February 2015
40
In future, obtaining data from machines
and equipment at any time or from any place
will be seen as a standard by OEMs and fac-
tory operators for running automated anal-
yses of their business data and streamlining
their processes. However, this requires the
embedded systems cloud connection to
become a standard, too. With the launch of
the SEMA Cloud, this connection has become
a standard offering for the Adlink SMARC
Computer-on-Modules. Application devel-
opers profit from receiving a turnkey solution
for a range of monitoring and maintenance
services from one single source – including
a board management controller (BMC) right
up to the cloud dashboard.
The new, credit card-sized SMARC standard
LEC-iMX6 modules (82 mm x 50 mm) reap
the benefits of these effective cloud functions.
They are equipped with multi-core ARM
Cortex-A9-based Freescale i.MX6 SoCs and
are scalable over a wide performance range.
The Solo-, DualLite-, Dual- or Quad-Core
variants offer outstanding performance
combined with low power consumption
for small, quiet and economic systems used
in industrial applications. Industry-stan-
dard robustness and reliability are also sup-
ported in the extreme temperature ranges
of -40°C to +85°C and a sophisticated prod-
uct testing using HALT/HASS methodology.
Powerful graphics for up to three displays
plus the camera interfaces – which inciden-
tally is a specification only in the SMARC
Computer-on-Module standard – pave the
way for realizing multiple new applications.
Examples of application areas can be found
in outdoor systems such as digital signage
applications, vending machines or ticket
and parking ticket systems, infotainment
and management systems in trains, buses
and utility vehicles, handheld and tablet
systems for mobile tasks for in-field profes-
sionals as well as Smart Grid applications
and a range of machines and equipment in
industrial automation, medical technology
or test and measurement scenarios. All these
application areas for the new SMARC mod-
ules can profit from being connected to the
Adlink SEMA Cloud. It is often the case that
machines are distributed on a widespread
basis and OEMs and system operators need
to be constantly informed of their status and
interact with them from anywhere via secure
cloud connections, serving to minimize or
completely avoid downtimes or unplanned
maintenance
assignments.
Additionally,
OEMs can constantly measure the wear and
tear or the service life of the machines, inven-
Managing SMARC
Computer-on-Modules via the cloud
By Dirk Finstel,
ADLINK
This article describes
new SMARC Computer-on-Modules
which come complete with
a connection to the SEMA Cloud
making them a ready-to-use solution
for a wide variety of IoT monitoring
and maintenance services.
Figure 1. The new SMARC
Computer-on-Modules
based on the Freescale
ARM i.MX6 SoC processor
are scalable, designed to
withstand extreme
temperatures of -40°C to
+85°C and provide turnkey
access to the SEMA Cloud.
E
mbedded
C
omputing
Figure 2. The three essential components for cloud-based monitoring, management and main-
tenance of the new SMARC modules with Freescale ARM SoC i.MX6 processors
