeps asking the big questions, he’ll have a good future.

I told him that there would always be problems to solve, that’s why we would need engineers and scientists. He asked, what kind of questions. I told him about the need to develop robots that could work with people. This technology will become increasingly useful to help an aging population cope with physical limitations. It will also help production when we (shortly) face a declining workforce.

I like to point to the work of Rethink Robotics. It recently announced that its Sawyer robot, the company’s second smart, collaborative robot designed for a wide range of factory environments, is available for purchase and is being deployed by manufacturers across the globe. Announced in March, Sawyer is a single-arm, high-performance robot created to handle machine tending, circuit board testing and other precise tasks that have been difficult to automate with existing robots.

Weighing only 19 kilograms (42 pounds), Sawyer features a 4kg (8.8 lbs.) payload, with seven degrees of freedom and a 1260mm reach that can maneuver into the tight spaces and varied alignments of work cells designed for humans. Its high resolution force sensing, embedded at each joint, enables Rethink Robotics’ compliant motion control, which allows the robot to “feel” its way into fixtures or machines, even when parts or positions vary. This characteristic enables a repeatability that is unique to the robotics industry, and allows Sawyer to work effectively in semi-structured environments on tasks requiring 0.1mm of tolerance.

Sawyer offers a unique combination of features that distinguish it from other conventional and collaborative robots, including compliant motion control, embedded vision with a built-in Cognex camera and Rethink’s Robot Positioning System, a component of the proprietary and industry-leading Intera software platform. Powering both Sawyer and Rethink’s first collaborative robot, Baxter, the Intera system makes deploying the robots far easier than typical industrial robots. While traditional robots typically take an average of 200 hours to program and deploy, Sawyer can be deployed in under two hours and can easily be trained by typical factory technicians – not roboticists.

Sawyer is purpose-designed for enterprise-level deployments, with a useful life of 35,000 hours of operation. The robot is IP54-rated, making it ideal for harsh factory environments. Since its introduction, Sawyer has been field tested extensively at leading manufacturers’ sites around the world, and is currently being deployed on production lines in many of those facilities.

The process improves the efficiency of the product line while allowing GE’s employees to handle the more dexterous and cognitive work needed to complete the task.

General Electric has been testing Sawyer over the past month and will deploy their first robot in a GE Lighting plant in Hendersonville, North Carolina. A prime example of true human-robot collaboration, Sawyer will be on a production line positioning parts into a light fixture as a GE employee completes the assembly. The process improves the efficiency of the product line while allowing GE’s employees to handle the more dexterous and cognitive work needed to complete the task.

“The ability to deploy a smart, collaborative robot like Sawyer provides a significant flexibility advantage to our production team, while still meeting our world class quality, precision and speed standards,” said Kelley Brooks, global advanced manufacturing & engineering leader at GE Lighting. “Utilizing this technology is an integral part of our Brilliant Factory initiative to connect all parts of the supply chain from product design, to engineering, to the factory floor and beyond in order to deliver customized LED solutions for our customers.”

Sawyer is also set to be deployed in Steelcase Inc.’s (NYSE: SCS) Grand Rapids factory, where it will work in tandem with the company’s welding machine. Sawyer will work to pick and place parts in pairs of two, enabling a completely autonomous welding process. The robot’s small footprint, long reach and higher payload capacity make it ideal for the Steelcase team. In addition to handling changes in parts and lines seamlessly, Sawyer’s IP54 rating allows the robot to work in manufacturing environments with liquids and particle hazards present.

“Having already deployed several Baxter robots successfully, we’ve seen the value that collaborative robots bring to the factory floor,” said Edward Vander Bilt, leader of innovation at Steelcase. “These robots are the game-changers of modern manufacturing, and Rethink Robotics is leading the evolving relationship between humans and machines that allow each to do what they do best.”

Sawyer is a significant addition to the company’s smart, collaborative robot family, which also includes the groundbreaking Baxter robot that defined the category of safe, interactive, affordable automation. Sawyer is available for purchase in manufacturing environments throughout North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.

“After announcing Sawyer in March, the worldwide demand we have seen for the robot has been overwhelming,” said Rethink Robotics President and Chief Executive Officer Scott Eckert. “Manufacturers around the globe understand that Sawyer opens the door for a wealth of new applications and opportunities to improve their business, and they are eager to get it onto their production floors.”

Internet of Things Gateways Expedite IoT Adoption

Enterprise-Class Tablets for Enterprise Asset Intelligence

I have written before about how Zebra Technologies Corporation has grown into an IoT supplier through some strategic acquisitions. An integral part of the overall IoT ecosystem is asset intelligence application.

The company has introduced its next-generation ET50 and ET55 tablet computers, which combine the consumer styling with the enterprise-class features necessary to increase workforce productivity. With a choice of the Microsoft Windows 8.1 or Android 5.1 (Lollipop) operating system (OS) and two different display sizes, businesses can choose the modern enterprise-grade tablet that best meets their application needs and technology strategy. This brings enterprise asset intelligence to the mobile worker.

