Trade Startup Innovation: Iot & Industry 4.0

DITION Edition 5/2017 | € 9.
75
ESS E
BUSIN
INNOVATION STARTUP TRADE

Focus on: IoT & Industry 4.0
Our Business — Loetronic, Aachen • Operation Marketing • Energy Harvesting
for Low-power Devices • Infographics • Decentralized Intelligence in the Age of
Industry 4.0 • 5G — It’s Not Here yet, but Closer than You Think • Forwards
with New Investments and Certified Environmental Friendliness • Elektor Busi-
ness Store • Global Development Trends in Embedded and Internet of Things
Technology • Narrowband-IoT: Pushing the Boundaries of IoT • Synchronous
IoT Remote Control • And more
Baseboard Design for
SMARC 2.0
from start line to finish
Smart Cities
Including …
Very Smart Bus Shelters
Industry 4.0/
Industrial IoT:
From Interoperability to
Cognitive Concepts
17.115-EBM05-Cover-EN-01.indd 1 07-09-17 16:03

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17.115-Adv-EN.indd 1 06-09-17 14:26

Colophon
Elektor Business Magazine Distribution and Supply
Edition 5/2017 Elektor Business Magazine
IoT and Industry 4.0 appears synchronously in
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IoT and Industry 4.0 3
17.115-EBM05-Editorial-EN-02.indd 1 07-09-17 09:48

Contents
Elektor Business Magazine
Edition 5/2017,
October & November 2017
16
Focus on: Internet of Things & Industry 4.0
Regulars
34 Infographics
Whither, whence? Positive (and of course negati-
ve) facts and figures.
33 Operation Marketing
Flavio Stiffan asks: are we becoming IoT depen-
dent?
42 Jumpstart
10
Apros Consulting: Forwards with New Invest-
ments and Certified Environmental Friendliness
64 Elektor Business Store
Industry 4.0/Industrial IoT:

Selected products for innovators, makers and
start-ups.
60 Our Business — Loetronics, Aachen From Interoperability to Cognitive Concepts

Loetronic has become a worldwide operating
company, yet with only a handful of people wor-
king in a 19th century industrial building just out-
side Aachen city centre. What is the key to its
success? Maybe the city itself has something to
do with it.
66 Index of Advertisers | Our Contributors |

Next Edition
News pages 9, 15, 23, 43, 51, 59, and 63
Articles
6 Decentralized Intelligence in the Age of improved processes, product quality and intero-
Industry 4.0 perability.
The technological implementation of Industry
4.0, i.e. the continuous digital alignment of in- 16 Smart Cities Including… Very Smart
dustrial processes, has begun. Future systems Bus Shelters
demand intelligent networking right down to the For a long time bus shelters have remained vir-
field level. To achieve this goal sensors and actu- tually unchanged. Typically, they have provided
ators require two things: intelligence in the form a sitting area that can be used while awaiting
of microcontrollers along with corresponding in- transportation, as well as shelter from the ele-
terfaces, to allow communication with one ano- ments and static advertising for both those wai-
ther and with higher levels of the process planes. ting and passing by. But traditional bus shelters
are quickly becoming obsolete. New technologies
10 Industry 4.0/Industrial IoT: From Inter- and applications are now being used that enable
operability to Cognitive Concepts bus shelters to be much more.
Whether the aim is to achieve vertical integration
of machines over the cloud or horizontally using 24 Baseboard Design for SMARC 2.0
the supplier’s network, or to optimize a product So you have a good idea, but you can’t implement
performance throughout its life-cycle, organiza- it because it would be too much for a small mi-
tions are sure to benefit from the IoT in terms of crocontroller? Does your idea need performance
4 Elektor Business Magazin 5/2017
17.115-EBM05-Contents-EN-02.indd 1 07-09-17 17:20

Smart Cities
Including… horsepower to get your application up and run-
ning? This article describes the typical factors to
Very Smart Bus

be considered and steps to be taken so that your
idea can take the driver’s seat in a computer-on-
module (COM) design and make it to the podium.
Shelters 36 Energy Harvesting for Low-power

Devices
The impact of energy harvesting could be eco-
nomically huge and, more importantly, it could
be massive for the environment. Consequently
we must start thinking about how to best protect
and preserve it. Environmental energy is natu-
rally occurring both at massive scale and infinite-
simally small; the technologies have been widely
and efficiently disseminated. How much energy is
24
available around us? What kind of energy sources
do we have? What is their utility?
Baseboard Design 39 Synchronous IoT Remote Control

Access to and control of IoT device data can
for SMARC 2.0 happen via various methods, the best known
of which is the asynchronous “big data” IoT ap-
proach. This article is about the lesser known
synchronous “real-time” operation.
44 Narrowband-IoT:
Pushing the Boundaries of IoT
This article aims at giving technical decision-ma-
kers an overview of NB-IoT, the communications
technology that will underpin industrial-grade in-
ternet of things deployments.
52 5G — It’s Not Here yet, but Closer than

You Think
The wireless communications community has
had a busy year — from progress made on the
standardization process and essential updates
6
communicated from regulatory bodies, to gaining
understanding of the channel for newly propo-
Decentralized Intelligence sed millimetre wave (mmWave) frequencies and

technologies under development that will turn 5G
in the Age of Industry 4.0 into a commercial reality, anticipation for 5G is at

an all-time high.
56 Global Development Trends in Embedded

and Internet of Things Technology
The focus of this article is to help solve some key
design issues when using photodiodes for preci-
sion measurements. It discusses how to interface
photodiodes with current-to-voltage amplifiers,
and ADCs, and how to use programmable gains
for applications which require a very high dynam-
ic range. 2016 was a year of swift development
in embedded technology and Internet of Things
(IoT). Based on traditional application, embedded
technology is now deep in the process of explor-
ing rising market, where IoT is one of the most
promising aspects.
IoT und Industrie 4.0 5
17.115-EBM05-Contents-EN-02.indd 2 07-09-17 17:20

Decentralized Intelligence
in the Age of Industry 4.0
More flexibility for fluidic systems
By Werner Bennek, Field Segment Manager .hygienic, Bürkert Fluid Control Systems
The technological implementation of Industry 4.0, i.e. the continuous digital alignment of industrial
processes, has begun. Future systems demand intelligent networking right down to the field level.
To achieve this goal sensors and actuators require two things: intelligence in the form of microcontrollers
along with corresponding interfaces, to allow communication with one another and with higher levels of
the process planes. For communications the Fieldbus standard is certainly the right choice but many plant
operators want additional facilities that go beyond the usual standards. In many industrial applications
it is useful, for example, to be able to adapt fluidic systems to current process requirements with
as little fuss as possible.
Valves, sensors and actuators in process engineering systems meets the increasing market demand for more sophisticated
are not stand-alone devices. It is only when the different valve electrically integrated solutions.This development platform pro-
functions and sensors are linked together that the system vides the gateway for digital networking of all intelligent Bürk-
functions. Classically, system process control was performed ert devices and offers practical and easy user- and parameter-
by a PLC. While the number of signals is still manageable with setting options. Online analysis systems, flowmeters (FLOWave)
a small combination of several valve functions, the volume of and mass flowmeters (MFC) from the same manufacturer can
information increases significantly with the connection of more be very quickly networked, logic programmed and adjusted
devices (Fig. 1). It is also not so simple to make full use of all to operate with different processes and operating conditions.
the information available. In addition any small changes to the This allows application-specific solutions for a wide range of
system will affect the program running in the higher level PLC, fluidic tasks using just one standard platform. The stand-alone
for example when modifications to the operating conditions of sub-system is integrated into the existing network or to the
an online analysis system for water treatment or similar sys- respective high-level Fieldbus at just one position to simplify
tems are required. its configuration and minimize interface requirements.
Proprietary or not? Communication standard based on CANopen

Based on almost 70 years’ experience in the field of fluidics, All EDIP-capable devices communicate via an interface based
Bürkert – with the introduction of the device platform EDIP – on the industry standard CANopen protocol which has been
6 Elektor Business Magazine 5/2017
17.115-EBM05-Bürkert-EN-02.indd 1 07-09-17 16:06

expanded to incorporate additional useful features. For exam- connector provides connections for both data and power.
ple, no master is necessary on the bus and stations are auto- The devices are connected to a bus which employs a linear
matically addressed (Fig. 2). In addition, all sensors and topology. The modular concept allows integration of EDIP
actuators with analog and digital signals can be integrated modules in plants using other industrial standards (such
into an EDIP network via I/O modules. It is also possible as PROFINET, Ethernet / IP, Modbus TCP, Profi bus, etc.).
to operate all devices in “CANopen” mode. The I/O mod- An important component of the EDIP system is the ‘Commu-
ules are already being used today in an online analysis sys- nicator’ PC software (Fig. 3). The program runs in Windows
tem for water treatment and for various mass flow control- and is used to configure or parameterize all of the Bürkert
lers and flowmeters. A four-wire cable using an M12-type ‘intelligent’ range of products which use CANopen type inter-
Figure 1: A combination of various valve functions and sensors. Figure 3: The Communicator program runs in Windows and can configure
The number of signals or information/data becomes significant. or parameterize all of the Bürkert ‘intelligent’ range of products with
Some form of built-in control system would help alleviate the situation. CANopen type interface. This software is available free of charge from the
(image: Bürkert) company’s website. (image: Bürkert)
faces. This powerful software is available free of charge from

