Punya Prakash

TI’s Multiprotocol Solution Provides One Simple Way to Connect to Industry’s Leading PLC Systems Which Have Their Own Communication Protocols

We have all heard about how automation is the future, while at consumer end we see an array of products from smart thermostats to smart cars, at the back end we have manufacturing facilities that are getting more intelligent. The goal for these smart factories is to maximize efficiency and flexibility of the production process. Leading industrial automation companies have developed their own industrial Ethernet protocols to define an ecosystem of automation products consisting of connected sensors, industrial drives and programmable logic controllers. At the heart of these connected devices which form the basis for a smart factory is real-time communication of process data, commonly referred to as Industrial Communication.

The single biggest challenge in realizing a smart factory today is this complex variety of industrial communication protocols. The need of the hour is to have a simplified design process that provides an easy way for production and delivery of industrial end equipments. Having a programmable core that enables real-time deterministic industrial Ethernet provides an option to the customers to make the protocol decision to communicate to industry leading automation systems as late as the deployment phase of the end equipment.

TI Industrial processors with multiprotocol enabling rapid application development flow

TI’s Sitara industrial processors with the PRU-ICSS (Industrial communication sub-system) provide the means to serve interfaces and enable communication with automation infrastructure while managing applications all on one integrated solution. With this solution customers can transition between any of the protocols using one primary software platform.

By supporting multiple protocols on a single device, TI’s on the fly multiprotocol Industrial Communication Engine makes industrial automation easier and more affordable.