KEY FACTS

  • Operating Flexibility to Empower Business Applications: The ET50/55 is the first Zebra tablet computer available with the Microsoft Windows 8.1 OS and is Windows 10-ready. Windows gives access to legacy ERP systems and commonality to desktop solutions. The Android version of the ET50/55 tablet computer comes standard with Zebra’s Mobility Extensions (Mx) providing enterprise-class security; device management and data capture capabilities. The Android tablets are also equipped with Zebra’s AppGallery – an Android enterprise app store providing ready-to-use apps.
  • A Business Tool with an Enterprise-Class Accessory Ecosystem: Tablets need the right accessories to make them enterprise-grade productivity tools. New vehicle mount cradles are ideal for service technicians; delivery drivers and salespeople on the road while a forklift mount can handle most warehouse environments. Advanced scanning capabilities are available that can accurately and rapidly capture photos, NFC tags, bar codes in virtually any condition and on practically any surface.   Hot-swappable batteries augment the built-in battery and deliver 24 x 7 power to field service, transportation and logistics, retail, warehouse, manufacturing and government employees.
  • Features Designed for Enterprise Mobile Workforces: The ET50 features Wi-Fi connectivity while the ET55 adds 4G LTE cellular connectivity, and both models offer an advanced capacitive touch display that enables gloved or ungloved usage and the ability to use a stylus or a finger for annotating and capturing signatures. All configurations are designed to MIL-STD specification for drops to concrete and have IP65 sealing.
  • Enterprise-Class Services: Zebra OneCare Essential Services provide device diagnostics and coverage for normal wear and tear as well as accidental damage to internal and external components, significantly reducing unforeseen repair expenses.

 

Future Workforce Education A Key Strategy

Future Workforce Education A Key Strategy

HACC_GroupPhotoEducating today’s young people both in essential skills required by modern manufacturing as well as on the careers available to them has become a strategic theme for technology suppliers and for manufacturers alike.

Phoenix Contact, a global technology supplier with US offices in Middletown, PA, has announced a partnership with a local community college to achieve just that.

HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College, has become the first American school to join Phoenix Contact’s EduNet program. EduNet is an international education network that brings together schools and industry in the field of automation technology.

Workforce Education

Phoenix Contact and HACC officials announced the partnership Oct. 5, 2015, during the dedication of a new automation lab at HACC’s Midtown Trade and Technology Center in Harrisburg. Phoenix Contact’s contributions through the EduNet program include donating equipment for the lab. This gives students hands-on access to several Phoenix Contact ILC controller and PROFINET starter kits, the same type of equipment they might use once they graduate and work on the manufacturing floor.

Instructors will also receive a curriculum and free training sessions throughout the year. This includes the opportunity to travel internationally to attend a conference where they can network and exchange knowledge with EduNet teachers from other countries. Registration for the conference is free, courtesy of Phoenix Contact GmbH & Co. KG, of Blomberg, Germany, while Phoenix Contact USA will help cover the cost of travel.

Phoenix Contact and HACC previously collaborated on other science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education initiatives. Most prominently, they designed and implemented a Mechatronics Apprenticeship program in 2011. Over a four-year period, apprentices simultaneously work at Phoenix Contact while pursuing an associate degree in mechatronics at HACC, at no cost to the apprentice.

In 2013, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Apprenticeship and Training Council and the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship recognized Phoenix Contact as an official apprenticeship and training sponsor and the first in the state to offer a mechatronics apprenticeship program. This means the program is available to any company that wants to start its own mechatronics program using the Phoenix Contact/HACC program as a model.

“As Central Pennsylvania looks to increase manufacturing jobs, STEM education is the keystone to developing a workforce with the skills to fill these jobs,” said Jack Nehlig, president of Phoenix Contact USA. “Our mechatronics partnership with HACC is a great example of STEM in action. To date, six students have graduated, and we have two more currently enrolled. We hope HACC is the first of many American colleges and universities who take advantage of the learning and networking opportunities EduNet can provide.”

Pictured in the group photo are (from left to right):
Patricia Marrero, Director of Organizational Leadership, Phoenix Contact Services; Jack Nehlig, President of Phoenix Contact USA; Daniel Koprowski, Mechatronics Technician Apprentice; Irvin Clark Ed.D., Vice President, HACC’s Harrisburg Campus; Tom Lepp, Instructor, mechatronics and electronics, HACC faculty member; David Skelton, Vice President. Phoenix Contact Development and Manufacturing; Jerry Wise, Technical Training Specialist, Phoenix Contact Services; Marian Roldan, Vice President Human Resources, Phoenix Contact Services; and Sheila Ciotti,  Campus Associate Dean, Academic Affairs, HACC.

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