Bus connection to local the company’s website. In addition to the basic functions of
industry standard
configuration and parameterization, the software also provides
data logging, graphical display of process values, graphical
Internal bus based on CANopen
programming interfaces and license management. Settings
made with the software can be saved, modified, printed and
transferred to other devices. Access to the bus is possible
additional during operation and all end users have the option of con-
I/O
necting several devices.
compatible with
external devices
The actuator provides control
Bürkert field devices
using CANopen Above all, the graphical programming interface provides many
interface
enhanced practical advantages; this facility allows you to
implement any particular function and control an application-
specific process. As an example this could be gas mixture
Figure 2: Communication using EDIP (image: Bürkert) control, status monitoring or fault recognition. Programming
Beginner Trading Theoretical

Level: Intermediate Company Status: Start-Up Approach: Practical
Professional Potential Mixed
Product Production Website:

Subject: Advice: Technology www. buerkert.de
Service
Advice Regulatory
EBM ARTICLE TAGGING

Profile of Bürkert Fluid Control Systems
Bürkert Fluid Control Systems is a world-leading manufacturer

of measuring, regulation and control systems for liquids and
gases. Bürkert products are used in a wide variety of industries
and applications - ranging from breweries and laboratories
to medical, bio-technology and aerospace technology. With
a portfolio of more than 30,000 products, Bürkert is the only
supplier to cover all components of the Fluid Control circuit for
measurement and system control: from solenoid valves, pro-
cess and analysis valves to pneumatic actuators and sensors.
The company, headquartered in Ingelfingen in southern Ger-

Figure 4: The graphical programming tool is easy to use (image: Bürkert)
many, has a broad sales network covering 36 countries em-
ploying more than 2,500 people worldwide. In five system
houses in Germany, China and the USA as well as four re-
Individual adaptation, easy commissioning
search and development centers, Bürkert is continuously de-
and device data safeguarding
veloping customer-specific system solutions and innovative
Users who require high levels of system flexibility and individu-
new products. The extensive product range is augmented by
ality benefit from this standardized interface which provides
the comprehensive BürkertPlus service package, providing
interoperability with freely programmable functions. The plat-
complete customer support over the entire product life cycle.
form’s modular design allows easy adaptation of the device to
meet individual customer requirements with the added benefit
www.buerkert.de
of shorter delivery times. With its convenient user-friendly dis-
play interface (Fig. 4) the platform facilitates faster and more
simplified commissioning as well as uncomplicated transmis-
www.facebook.com/Buerkert.Fluidtechnik sion and safeguarding of device settings, for trouble-free device
swap-out or replacement. CANopen-capable field devices from
other manufacturers can also be easily integrated into the com-
www.twitter.com/buerkertfluid munication platform.
is either data-flow orientated with function block diagrams

or control-flow orientated using flow charts. This enables the
creation of logical links, processing and evaluation of analog The Author
values and for timed events or sequenced steps to be pro-
grammed. The user interface is easy to understand and pro-
Werner Benne, Dipl. Ing. Physics and Technology, is Field
vides intuitive operation. Special blocks can be assigned to
Segment Manager at Bürkert Fluid Control Systems and
allow access to online monitoring of signals and sequences
provides worldwide sales support and system solutions for
of signals.
the automation of complex products. He also contributes to
the ongoing development and continued optimization of the
For the individual adaptation and optimization of partial pro-
modular components and interfaces of the EDIP (Efficient
cesses, an intervention in the control system is therefore no
Device Integration Platform). He has been with the company
longer absolutely necessary. This leads to improved system
for 26 years.
efficiency, as well as saving time and costs. Load on the cen-
tral controller is relieved and bus loading reduced so that
reliability and system availability is improved. Test facilities
and laboratories, where processes are continuously under-
going optimization, will also benefit from the possibilities.
The approach with decentralized intelligence will not neces-
sarily replace the classic process-control system but is quite
useful as part of an overall system. In addition, however, it
is also possible to create autonomous decentralized systems
in order to implement individual solutions quickly, simply and
cost-effectively.

I/O Warrior 56 5G Network
Demonstration
5th generation mobile networks, abbreviated 5G, are the

proposed next communication standards beyond the 4G
networks still being deployed around the world today. In
addition to higher speed connections, 5G standards aim to
provide more capacity than current 4G, allowing a higher
number of mobile broadband users and devices per area
unit, and making subscribers’ higher data consumption
more cost-effective for network operators. 5G also aims
to lower the cost and latency (for lower battery consump-
tion) of device-to-device communication, for better imple-
mentation of the internet of things (IoT).
Two leading network equipment manufacturers are testing

5G remote radio head (RRH) implementations using Arte-
syn’s 700 watt ADH700 half-brick 28 volt output DC-DC
Code Mercenaries ships a new version of IO-Warrior56. converter module, which is optimized for RF power ampli-
The universal I/O controller for USB offers 50 I/O pins and fier applications.
has several complex functions. In addition to I2C, SPI,
8×8 key matrix, 64×8 LED matrix, and support for most With an ultra high conversion efficiency of >95% at half
alphanumeric and graphic LCD modules, the new version load, the converter can operate over an ambient temper-
also offers an 8-channel 14-bit A/D converter and a 16-bit ature range of -40 to +85 ˚C, continuing to deliver full
PWM generator. power up to a baseplate temperature of 100˚C. The output
voltage can be trimmed from 14 to 33 Vdc to meet a broad
Each of up to 8 A/D channels can be sampled every 385 µs. range of application needs and there is no minimum load
When running in single channel mode the sample rate is requirement. The conversion technology employs 280-kHz
7800 Hz. The new 16-bit PWM generator uses an internal fixed-frequency switching to help minimize external EMI
1-kHz, 250-kHz, 2-MHZ, or 48-MHz clock and can gener- filtering requirements.
ate output signals up to 12 MHz.
Based on a high power density open-frame design that
Chips and modules are available at the same pricing as incorporates an aluminum thermal baseplate and is opti-
before. The new starter kit has a suggested retail price of mized for either conduction or forced air cooling, ADH700
€37.80 (excl. VAT) and comes with a large breadboard area. series converters have an installed height of just 0.5 inch
(12.7 mm), making them ideal for systems with demand-
By using system drivers the installation of drivers is not ing inter-board spacing requirements.
necessary on all widespread operating systems. Sample
code, tools, and libraries are available for Linux, MacOS Standard features include input undervoltage lockout,
and Windows. remote On/Off and differential remote sense, as well as
comprehensive protection against overtemperature and
output overcurrent or overvoltage conditions.
www.codemercs.com www.artesyn.com
17.115-News-EN-02.indd 1 07-09-17 16:08

Industry 4.0/Industrial IoT:
From Interoperability to
Cognitive Concepts
By Ralf Bucksch, Business Unit Executive Technical Sales and Architects Software DACH, and Plamen Kiradjiev, Industry 4.0 Chief Architect,
IBM Germany
Whether you call it Industry 4.0,

Industrial Internet-of-things, IIoT,
or just Digital Manufacturing:
innovations on the shop floor
are currently hot topics for
Industry. Whether the aim is
to achieve vertical integration
of machines over the cloud or
horizontally using the supplier’s Impressive: IBM’s new IoT Center in Munich
network or to optimize a product

performance throughout its life- Industry 4.0 does not however replace Current and future
cycle organizations are sure to the typical requirements of a modern requirements
benefit from the IoT in terms manufacturing facility with regard to pro- Functional scenarios for disruptive inno-
ductivity and efficiency. What it brings to vations in manufacturing are data driven
of improved processes, product these requirements is process-oriented and based on deep expertise and exist-
quality and interoperability. lean manufacturing principles in addition ing experience. This means that Indus-
The target is to ensure current to the use of state-of-the-art technolo- try 4.0 represents a special case of
gies within the framework of industry the general Internet-of-Things refer-
production requirements can be 4.0 to ensure seamless data exchange. ence architecture because it is neces-
more efficiently met as well as Its implementation ensures gaps in the sary to integrate the Operational Tech-
providing the flexibility for custom technology which cannot be overcome nology (OT) level with the IT level in
by pure processing are eliminated. The the context of production. What is spe-
products tailored to customer result is greatly improved levels of agil- cial about this is the enclosed environ-
requirements. ity, flexibility, efficiency and productivity. ment as well as the unique requirements
17.115-EBM05-IBM-EN-01.indd 1 07-09-17 16:09

