advantech arm solutions
TRANSCRIPT
Advantech
ARM Solutions
Applications
Smart Automatic Gate MachinesChallenge
An underground transit systems customer in Europe was looking to upgrade its outdated gate machines. For safety, the gate machines needed
to be ultra stable and able to work outdoors in wide temperature ranges. They needed to be easy to install and control through a user-friendly
graphical user interface from the main control center. Another challenge was maintenance, in order to shorten regular maintenance schedules,
the customer hoped the control interface could perform self-inspections and be configured wirelessly. For cost saving, the customer wished to
have a solution that could easily manage several gates at a time.
Solution
Advantech offered the RSB-4220 Single Board Computer (SBC) that uses a TI Sitar AM335x CPU.
Its Cortex A8 level of performance can control five gates of equipment with its powerful computing performance. A
QT software package was offered for GUI development, and the PCIe slots were reserved for a WiFi module solution
provided by Advantech.
RSB-4220 provides 5 x standard UART and 1 x RS485 interface to control peripheral equipment. The RSB-4220
application controls five gates at a time and that reduces the cost of controlling individual equipment. With wide
temperature and wide voltage design, isolation for GPIO, and ESD protection for UART, RSB-4220 can adapt to a
variety of applications in harsh environments.
The RISC RSB-4220 platform is a low power consumption SBC:.under full load conditions, the overall power consumption is only 3.4 watt.
The ARM architecture is more cost competitive, uses a fanless design, and comes with free OS support
Intelligent Chemical Factory Automation SystemChallenge
In chemical factories, chemical materials and finished liquid and gas products are transmitted via pipes. Those gasses and liquids are not all
neutral; most of them are alkaline or acidic and some are caustic so there are very real dangers if there are leaks. Making sure substances are
stable in the pipes is very important. In general, factories install pressure meters to monitor pipe conditions, and use speakers or warning lights
to notify if there are emergencies or abnormalities. Pipes have valves for releasing or adjusting pressure, but they still need to be controlled by
experienced people.
Solution
Advantech offered RSB-4420, a cost-effective 3.5” single board computer based on advanced ARM technology which is
compact in size and completely fanless. It has rich I/O for reading sensor data and controlling devices. Unlike low level
microcontroller solutions, RSB-4220 has a rich control interface including RS-232/422/485, CAN bus, and GPIO. There
are also 2 x Gigabit Ethernet, mini PCIe for Wi-Fi, and standard Linux OS for factory automation applications.
Compact 3.5” Single Board Computer for Factory Automation
RSB-4220 is a compact 3.5” Single Board Computer (SBC) which supports RS-232 interface for reading and monitoring
pressure sensor values. Through its GPIO interface and warning lights, it displays status, controls the pipe valves, and
adjusts the pressure accordingly. It sends back sensor data to the server for recording and analysis, and remotely
upgrades its software through the internet. RSB-4220 was integrated into the real-time monitoring system which helped
the factory reliably manage production as well as health and safety.
Software Design-In service for Application Development
Advantech provides a Software Design-In Service to help customers develop their own application. This includes an Advantech loader, optimized
BSP, Embedded OS package, SUSI API, and QT software package to assist customers with integration of firmware and UI development. They also
provide a service for peripheral driver integration, porting, and system integration.
Flexible Modular Design for Medical DevicesMore and more countries are expanding healthcare in their social welfare system boosted by the advancement of medical technologies like point
of care diagnostics, robotics and pharmaceuticals. And as more and more countries face issues of an aging society, advanced medical
technology can help fulfill the huge demands that are expected.
Advantech introduces ROM-7420, a cost-effective Computer-on-Module (COM) based on advanced ARM technology
and the open standard Qseven COM form factor which is compact in size and completely fanless. Unlike traditional x86
solutions, most of the chips on ROM-7420 have longevity support of up to 15 years so it’s easy for them to become the
computing core of a DNA analyzer or an ultrasound scanner. Beyond the advantage of longevity support, the Qseven
module builds everything onboard including compact flash and memory chips so customers no longer need to
purchase additional key parts such as hard disk drives and memory DIMMs. This makes them the natural choice for
medical device suppliers from the viewpoint of cost and reliability.
Flexible Module Design for a Diverse Range of Medical Devices
ROM-7420 follows the Qseven 1.2 Computer on Module standard, it supports rich I/O including GPIO, COM, Gigabit Ethernet, USB, PCIe, LVDS,
I2C, and CAN bus. The module board design can efficiently meet all I/O demands by using variable carrier boards. The dimension of ROM-7420
is only 70mm x 70mm x 4mm, which makes it super easy to pair with a carrier board in a very compact size. The fanless design of ROM-7420
meets the medical regulations related to noise and resonance and it also offers more options for fitting into different types of cases.
Complete Software Offering for Application Development
ROM-7420 comes with well-integrated firmware, system drivers and multiple OS images which can help users integrate their software
application quickly and without fuss. Advantech also provides QT software, a graphical user interface development tool. Along with test scripts,
sample codes and a complete source code package for ROM-7420, they speed up the development of medical applications and make it simpler
to code software applications.
