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mbEddEd
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omputing
into which it is integrated. Increasingly, these
things are in exposed or remote locations
making the choice of mist computing hard-
ware a critical design element. As well, the
product lifetime and quality of mist com-
puting hardware cannot degrade in any way
the overall quality and product lifetime of
the machinery or equipment which it is con-
trolling. From a vendor standpoint, this trans-
lates into a careful selection of hardware BOM
components that optimizes product lifetime
and quality. As well, the circuit architecture
must be such that operation over all tempera-
tures and voltage conditions is guaranteed -
all while maintaining a compact form factor
suitable for embedded integration.
From a functional standpoint, fog and mist
computing hardware must support multiple
cores with virtualization technology to sup-
port software-defined automation and dig-
itization requirements. This hardware must
also provide the necessary performance for
on-machine data analytics, control, moni-
toring and communication with other ele-
ments of the mist or fog computing network.
Addressing many of these needs are new, small
form factor embedded CPUs and system
offerings from companies like ADL Embed-
ded Solutions and others, which are bringing
full-featured compact CPUs and industrial
embedded PC designs to market.
A good illustration of this is new
ADLE3800SEC designed with the latest indus-
trial Intel Atom processors with extended
junction temperatures of -40 ºC to 110 ºC.
This compact (75mm x 75mm) edge-con-
nected SBC is a full-featured, standalone
SBC for rugged, embedded applications. The
e
dge-connect architecture
allows for added
I/O expansion and connectors in a variety
of baseboard/breakout board configura-
tions (flat, vertical, odd-shapes, etc) for rug-
ged, portable/mobile applications such as
unmanned systems, robotics, remote data
logging, wearable computing or portable
medical devices. The ADLE3800SEC is suited
for rugged, extended temperature intelligent
systems with stringent size, weight, and power
(SWAP) requirements. It boasts a wide input
voltage (20-30VDC), DisplayPort, USB2.0,
USB3.0, and two GLAN ports with support for
DirectX 11, Open GL 4.0, and full HD video
playback. The SBC is capable of standalone
operation or easy integration with expansion
I/O boards, which helps provide a single com-
puting board across equipment and product
profiles for consistency of hardware, firmware
and BIOS.
Compact solutions like the ADLE3800SEC or
the derivative mini ADLEPC-1500 also ease
the task of IIoT deployment by maintaining
compatibility with IoT development plat-
forms like Microsoft Azure and others to help
optimize security and overall stability. Their
substantial functionality and performance at
generally lower cost helps reduce the cost of
fog and mist fabric creation - necessary for
efficient distribution of data storage and data
analytics for fog and mist communication,
monitoring, and control.
The ADLEPC-1500 is a full-featured embed-
ded PC with dimensions of 86mm x 81mm x
33mm (W x D x H). It is based on the com-
pact ADLE3800SEC SBC and is characterized
by a wide input voltage range of 20 to 30 VDC
(optionally up to 36 VDC) as well as a large
temperature range of -40°C to + 85°C. This
makes it a solution for a variety of applica-
tions and environments, such as unmanned
systems (UAV), industrial controls, robotics,
traffic management and monitoring.
The embedded PC is housed in an industrial
CE/FCC-compliant housing with mounting
options for DIN Rail, VESA and direct mount-
ing. The SBC EdgeConnect architecture
allows the embedded PC to be easily extended
by additional interfaces and functions accord-
ing to customer-specific requirements. This
makes it possible, for example, to use custom-
er-specific expansion cards over several gen-
erations of processors without requiring a lot
of redesign or development. Significant sav-
ings and less risk in development and design
are immediate advantages. As this bottom-up
approach to IIoT hardware optimization con-
tinues to gain momentum, and the ecosystem
of hardware vendors providing fog and mist
computing solutions grows, we can expect to
take a giant step forward in the near future
toward making the promise of IIoT a reality.
Table 1. Hardware requirements according to Industrial IoT (IIoT) layers.
Figure 2. Microsoft Azure certified, ADLEPC-1500 embedded PC.