for availability and compliance. In this vation, improvements in network
sense, a flexible, functional interaction latency, higher security standards and ebm article tagging
must be ensured between all three lay- the cost benefits of cloud-based sys- Beginner
ers: Edge, Plant and Cloud / Enterprise. tems. However, industry 4.0 projects Level: Intermediate
The biggest challenge, however, is the launching today need to address cur-
Professional
secure access to the data of the auto- rent and future requirements.
mation layer, while avoiding timing dis- Product
crepancies between the OT layer (nano- IBM’s Industry 4.0 Reference architecture Subject: Service
second to low millisecond range) and the addresses both the current challenges as
Advice
IT layer (medium millisecond range and well as future needs, by defining three
higher). Most manufacturers have spe- layers – Edge, Plant, and Enterprise — Trading
Company Status: Start-Up
Potential
Production
Advice: Technology
Regulatory
Theoretical
Approach: Practical
Mixed
Website:
www.ibm.com/watson
Best Practice: SmartFactoryKL,

the world’s first production-
independent Industry 4.0
initiative
As a leading center of competence and
a manufacturer-independent demonstra-
tion and research platform, SmartFacto-
ryKL is the world’s premier practical instal-
lation of the Industry 4.0 concept. The
installation is built as a modular, flex-
ible and configurable system consisting
of standardized production components
supplied by many different manufac-
turers. A standardized infrastructure
allows uniform connection of all produc-
tion modules to coordinate IT services
and ensure manufacturer–independent
compatibility. Communications employ
standard protocols such as OPC UA and
MQTT as well as a common shop floor
cific requirements regarding the autono- and provides flexibility to deploy and data model.
mous operational processes in their fac- move similar functionality at all three lay-
tories. These may include, for example, ers. In addition, it allows you to switch Since the project’s inception in 2015
the need to ensure a production process from “on site” to the cloud at any time. IBM has been a key partner. Our con-
is not interrupted even if the connec- It is also based on IBM’s IoT practice- tributions to the project were mainly
tion to the central IT or cloud infrastruc- oriented reference architecture, which to provide a flexible integration of all
ture is interrupted or latency times are is based on the experience accumulated the different machines, IT systems and
too slow. In addition, there are usually by IBM teams deployed on hundreds of applications, the implementation of a
strict requirements on the data storage, engagements over the past few years, Digital Twin of the complete produc-
protection and security, which is often as well as the Industrial Internet Consor- tion line based on our analytical and
expressed as “Production must not leave tium (IIC), the Purdue model (ISA-95) IoT technologies and using the cogni-
the factory”. as well as other best practice examples tive skills based on IBM Watson. In the
It is likely that this attitude will change from existing projects. meantime SmartFactoryKL has become
over time driven by the pace of inno- the learning and showcase factory for
17.115-EBM05-IBM-EN-01.indd 2 07-09-17 16:10

Figure 1: The SmartFactoryKL architecture using notation from IBM’s Industry 4.0 reference-architecture.
IBM and its strategic technology in the duction and PLM (Product Lifecycle ➂ The Festo engraving module initial-
area of Industry 4.0 and addresses the Management) izes the digital product order identity via
full scope of IBM‘s Industry 4.0 Refer- • Cognitive Factory by example in the RFID. The production module by Bos-
ence Architecture. area of maintenance and repair. chRexroth positions a retaining spring
on the plastic lower surface. The Hart-
An industry 4.0 application case The arrow in Figure 1 indicates the flow ing assembly module presses the two
Some of the advanced Industry 4.0 fea- representing how the production process halves of the card holder together. The
tures implemented by SmartFactoryKL proceeds to make a personalized busi- Festo flexible Transport System is an
include: ness card holder: autonomous self-navigating robot sys-
tem that links the various production cells
• Standardization of hardware and ➀ SmartFactoryKL uses the proALPHA ERP based on the product information stored
software interfaces, protocols, data System to initiate the order including the in the RFID tag. The Phoenix Contact
models customer details. This is sent via Web laser engraving module now engraves
• ‘Plug-and-Produce’, enabling flexible service to the Plant Service Bus (PSB), the upper surface of the business card
production line re-configuration by based on the IBM Integration Bus. holder. The Mettler Toledo weighing mod-
fulfilling compliance standards ule and the quality control module from
• Digital product memory ➁ The Manufacturing Execution System Lapp Kabel take care of quality manage-
• Island production and flexible trans- (MES) from iTAC receives the order infor- ment of the finished product. A Man-
port systems mation via web services. With the help ual Workstation by MiniTec provides a
• Digital Twin representa- of the events distributed by PSB from manual assembly alternative if problems
tion at machine-level and and to all production modules during the occur in the automated production flow.
production-line-level process, the MES delivers the production Infrastructure Modules by TE, CISCO,
• OEE (Overall Equipment Effective- control and OEE information. The manu- Weidmüller, Belden/Hirschmann, Phoe-
ness) in real-time facturing process is triggered in paral- nix Contact and Harting supply the mod-
• Cloud-based HMI (Human-Machine lel by an event to the Storage Module ules with electrical power, data connec-
Interface) for production flow control from Pilz to request a new workpiece tivity and compressed air. All messages
• Predictive maintenance transporter. (using protocols such as OPC UA, MQTT,
• Lifecycle integration between pro- TCP/IP) between production and infra-
17.115-EBM05-IBM-EN-01.indd 3 07-09-17 16:10

structure modules and IT infrastructure ule detects a problem the PSB sends tion can therefore be predicted and steps
systems and applications are delivered an e-mail to a service technician which taken to mitigate damage.
by the Plant Services Bus with the IBM includes a link to the EPLAN electrical wir-
Integration Bus providing routing, trans- ing diagram of the failed module. Given ➈ Finally, in order to guarantee compli-
formation and mediation both for infor- this information the technician can check ance with the certification authorities, a
mation and control flow. the engineering information and make Use-Case was developed together with
good the module. TÜV Süd. This enables detection of a
➃ In order to provide continuous Con- new production line configuration, check-
ditional Monitoring, all module-initiated ➆ The so-called Repair Experience with ing of the certification procedures and
messages are displayed on a dashboard Watson app supports maintenance per- compliance verification.
generated by IBM Cognos Analytics. The sonnel to identify and correct errors in
display represents a Digital Twin of the the production machines and is IBM’s Watson IoT for Manufacturing:
complete production line showing real- approach to the cognitive Factory con- the heart of the Cognitive
time and historic data as well as any cept: A service alert prompts a service Factory
changes to the topology. technician to arrange a site visit. The In this SmartFactoryKL Demonstrator the
technician sends a photo of the damaged many capabilities of the IBM IoT as a
➄ A second cloud-based HMI is deliv- module to the Watson Visual Recognition Manufacturing platform are gradually
ered by Watson IoT to provide the pro- Service. This allows the machine and its realized. The big advantage: Watson IoT
duction flow control for all orders and faults to be identified via the error log for Manufacturing can process both struc-
show machine status of the modules via a and communicated to the service techni- tured and unstructured data in the same
dashboard implemented using IBM Blue- cian using Watson Text-to-Speech Ser- way, and also allows the broad applica-
mix. Of particular interest here is the vices. In a dialogue between Watson and tion of comprehensive Watson cognitive
speed of its implementation: just two the service technician appropriate repair technology. This makes it possible to con-
days after getting the initial idea to cre- procedures can then be defined. vert the ‘smart’ into a ‘cognitive’ factory
ate a new use case for the Hannover facility. Watson uses machine learning
industry fair in April 2017 the dashboard ➇ Data collected by the PSB can be used and deep learning methods which means
was finished and operational. The most to implement a predictive maintenance it uses feedback-based content evalua-
important contributor to this extreme schedule: Analysis of the data collected tion as well as artificial neural networks
flexibility and agility was the availabil- showed that many years ago a sporadic in order to interpret unstructured data
ity of the PSB which routed the existing motor failure in a drive system had such as speech or noise. In addition, the
data directly to the Watson IoT platform occurred in various production modules. platform offers very advanced, high-qual-
using a secure data link. What remained The reason for the failure was traced to ity prefabricated modules for specific pro-
was just visualization of commands sent physical contact occurring between two duction processes such as those used in
to the corresponding module and this conveyor belt systems, causing the two press shops and injection molding plants
was implemented very quickly. motors to experience overload and burn for example.
out. Increased energy consumption was
➅ A typical scenario demonstrating the logged during the overload phase. Based In addition, the platform allows the
lifecycle integration between produc- on machine-learning algorithms using evaluation of image captures of ultra-
tion and PLM: when a particular mod- IBM SPSS Modeler, a motor failure situa- high-definition cameras. With “Visual
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optimal control of data integrity in the
production environment.
Cisco is also a partner for edge com-