Intelligent and Rugged Solution for Gantry CranesChallenge
The use of gantry crane systems for transporting heavy payloads is a common sight in ports and construction sites. However, moving bulky
payloads by crane is not a straightforward task, especially when the swing angle, rotation and transfer speed need to be correctly calculated. In
the past, gantry cranes were completely controlled by humans. The operator controlled the crane manually and visually, both inside and outside
the cab, so it was easy to miss-control loads and accidents were frequent due to mis-communication or simply through inexperience. The other
challenge was that because gantry cranes are usually placed in ports or are close to the sea, they needed to be able to operate in rugged and
salt corrosive environments.
Solutions
To meet these demands, Advantech introduced a series of solutions that use the ruggedized RTX v2.0 form-factor. For
this customer, Advantech provided the high performance ROM-3420 ultra-low-power RISC COM module, and WISE-
1520 wireless sensor node powered by a TI Cortex M4 processor for the I/O controller and manager.
ROM-3420 was setup in the gantry crane cab with a touch LVDS panel, camera input, wireless/GPS, GPIO, and UART connectivity to control
andmanage all the lifting work. All of the containers on the trucks had a WISE-1520 low power Wi-Fi IoT node installed. With the Wi-Fi sensor,
WISE-1520 can easily track all containers and deliver information to the control center wirelessly. With the integrated gantry crane solution, the
customer was able to improve the shipping throughput performance, save on human resources and bring about a more efficient and profitable
operation for the owners.
Rich Software API for Remote Management and Data Analysis
The containers, trucks and control center were able to connect to the cloud service with the assistance of Advantech’s WISE-PaaS solution. With
WISE-PaaS cloud service, customers can easily managethe system via a browser and transmit data back to the cloud for analysis. ROM-3420 and
WISE-1520 also supports WISE-Agent API’s so customers can easily integrate functions with their own software application or make further
additional changes using WISE-Agent
Intelligent Parcel LockerChallenge
Facing massive online business orders, the customer realized they had to change their ways to fulfill all delivery requirements. Labor costs and
resource needed to be carefully managed and a new intelligent logistics business model needed to be introduced—supplementing the
workforce with intelligent devices, so total control and monitoring can be enabled through the implementation of a cloud service.
Solution
Advantech offered various solutions for customer’s requirements. This included a UBC-220 RISC-based low power box
computer in each truck, and a ROM-3420 high performance fanless computer-on-module in each intelligent parcel and
dispatch center for shipment dispatch, control, and tracking stored properly. WISE-1020 sensor nodes are bundled with
WISE-PaaS support so data can be gathered efficiently, stored securely, and transmitted rapidly.
Reliable Intelligent Solution for Logistics
All trucks, transfer posts and dispatch centers are connected to Advantech WISE-PaaS with wireless monitoring,
especially the in-vehicle solution UBC-220, powered by a RISC-based SoC, which is a cost effective, reliable and power-
saving hardware platform to accomplish 24/7 transportation monitoring.
With add-on GPS and 3G module, it connects to the cloud and obtains real-time traffic information, and gets the best routes from the cloud
which saves the time and fuel costs— benefitting both users and the environment. Plus, the implementation of EDR and wireless sensors
improve security and the logistics flow is now much more accurate and dependable.
Effective Data Mining and Information Analysis
All data generated during transaction, including the information of the online shoppers and the sellers, the content of the shipments, the
shipping methods and the routes, all go back to the cloud, and through an effective data mining analyzer, can be reused in many different ways.
ARM Development Kit and Design-in Services for
Compact Banknote RecyclerChallenge
As more and more stores and companies received fake notes, they started searching for banknote recycling machines to protect their own
interests. One of the leading companies of banknote recycler machines found that new customers were asking for a small-sized functional
banknote recyclers, but at that time they didn’t really have this kind of solution. New customers had no interest in the traditional stand-alone,
powerful banknote machines, they want something compact, noiseless, power saving, cost effective and it needed to be portable.
Solution
Advantech ROM-7420 is a cost-effective Computer-on-Module based on advanced ARM technology. It provides plenty
of I/O and outstanding system performance to easily run the banknote identifier device which categorizes the notes by
country or by value. The advanced graphic engine also helped distinguish fake notes by using a graphical analysis
program developed by the banknote machine designer.
Development Kit for Prototype
Advantech offered a ROM-7420 development kit to the designer in order to provide them with a simple and quick way to evaluate performance.
The development kit includes everything they need including ROM-7420 module board and its corresponding carrier board ROM-DB7500, a
12V AC/DC power adapter, cables to connect peripherals, and an LED panel for display and touch panel development. Building a prototype
using the development kit meant less effort and they received lots of reference documents from Advantech’s website to help them. In the end,
theROM-7420 development kit efficiently speeded up development and helped get the next generation banknote recycler to the market faster.
Advantech Design-in Service
In the middle of development, a fatal issue popped up which bothered the designer and risked the product’s launch schedule. Advantech
jumped in without hesitation with a professional support team focused on software and hardware debugging. As a result of providing timely
support and onsite service to their customer, they were able to quickly resolve all issues and get the project back on track.
Try Advantech’s 10 minutes Startup for Your ARM
Project
Discover more: select.advantech.com/arm-starter-kit/en-eu/
Next Step:
Contact your local Consultant
Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Greece
Chiara Geroli
+39 02 9544 96 02
UK, Nordics, Central and Eastern Europe
Simon Purslove
+49 (0) 89 12599 1022
Visit
select.advantech.com/arm-starter-kit/en-eu/