puting applications. As a result of col-
laboration between intelligent Watson
technology and Cisco’s edge analysis
technologies a combined hybrid solu-
tion for an IoT platform is produced.
This enables powerful analysis-tools
to be virtually everywhere and always
available. For example, employees who
need to monitor the condition of plants
or machinery in remote locations are
able to determine the need for main-
tenance and spare parts requirements
more precisely.
Conclusion
Key Features for Industry 4.0 / Industrial
IoT to implement a Cognitive Factory
Figure 2: Visual quality-control inspection using IBM Watson. installation are interoperability and inte-
gration capability as well as the ability
to process structured and unstructured
Inspection for Quality” (VCI, Figure 2), ways can also be configured as a local data sets such as images or speech:
inspectors in product quality control ‘MicroCloud’ in a production-oriented these capabilities will be paramount to
are able to identify and classify dam- environment. This gives the customer achieve the next step towards the Cog-
age such as tiny surface scratches or near real-time access to data as well as nitive Factory.
pin-hole sized punctures to products.
A positive side effect of this procedure
is that the cognitive system is con-
The Authors
stantly learning through feedback from
Ralf Bucksch has worked for IBM since Plamen Kiradjiev is an Industry 4.0
the inspector and is thus continuously
2011; his responsibilities include tech- Chief Architect at IBM Germany GmbH.
improving its recognition performance
nical sales in Europe covering Germa- Plamen first studied at the Technical
and the quality of the finished product.
ny, Austria and Switzerland. While at University in Sofia, and subsequently
In tests over an eight-day production
IBM he has also developed complex completed Computer Science studies
cycle a saving of up to 80 percent of
software architectures for Industry 4.0 at Hamburg University. He has been
the time originally estimated for the
applications. Previous to his appoint- with IBM professionally since 2004.
test was saved.
ment at IBM he held positions with
Edge-Computing managerial responsibilities at several
Another important component of Indus- national and international companies
try 4.0 / Industrial IoT is the possibility since 2004.
to evaluate data directly at its source Ralf studied mechanical engineering
“at the Edge”. This on-site processing at at the Baden-Wuerttemberg Coope-
the production shop floor complements rative State University in Stuttgart,
a selective, central storage of this data specializing in construction. He also
for further processing on-site or in the studied computer science at Esslin-
cloud. gen University of Applied Sciences.
This strategy by IBM is called Contain-

erization, as implemented by companies
such as Hilscher and Harting. Using this
approach and with only a few prerequi-
sites, high functionality can be achieved
on isolated systems. For example, the
new and expanded analytical properties
offered by the Harting Mica Box allow
the implementation of innovative ana-
lytical applications. In certain deploy-
ment scenarios, Edge Analytics Gate-
17.115-EBM05-IBM-EN-01.indd 5 07-09-17 16:11

Trinamic:
CANopen Servo Controller Quadruple CAN FD
on a
PCI Express Card
TRINAMIC Motion Control has unveiled the TMCM-

1633-CANopen a new, compact servo controller module
for brushless 3-phase motors with a power rating up to
300 W and powered from a supply up to 48 V. The unit is
compatible with the industry standard CANopen commu-
nication protocol.
Like all TMCM controllers, the TMCM-1633-CANopen pro-

vides a cost-effective solution. The controller takes care of
ramp computation and uses field-oriented current regulation
to drive the motor. The controller board measures 92 mm
x 50 mm and has a CAN interface, which communicates
using the CANopen profile CiA-402. The module provides a PEAK-System extends its CAN FD range and continues the
flexible and cost effective solution for decentralized control series of the PCAN-PCI Express FD with a four-channel
of BLDC or BLAC servos with up to 10A RMS continuous version. This allows computers with PCI Express slots to
current using a power supply up to 48 V. be integrated into CAN FD and CAN networks. The two
additional CAN connections three and four can be easily
According to Trinamic CEO Michael Randt „We have recently connected to the two-channel slot bracket included in
noticed a rapidly growing demand for controllers that can the scope of supply via flat-ribbon cables. Each CAN FD
communicate using the industry standard CANopen or channel can transmit a maximum of 64 data bytes of a
CANopen over EtherCAT protocol, especially from our Asian CAN FD frame with bit rates of up to 12 Mbit/s, is gal-
customers. To meet this demand we chose to expand our vanically isolated up to 500 volts, and can be provided
successful TMCM family of servo controllers with the new with a CAN termination.
TMCM-1633-CANopen.“
For Windows 10, 8.1, 7 and for Linux operating systems,
The fast Field-Oriented Control (FOC) (also known as Vec- device drivers are available. The monitoring software
tor Control) for the servo provides precise and energy- PCAN-View and the programming interface PCAN-Basic
efficient dynamic positioning. The controller inputs the for the development of applications with CAN connec-
a/b/n signals from a rotary shaft encoder with the option tion are included in the scope of delivery and support
for fast initialization by using an additional Hall sensor. The the standard CAN FD.
TMCM-1633-CANopen uses an integrated ramp controller
to generate trapezoidal acceleration profiles.
In addition to the CANopen protocol, the TMCM-1633 CANo-

pen also supports our Trinamics TMCL protocol, which
together with the TMCL IDE allows fast and convenient
parameter identification in an application. Graphical tools
and wizards guide the user through the process of param-
eterization and fine-tuning.
www.trinamic.com/motioncontrol www.peak-system.com
17.115-News-EN-02.indd 3 07-09-17 16:12

Smart Cities Including …
Very Smart Bus Shelters
The creation of a new business model is on the horizon
Study by ng Connect, edited by Elektor
For a long time bus shelters have remained virtually unchanged. Typically, they have provided a sitting area
that can be used while awaiting transportation, as well as shelter from the elements and static advertising for
both those waiting and passing by. But traditional bus shelters are quickly becoming obsolete.
New technologies and applications are now being used that enable bus shelters to be much more.
In fact, bus shelters are transforming get a perspective from users about the tive to businesses. In all cases, one of
into a foundation for the creation of new features offered and to test reactions to the first steps is to invest in ultra-broad-
business models. These new shelters are potential future capabilities. This article band infrastructure to create the com-
also one of the key elements in smart or describes the scope of the trial, presents munications network that will support
livable cities and communities. the results and key findings, and outlines smart community applications and busi-
the opportunities for future applications. ness models. Ubiquitous ultra broadband
A market trial of new, modern shelters communication is the key building block
with ultra-broadband connections was Can bus shelters really be that will enable all of the capabilities a
recently performed in Auckland, New ‘smart’? smart city can offer. It will provide the
Zealand by an Auckland consortium of All around the globe there are a number network connection at speeds required
companies, which included ng Connect of initiatives to create smart or livable to deliver the communication benefits
members Chorus, Downer, Nokia and cities and communities. Cities are plan- valued by today’s users.
Solta (for the ng Connect consortium, ning and investing to become more effi-
please see www.ngconnect.org). Dur- cient, provide a better environment for In today’s economic climate, government
ing the trial, a survey was conducted to citizens and visitors, and be more attrac- alone cannot provide all of the funding
17.115-EBM05-Nokia-EN-03.indd 1 07-09-17 16:16

required to deploy ultra-broadband and Assuming that an ultra-broadband infra-
build a smart community. Financing structure is in place, the next step on the EBM ARTICLE TAGGING
must come through public and private road to a smart community is to lever- Beginner
partnerships (PPP), and by the creation age the infrastructure to enable platforms Level: Intermediate
of new business opportunities that are that permit more things to be connected
Professional
possible with the right communication and smart. With these connected ele-
infrastructure. ments, the infrastructure can have a Product
positive impact on public administration,
Subject: Service
citizens, visitors, and workers that make
Advice
up the community. And, new business
models can be created that make a smart Trading
community economically sustainable and
self-funding.
Potential
The move to smart bus shelters Production
Outside of aesthetics, bus shelters have
Advice: Technology
remained the same for ages. Through the
Regulatory
years, they’ve provided shelter from the
sun, wind, and rain, a place to sit, and a
Theoretical
mounting surface for static advertising.
Approach: Practical
Historically, shelters have been a cost
to a transportation authority. An initial Mixed
capital investment was required to build
Website:
them. Some level of on-going expendi-
www.ngconnect.org
ture was needed for maintenance. Docu-
ments published in the US suggest that
shelters cost from $2,000 to $15,000
USD to build, and $500 to $30,000 USD shelters to advertising companies. This
annually to maintain, depending on size, new outsourced business model relieved
location, degree of vandalism, and shel- the transportation authority of the initial
ter quality. These costs have been offset capital expenditure (CAPEX) and annual
by revenue from advertising, but they operating expenditures (OPEX), and pro-
have still been net costs to the owners. vided an annual revenue stream for the
leased locations. These shelters went
Beginning about 15 years ago, many from becoming a cost to a profit cen-
communities, such as Chicago, IL, in the tre. The advertising companies benefited
US began to outsource ownership of the by being able to pocket the difference
Figure 1: The initial version of the connected shelter developed by the ng Connect members.
17.115-EBM05-Nokia-EN-03.indd 2 07-09-17 16:16

between the costs associated with build- bilities for new shelter concepts, it didn’t By allowing small cells to be mounted on
ing, maintaining, and leasing the loca- really propose much in the way of new a shelter, a city government can add a
tions and the ad revenue they generated. business models. new revenue stream to their advertising
So, a precedent was set for transporta- revenue model. And, the network pro-
tion authorities to relinquish ownership In Los Angeles, CA, JCDecaux and vider can generate new access fees from
to third parties for contractual revenue Outfront Media launched what they the owner of the shelter. The business
streams from advertising revenues. termed the “smart” bus shelter. This model also works for the mobile pro-
shelter featured a WiFi hotspot, USB vider because it can offload network traf-
The fact that shelters also served as a charging station, iBeacon and real-time fic as a way to meet increasing demand
prime location for revenue-generating digital signs displaying video and audio and avoid the expense associated with
advertising offset the costs to some transit information. While not explicitly investing in macro sites, which are more
extent. But, the shelters typically did stated, it is assumed that advertising is expensive and more difficult to deploy
not have a business model beyond sim- part of this shelter too, probably with because of the increasing challenges
Figure 2: Usage of the connected bus shelter interactive display (% of users). Figure 3: Feature desirability (% of users).
ple advertising and did not generate a some degree of dynamic capability. The associated with obtaining site approv-
positive return-on-investment. mayor hinted at a vision of future shel- als. A recent study by Bell Labs con-
ters of this type, and described them as cluded that small cell implementations
This is changing. Within the context of a “a platform capable of unlocking future offer a 55% cost advantage over macro
smart community, bus shelters equipped innovations that we can barely imagine.” expansion.
with ultra-broadband connections can
come alive, improve user experiences, The City of Paris and JCDecaux have Ultra-broadband connections
and enable new business opportunities. partnered to deploy 2,000 new, mod- What are the next set of new capabilities
ern, smart shelters. The focus of this that can arise from the ultra-broadband
How to do it? deployment is on visual design and pro- connections at bus shelters and how can
Ultra-broadband links connect a shelter viding dynamic transit information to new business models support them? As
to the network. Once the connection is in users. This is done with bigger, brighter noted earlier, a market trial of new, mod-
place, the shelter can become self-sus- screens, better maps, and user-friendly ern shelters with ultra-broadband con-
taining and perhaps even a profit genera- interfaces. While these shelters are an nections was recently performed by the
tor by delivering new services. For exam- upgrade from previous generations, transit authority and a consortium of
ple, it can serve as a host for small cells. they may be overlooking the business companies which developed the follow-
Beyond small cells, there are a number of model opportunities that can be created ing solution, including ng Connect mem-
other business opportunities that can be by providing the right set of capabilities bers Chorus, Downer, Nokia and Solta.
layered onto the broadband foundation, as basic features.
such as dynamic advertising, enhanced The first phase solution developed by the
services for users, hosting sensors, and Finally, in Amsterdam, JCDecaux in ng Connect members tested the waters
data collection and monetization options. partnership with Vodafone and Nokia for a next generation bus shelter and
With that in mind, a few projects have deployed 200 4G small cells in bus shel- introduced capabilities to users in a man-
attempted to do more with bus shelters ters. With the installation of small cells ner that did not overwhelm them with new
over the past few years. in the bus shelters, Vodafone has a way technology. The initial version of the con-
to move voice and data traffic from its nected shelter (Figure 1) consisted of:
MIT demonstrated the “interactive bus spectrum-constrained, wireless macro
stop” almost a decade ago. It provided cell access networks to improve perfor- • a new physical design;
real-time transportation information and mance, user experience and costs. But, • a Chorus broadband connection
acted as a community social networking this also creates new business model enabled by Nokia gigabit passive
platform. While suggesting a few possi- opportunities. optical network (GPON) equipment;
17.115-EBM05-Nokia-EN-03.indd 3 07-09-17 16:17

Figure 4: The traditional bus shelter business model.
• Nokia service aware routers; Downer — Downer is a leading Aus- and feel of the interface. It focused on
• interactive, touch screen displays; tralasian provider of infrastructure solu- how best to convey simple, clear mes-
• a user interface (UI) developed by tions in the transportation, communi- sages and provide the right platform for
Solta. cations, utilities, energy and industrial the transit authority to continue devel-
sectors. It is committed to providing oping the capabilities of the shelter. The
The contributors proactive managed services capabilities resulting solution uses best practices and
Each of the companies involved con- for innovative partners and clients. As leading innovation standards to emulate
tributed important elements that, when cities strive to achieve connected infra- a mobile device. It is simple and attrac-
integrated, provided the shelter with its structure, Downer works with technol- tive to explore and extremely intuitive,
design and functionality. ogy partners to develop ideas and bring but offers the right level of data.
them to life. Downer took the lead as
Chorus — New Zealand’s Ultra-Fast the project manager for the connected Nokia - The Nokia 7705 Service Aggre-
Broadband (UFB) project and the Rural bus shelter trial and took responsibil- gation Router (SAR-W) aggregates and
Broadband Initiative are unique govern- ity for delivery of the fi nal product. backhauls mobile traffic from the shel-
ment-driven plans. They are among the It managed the project deliverables, ter. Its rich feature set facilitates fixed-
most pioneering nationwide broadband budget and communications, and lever- mobile convergence, provides cost-effec-
network projects in the world. Radically aged its existing local and international tive scaling and supports the transfor-
improving universality and affordability of relationships to ensure seamless pro- mation to Internet Protocol/Multiprotocol
broadband services, these infrastructure vision of a quality smart city service. (IP/MPLS) networking. Utilities, resource,
projects will provide fiber-to-the-home With its extensive experience in col- transportation and government/military
(FTTH) and wireless broadband access laborative contracting and partnering, networks benefit from the 7705 SAR’s
to businesses, schools, and hospitals, as Downer merged the capabilities of the legacy service support, quality of service
well as rural and remote areas, to ensure seven consortium members and numer- options, security and reliability. In this
that most of New Zealand’s 4.6 million ous suppliers to produce an excellent trial, the Nokia 7705 SAR-W was used as
citizens will have fast broadband regard- industry collaboration and valued smart a ruggedized outdoor networking termi-
less of their location. The Rural Broad- city project. nation device that allowed for the direct
band Initiative is a powerful example of a connection of bus shelter applications and
successful PPP project. It involves Crown Solta NZ — Solta created the extensible tenants. The 7705 SAR-W allowed Chorus
Fiber Holdings, Chorus, and Nokia, as software platform for the two interactive to deliver innovative new services that
trusted technology partners. screens in the shelter, including the look went beyond the baseline service set
17.115-EBM05-Nokia-EN-03.indd 4 07-09-17 16:17

offered by UFB today. Moving forward
these services could include mobile back-
haul for the deployment of small cells
on shelters for mobile service providers,
such as Spark, Vodafone or 2 Degrees,
as well as RS-232 services for traffic light
controller direct backhaul connectivity,
and power over Ethernet (PoE)-enabled
closed-circuit television (CCTV) services,
where the camera powering is provided
directly by the 7705 SAR-W.
A good way to envision potential business

models based on this data is to think in
terms of layers. The first layer is based
on the traditional bus shelter business
model, which is the model under which
the shelter was deployed (Figure 4). In
this model, the city transit authority owns
the shelter, Downer builds and installs
it, and the city transit authority receives
revenue from an advertising agency who
manages the static advertising.
The next business model shows the “con-

nected layer” (Figure 5). Alternatively,
this layer can be viewed as the future
base layer. In this model, the shelter is
Figure 5: Future bus shelter business model, connected platform layer. connected to the Chorus UFB broadband
Figure 6: Future bus shelter business model advertising layer.
17.115-EBM05-Nokia-EN-03.indd 5 07-09-17 16:18

Figure 7: Future bus shelter business model, sensors and data layer.
network via a Nokia service aware router. cost savings relative to deployments of business model of the future. This adver-
Mobile service providers install small cells larger sites. Therefore, mobile operators tising model is dynamic and interactive,
to cover increased demand, provide bet- are willing to pay a monthly fee to mount and opens up new advertising opportu-
ter performance and improve the user their equipment on the shelter. nities from local businesses. Users have
experience. Such small cell deployments an enhanced experience and the shel-
have been demonstrated to afford a 55% Figure 6 shows the advertising layer or ter provides a base from which higher
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17.115-EBM05-Nokia-EN-03.indd 6 07-09-17 16:18

The ng Connect Programme
The ng Connect Programme brings
innovative companies together to
collaborate on solution concepts,
business models and market
trials. The programme has built an
ecosystem that enables member
companies to develop new products
and services faster, and with a
higher profile to customers. ng
Connect was developed to create the
next generation of ultra-broadband
end user experiences that no single
Figure 8: Potential additions to a connected bus shelter that will enable more business
company can rapidly achieve alone.
models.
Working together, members develop,
validate and showcase new concepts
and develop business models that
their sensors, for the owner to connect Interactive signs can adopt kiosk-like
create paths to new revenue for the
sensors, collect data and sell access to capabilities that enable revenue-generat-
entire value chain.
the data, as well as for a city transit ing features. Sensors can be mounted in
authority to mount sensors and use them a similar manner as small cells to enable
to monitor traffic, security, the environ- the collection, analysis, and monetization
ment, and more. During the trial, we of data by allowing access to paying third
value, targeted advertising can be pre- successfully deployed a low-cost, single parties. Alternatively, sensor owners can
sented. Again, the city transit authority board computer running a WiFi device simply lease the space if they want the
is shown at the centre and is the owner sensing application to count the number data to remain private.
of the shelter. But, as the value of the of mobile devices present and, based on
physical shelter increases due to ultra- length of presence, their associated dwell As potential business model opportuni-
broadband capabilities, so does the busi- time. These types of analytics can be ties are identified, a broader set of com-
ness models where third parties become useful to the transit authority in a variety panies interested in owning and operat-
the owners and managers of the shelter, of areas, such as assessing advertising ing shelters may emerge. For example,
while the city transit authority can cap- revenue potential and other operational transportation authorities may be able to
ture a steady revenue stream without insights. outsource ownership and let others incur
the hassle of ownership. the cost and risk, while they continue to
Figure 8 shows potential additions to collect a predictable revenue stream. As
Local shops the shelter beyond the basic examples noted above, an ultra-broadband con-
An enhanced services layer business on which the trial was based. nection to the shelter opens up a whole
model is also possible. This business world of additional revenue opportunities
model could be based on the interactive Conclusion beyond advertising.
signage becoming kiosk-like in capability. With the basic functionality used for
This would allow users to interact and the trial in place, a next iteration of Meanwhile, in New Zealand, the ecosys-
make transactions based on ticket pur- a connected bus shelter can begin to tem involved in the trial is interested in
chases, dynamic offer purchases, or other add the features that are enabled by exploring additional capabilities and test-
revenue-generating actions. The interac- the Chorus ultra-fast broadband (UFB) ing the associated business models for
tions could begin from the signage and connection and the associated business the connected bus shelter solution con-
move to the user’s mobile device. This model opportunities. As noted earlier, a cept. It is also interested in extending
could be useful for visitors who may need foundational revenue generating oppor- the concept in a multi-modal framework
help routing through modes of transport tunity lies with mobile service provid- to include buses, trains, trolleys, ferries,
to determine what to see and when. And, ers. As wireless demand increases in and other modes of transportation.
this possibility ties in with the survey cities, mobile operators must keep up
results that indicated 44% of users would with the traffic and manage the user
be interested in transferring information experience. The bus shelter owner can
from the display to their smart device. rent pre-certified mounting space for
small cells and offload wireless traffic
Finally, Figure 7 shows the sensors and using the ultra-broadband connection.
data layer. This layer can include a mul- At the same time, advertising can move
titude of sensor types and a number of from static ads that change infrequently
potential business models, including the to dynamic ads that change based on
option to charge a monthly fee to per- contextual information.
mit third parties to mount and connect
17.115-EBM05-Nokia-EN-03.indd 7 07-09-17 16:19

AMBER wireless World’s First
Unveils AMB2621 Bluetooth Fully Integrated RFID-
Smart Module Enabled Cable Ties
Small, energy-saving and easy to integrate
AMBER wireless GmbH, a Würth Elektronik eiSos Group RFID and IoT pacesetter Smartrac has announced its Ratch tag prod-
company, offers an extremely compact and energy-saving uct line, the first RFID-enabled cable ties with fully integrated RFID
wireless module - the AMB2621 Bluetooth Smart module. A tags. Available for both HF and UHF frequency bands, Smartrac Ratch
special feature: Besides standard control with UART com- tags are ideal for the tagging and asset control of critical equipment
mands, smartphones or other devices can be connected in applications such as lifting, automotive wiring and supply chain,
to form a module by initializing with the “peripheral only” offshore operations or entertainment and stage rigging.
operating mode.
There have been RFID-enabled cable ties on the market before – but
AMB2621 is a 2.4 GHz BLE radio module with dimensions they use transponders that are somehow fixed to the cable tie. Instead,
of just 11 x 8 x 1.8 mm, compliant with the Bluetooth Smartrac has securely concealed the RFID component on the inside
Smart 4.2 Standard. The firmware supports the “peripheral surface of the tag housing. This ensures that the transponder unit is
only” operating mode allowing easy expansion of existing bonded within the housing and mechanically retained within a Nylon
hardware with the BLE interface. Thanks to this operat- material engineered for extreme durability and strength. This high-
ing mode, it is also especially energy-saving as the UART quality crystalline polyamide material supports the product’s use in
(Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter) interface some of the most demanding of industrial environments, while the
is only active once a wireless connection is established. single-use ratchet mechanism helps to prevent easy removal, and
In its default state, this mode provides static key pairing decreases the risk of unseen tampering.
and a transparent UART interface. In use, this may mean
that pairing is initiated from a mobile device, for example The robustness of Ratch tag makes this a go-to product for a multitude
to control building technology. of application environments such as lifting operation safety, offshore
construction work, automotive wiring and supply chain, or entertain-
ment and stage rigging. Other application areas include high-value
audit and safety-critical inspection work in many areas, like medical
equipment and test-tube tracking, safety harness and lifejacket audit
and control, or industrial subassembly tracking.
Equipped with ICs from leading manufacturers, Smartrac Ratch

tags are available in high volumes for HF and UHF (RAIN RFID)
frequency bands, ensuring best-in-class performance on different
materials. In both bands, a focused and short read range ensures
single-tag detection, and effectively eliminates multiple tag reads.
An NFC-compatible version is being developed to broaden the num-
ber of use cases and provide greater compatibility with emerging
reader technologies.
Currently available in discreet black or highly visible yellow, Ratch tag

comes in a 195mm x 4.6mm format for the cable tie element, with a
width of 8.5mm for the transponder part. These dimensions make it
the most versatile RFID-enabled cable tie on the market..
www.amber-wireless.de/de/amb2621.html www.smartrac-group.com
17.115-News-EN-02.indd 5 07-09-17 16:20

Baseboard Design for SMARC 2.0
from start line to finish
By Daniel Stadler (B.Eng.), Hardware Engineer congatec Technical Solution Center
So you have a good idea, but you can’t implement it because it would be too much for a small
microcontroller? Does your idea need performance horsepower to get your application up and running?
Are you wondering what you want to develop yourself and which off-the-shelf components you should buy?
This article describes the typical factors to be considered and steps to be taken so that your idea can take the
driver’s seat in a computer-on-module (COM) design and make it to the podium.
If the computer element is only a means which service technicians can operate a in production, fabrication, or the general
to an end, why not try one of the industrial machine or robot from any position. The Industry 4.0 environment. We could equip
computer-on-module (COM) standards? highlight of our device will be the scope our HMI with a dictation function and dic-
Just plug in the high-power engine for your for variants. Succinct geometries for a tate reports on location. The speech input
project with a computer module and accel- pleasant grip, performance paired with low and output possibility puts us beyond the
erate your baseboard design. You do the power, and various technical tidbits such as realm of the typical HMI. Our device will
fine-tuning of your application yourself. wireless connection to the network, con- be based on a “homebrew” PC.
Exit the pit lane and enter the test circuit at nections for mouse and keyboard, charg-
high speed. Professional tools are on hand. ing via USB, internal display, and connec- Your personal computer unlike
tion options for screen, loudspeaker, and any other PC
The idea microphone. With our mobile HMI, we have I’m sure you have unscrewed your PC
In our virtual PC workshop, we want to an unobstructed view of the process and and raised it to a new level with a plug-
build a battery-operated, mobile HMI with keep a tight hold on the steel assistants in card. However, at the latest during an
17.115-EBM05-Congatic-EN-03.indd 1 07-09-17 16:22

upgrade or exchange of the CPU, the situ- specific carrier board. The computer mod-
ation becomes critical. The CPU is usually ule contains the processor with all of its EBM ARTICLE TAGGING
soldered on, and additional hurdles in the vital peripherals. Most interface circuitry Beginner
form of BIOS or compatibility issues with is situated on the module, including PCI Level: Intermediate
existing interfaces bring the project to a Express, Ethernet, SATA, display inter-
Professional
halt. How can you realize the dream of faces, general purpose I/O, and simi-
having your very own personal computer? lar interfaces. The interfaces are routed Product
Subject: Service
Advice
SMARC 2.0
Trading
2x Gigabit Ethernet
eSPI
4x PCIe Potential
HDA / 2x I2S
LVDS 2x24 / eDP / MIPI DSI Production

2x MIPI CSI Advice: Technology
HDMI & DP++ Regulatory
1x SATA
6x USB 2.0 / 2x USB 3.0 Theoretical

12x GPIO / SDIO Approach: Practical
4x SER / CAN
Mixed
SPI / I2C
Power Website:
www.congatec.com
COM Express Type 7
Gigabit Ethernet
4x USB 3.0
LPC / eSPI
32x PCIe
2x SATA
4x USB 2.0
8x GPIO / SDIO 4x 10GBaseKR
2x SER / CAN
SPI & I2C
Power Power
Figure 1: Comparison of functionalities in COM Express, Qseven and SMARC 2.0, Source: SMARC 2.0 Figure 2: Board size comparison.
White Paper, page 6.Figure 7. Audio circuit diagram.
baseboard design a fun development

A home-built PC with only those interfaces to the appropriate ports on the carrier activity with a smooth learning curve.
that you really want with the option of board. The application-specific circuit Reference designs and the associated
exchanging the CPU with relative ease as parts are accommodated on the carrier schematics, application notes, drivers,
soon as a more powerful one or one with board. When designing your carrier board, operating systems, and module-specific
a better balance between power consump- you decide which of the electrically avail- BIOS are available to help you get off to a
tion and performance appears on the mar- able computer properties you actually flying start. If your rollout ends up in the
ket. A design centered around the CPU is need and which extensions you want to gravel trap, you can go to the congatec
difficult. Close contact to the chip manu- develop. Have a look at [1] for congatec’s training camp for in-depth design-in train-
facturers is needed for this. With COMs, tips on choosing the right computer. ing or make use of the services provided
you can still reach the highest class and at cost by the Technical Solution Center
create your own PC design. From go-kart to Formula 1 (TSC), see the two insets on TSC.
The industry regards COMs as a com-
General Computer-on-Module mon and low-risk way of accomplishing Checklist of General
concept complex development tasks with few Considerations
Put very simply, the computer module is resources. It focuses on its own core com- We begin the formation lap with a few
a small circuit board that is plugged into petency. Thanks to its well-equipped tool- general considerations. Where does our
a standard connector on an application- kit, module manufacturer congatec makes device have to perform? What should it be

12. Will the acquired knowledge be valu-
TSC Design-In Services TSC Documentation able careerwise and not just because
of the fun factor?
• Signal Integrity Simulation • User‘s Guides for congatec
• Signal Integrity Measurement products
Computer-on-Module concepts
(PCIe, SATA, USB, etc.) • Application Notes (AN)
Various module standards have become
• Pre-Compliance Measurement • Tech Notes (CTN)
established on the market over the last
• Schematic Review • Design Guides
approximately 15 years. The most rel-
• Layout Review • Reference Schematics
evant computer-on-module standards are
• Debugging & Bring-Up Support • Product Change Notification
COM Express, SMARC, and Qseven. An
• BIOS Customization
overview is given in Figure 1 textwise
• Power Consumption and
and Figure 2 as images.
Performance Comparisons
• EMC Measurement
COM Express has been on the mar-
• Thermal Solutions and Support
ket since 2005 and offers the highest
• Driver and OS Support
degree of scalability. Over time vari-
• MTBF Calculation
ous pinout types, including Type 6 and
Type 7, have come to be defined. The
server-on-module implementation “COM
Express Type 7” represents the high-
end COM. The COM Express Mini Module
SMARC 2.0
Connector
(84 x 55 mm) is the smallest module in
314 Gold Edge stuffing option this standard.
LVDS_A / eDP0 / DSI0 eDP to LVDS eDP
NXP PTN3460 Intel Apollo Lake
Qseven is available with diverse x86 and
DSI0 LPDDR4 2400MT/s Onboard
LVDS_B / eDP1 / DSI1 LPDDR4 Memory
stuffing option
DDI0
COMPUTE UNIT
DP++ (DP0)
stuffing option PROCESSOR CORE
ARM low-power processors for the pro-
DDI1
cess and field levels. At 70 x 70 mm, the
HDMI LS Tri-gate 3-D 14nm Quad core SoC
HDMI/DP1
NXP PTN3366 1MB L2 cache shared by 2 cores
PCIe Port 0
module dimensions are relatively small.
x1 usage only if GBE1 or WiFi not stuffed - else x2 usage Core #1 Core #2
PCIe Port 1
PCIe Port 2 x1 usage only if GBE1 or WiFi disabled - else x4 usage
Core #3 Core #4
PCIe Port 3 only x4 usage eMMC 5.0
SSE4.2 AES VTx-2 VT-d SSD
PCIe to GBE
Ethernet 0 Intel I210 | l211
Ethernet 1 PCIe to GBE
Intel I210 | l211
SoC TRANSACTION ROUTER SMARC 2.0 is the perfect standard
between Qseven and COM Express and
low power
USB 2.0 Port 2x USB 2.0 DISPLAY & GRAPHICS

USB 3.0 Port 2x USB 3.0 Intel® Gen9
MEMORY CONTROLLER
2x USB 2.0 Interfaces

USB 2.0 Port
DisplayPort HDMI/DVI eDP closes the gap separating server-like
high performance
4 bit SD v3
SD/SDIO
CSI0 x4 MPEG-2
Multimedia Features
VP9 HDCP
high-end performance and minimum
CSI 1 USB2.0
dimensions. Both SMARC 2.0 and Qseven
H.264 PAVP 2.0 MVC
CSI1 x2 PCIe5 or PCIe2 WiFi BT
CSI 0 DirectX 12 OpenGL 4.3 OpenGLES 3.0
OpenCL 2.0
HDA I2S2
HDA / I2S6
I2S2
permit the use of energy-saving SoC pro-
I2S0
INTEGRATED I/O
Integrated I/O Interfaces
cessors based on both ARM and x86 pro-
SATA 6G/s
cessor technologies. This allows products
SATA Port 0 SATA USB 2.0 USB 3.0
UART
SER0 / SER2 PCIe UART GPIOs
SSPI
ESPI
SPI
FSPI
HD Audio SPI PCU with low power consumption to be real-
BIOS ized. The SMARC Short has dimensions of
CAN Bus
I2C_PM
SMBus
LPC
TPM 50 x 82 mm; however, greater function-
I²C
I2C_GP
SER1/SER3
UART congatec ality and a higher computing power are
GPIO GPIO Board Controller
PWR Control PWR Ctrl
FAN Ctrl
housed on the 82 x 80 mm of the full-size
Fan Control
variants of the SMARC standard. SMARC
2.0 has cleared away the various obso-
lete interfaces of the SMARC 1.1 pre-
Figure 3: From the conga-SA5 datasheet. decessor version, adding a number of
technical treats in their place.
able to do? Are we targeting an off-road 5. How much computing power does Qualifying for the Module
race, a qualifying session, the Grand Prix, the device require? Trophy
or the entry-level class? Will a mountain 6. Which interfaces are absolutely Our virtual race director selected the
race on a gravel track or a long-distance necessary? SMARC 2.0 Short with an Intel® Atom®
rally await our device? This determines 7. What will the environmental condi- Apollo Lake processor for our premium-
which module is the optimally suited one. tions be? Will the device be used out- class battery-driven mobile HMI. Through
door, or will it be a mobile device in the well-known x86 technology of the
1. Which idea should be realized? a vehicle? Atom® Apollo Lake, our device does its laps
2. Which module concepts are 8. Should the device be battery-operated? on a familiar home PC track and could also
available? 9. Where can you get the components? keep up with Linux. Fans of ARM technol-
3. Which one is appropriate for the 10.W h i c h S W a n d H W s u p p o r t i s ogy will have to wait a little while until
application? available? ARM-based SMARC 2.0 modules become
4. How much space is available? 11. Which other tools are there? available. Here, the standard module con-

M.2
+V3.3S +V3.3A
+V1.8A
FB11 X11 +V3.3_M2 R85 np Do Not Stuff
FBD90R0A33S05D R88 R1%0R0S05
4 3 2
4 USB4+ USB4+_CM M.2 Slot 1 - SDIO Pinout VCC_3P3
3 4 C76 C77 C75
USB4-_CM USB_D+ Key E VCC_3P3
5
R89 1 2 5 72 C100nS02V16X C10uS03V10X C22uS05V6X
4 USB4- USB_D- VCC_3P3
R1%10k0S02 74
VCC_3P3
3 4 SDIO_W AKE#_M2_1V8 +V5S 47 62 NFC_ALERT#_1V8
4,7,8 PCIE_W AKE# X10 4 PCIE_B_CLK+ PCIE_REFCLK+ ALERT#_1P8 I2C_CLK_M2
T5B 49 60 R90 R5%0R0S02
SMB
4 PCIE_B_CLK- PCIE_REFCLK- I2C_CLK_1P8 I2C_DAT_M2 PM_I2C_CLK_S 10,15
TNTZD3154N 1 58 R91 R5%0R0S02
USB4-_CM 1 I2C_DAT_1P8 PM_I2C_DAT_S 10,15
R87 2 5 PCIE_B_RX+_M2 41
R86 R5%0R0S02 UART_M2_W AKE# R5%0R0S02 USB4+_CM 3 2 43 PCIE_RX0+
3 5 PCIE_B_RX-_M2 PCIE_RX0-
4 71 R92 np Do Not Stuff
PCIe0
USB4_EN_OC#_HDR 4 np RSVD/PCIE_REFCLK1+ np I2C_CLK 4,10,15
5 5 PCIE_B_TX+_M2 35 73 R93 Do Not Stuff
4 USB4_EN_OC# 5 PCIE_TX0+ RSVD/PCIE_REFCLK1- I2C_DAT 4,10,15
5 PCIE_B_TX-_M2 37
most of standard 5-pin USB Do Not Stuff PCIE_TX0- 65
P C I e1
headers short pin 4 and 5. for testing PU on module 55 RSVD/PCIE_RX1+ 67
Unstuff R308 in this case purpose only 4,7,8 PCIE_W AKE# PEWAKE0#_3P3 RSVD/PCIE_RX1-
53
52 CLKREQ0#_3P3 59
4 PCIE_B_RST# PERST0#_3P3 RSVD/PCIE_TX1+ 61
RSVD/PCIE_TX1-
SDIO_CLK_M2_1V8 9
SDIO_CMD_M2_1V8 11 SDIO_CLK_1P8 68
+V1.8A +V3.3A SDIO_D0_M2_1V8 13 SDIO_CMD_1P8 UIM_PWR_SNK/CLKREQ1# 66
UIM
SDIO_D1_M2_1V8 15 SDIO_DAT0_1P8 UIM_SWP/PERST1# 70
SDIO_D2_M2_1V8 17 SDIO_DAT1_1P8 UIM_PWR_SRC/GPIO1/PEWAKE1#
SDIO
R94 SDIO_D3_M2_1V8 19 SDIO_DAT2_1P8 +V3.3S
SDIO_RESET#_M2_1V8 SDIO_DAT3_1P8
5
R1%4k7S02 R95 R5%0R0S02 23 44

4,14 RESET_OUT# SDIO_W AKE#_M2_1V8 SDIO_RESET#_1P8 COEX3_1P8 LED2#_M2 D11 LED2#_M2_R
21 46 DLED0603YEL R97 R1%220RS02
SDIO_WAKE#_1P8 COEX2_1P8 48
SMB_ALERT#_1V8 3 4SMB_ALERT#_ISO 1 6 SMB_ALERT# COEX1_1P8 50 LED1#_M2 D12 DLED0603YEL LED1#_M2_R R98 R1%220RS02
C O MM
4 SMB_ALERT#_1V8 SMB_ALERT# 14 SUSCLK_3P3
T6B T6A 8 16 max. 9mA
4 I2S0_CLK PCM_CLK/I2S_SCK_1P8 LED2#_OD M11
TNTZD3154N TNTZD3154N 10 6 max. 9mA
4 I2S0_LRCLK PCM_SYNC/I2S_WS_1P8 LED1#_OD
12 54 PU on M.2 card W DISABLE2#
I2S
+V3.3S 4 I2S0_SDIN PCM_IN/I2S_SDI_1P8 W_DISABLE2#_3P3 ON
14 56 PU on M.2 card W DISABLE1# 1 1 4 M11:
+V3.3S 4 I2S0_SDOUT PCM_OUT/I2S_SDO_1P8 W_DISABLE1#_3P3 1 - W_DISABLE1# ON/OFF
2 3 2 - W_DISABLE2# ON/OFF
2
UART_M2_TXD 32 1
DCDS2C05GTA
DCDS2C05GTA
UART_M2_RXD UART_TXD_1P8 GND
2
R96 22 7
R1%10k0S02 UART_M2_RTS 36 UART_RXD_1P8 GND 18
UART_RTS_1P8 GND MDIPSW 2
UART
UART_M2_CTS 34 33 +V3.3S
D14
D13
SMB_ALERT# 6 1 UART_M2_W AKE# 20 UART_CTS_1P8 GND 39
SMB_ALERT#_3V3S 6 UART_WAKE#_3P3 GND
T5A 45
TNTZD3154N GND 51
64 GND 57 R99
M38 RSVD GND
MSTANDOFF_NGFF_2MM45_SMT 42 63 R1%100kS02
C78 +V3.3S P37 40 VENDOR_DEF3 GND 69
C100nS02V16X 38 VENDOR_DEF2 GND 75 M2_CARD_PRSNT#
VENDOR_DEF1 GND
U9 MSCREW _M3x4MM_DIN7985 XPCIE_M2_4MM2_E_3030

8 16 M.2 1630
GND VCC
1
M.2 2230
4 2 UART_M2_TXD M.2 3030
4 SER2_TX 1A 1B1
7 5 UART_M2_RXD
4 SER2_RX 2A 2B1 UART_M2_RTS
4 SER2_RTS 9 11
12 3A 3B1 14 UART_M2_CTS
4 SER2_CTS 4A 4B1
M2_CARD_PRSNT# 1 3
S 1B2 SER2_TX_SW 14
15 6 SER2_RX_SW 14
OE_N 2B2 10
3B2 SER2_RTS_SW 14
17 13 SER2_CTS_SW 14
TP 4B2
U74CBTLV3257_QFN16
Figure 4: Socket 1-SD (Key E) Reference Design.
SH14_M.2_SSD_WIFI M.2 SSD (SATA) M.2 SSD (PCIE)

X17 VCC3V3 C220 C10uS03V16X X40 VCC3V3 C221 C10uS03V16X
M.2 socket 3 C222 C1u0S02V25X C223
1 2 C224 C10nS02V10X 1
M.2 socket 3 2
C1u0S02V25X
GND 3.3V C225 C10nS02V10X
3 4 C226 C10nS02V10X 3 GND 3.3V 4
GND 3.3V C227 C10nS02V10X
5 6 5 GND 3.3V 6
7 PERN3 NC2 8 4 PEG_RX_N3 PERN3 NC2
PERP3 4 PEG_RX_P3 7 8
9 NC3 10 PERP3 NC3
GND M2_SATA_LED# 13 9 10
11 DAS/DSS# 12 GND DAS/DSS# M2_NVME_LED# 13
PETN3 4 PEG_TX_N3 11 12
13 3.3V 14 PETN3 3.3V
PETP3 4 PEG_TX_P3 13 14
15 3.3V 16 PETP3 3.3V
GND 15 16
17 3.3V 18 C228 C10uS03V16X GND 3.3V
PERN2 4 PEG_RX_N2 17 18 C229 C10uS03V16X
19 3.3V 20 C230 C100nS02V16X PERN2 3.3V
PERP2 4 PEG_RX_P2 19 20 C231 C100nS02V16X
21 NC4 22 C232 C10nS02V10X PERP2 NC4
GND 21 22 C233 C10nS02V10X
23 NC5 24 GND NC5
25 NC6 26 PETN2 NC6
PETP2 4 PEG_TX_P2 25 26
27 NC7 28 PETP2 NC7
GND 27 28
29 NC8 30 GND NC8
PERN1 4 PEG_RX_N1 29 30
31 NC9 32 PERN1 NC9
PERP1 4 PEG_RX_P1 31 32
33 NC10 34 PERP1 NC10
GND 33 34
35 NC11 36 GND NC11
37 NC12 38 M2_SATA_DEVSLP PETN1 NC12
PETP1 TP39 4 PEG_TX_P1 37 38 M2_NVME_DEVSLP
39 DEVSLP 40 PETP1 DEVSLP TP40
GND 39 40
41 NC13 42 M2_NVME_RX_N0 GND NC13
3 SATA2_RX_P PERN0/SATA_B+ 41 42
43 NC14 44 M2_NVME_RX_P0 PERN0/SATA_B+ NC14
3 SATA2_RX_N PERP0/SATA_B- 43 44
45 NC15 46 PERP0/SATA_B- NC15
GND 45 46
47 NC16 48 M2_NVME_TX_N0 GND NC16
3 SATA2_TX_N PETN0/SATA_A- 47 48
49 NC17 50 M2_NVME_TX_P0 PETN0/SATA_A- NC17
3 SATA2_TX_P PETP0/SATA_A+ 49 50 M2_NVME_RST#
51 PERST#/NC 52 PETP0/SATA_A+ PERST#/NC M2_NVME_RST# 8
GND CLKREQ#/NC 51 52 PCIE1_CLKREQ# PCIE1_CLKREQ# R168 np
53 54 53 GND CLKREQ#/NC 54 M2_NVME_W AKE# PCIE1_CLKREQ# 7
REFCLKN PEWAKE#/NC 7 PCIE1_CLK_N R169 np R5%0R0S02
55 56 55 REFCLKN PEWAKE#/NC 56 PCIE_W AKE# 3,8,14
REFCLKP NC18 7 PCIE1_CLK_P R5%0R0S02
57 58 57 REFCLKP NC18 58
GND NC19 GND NC19
KEY M KEY M
67 68 C234 C10uS03V16X 67 68 C235 C10uS03V16X
R170 np M2_SATA_PEDET 69 NC1 (32K)SUSCLK 70 M2_NVME_PEDET NC1 (32K)SUSCLK
C236 C1u0S02V25X R171 np 69 70 C237 C1u0S02V25X
R5%0R0S02 71 PEDET 3.3V VCC3V3 PEDET 3.3V
72 C238 C10nS02V10X R5%0R0S02 71 72 C239 C10nS02V10X
73 GND 3.3V 74 GND 3.3V
C240 C10nS02V10X 73 74 C241 C10nS02V10X
75 GND 3.3V GND 3.3V
GND 75
GND
XPCIE_M2_4MM2_2242_M XPCIE_M2_4MM2_2280_M
Figure 5: SSD interface circuit diagram.
cept scores points due to the lightning This is one reason why the congatec mod- track, this qualifying point goes to SMARC
speed at which conversion to a different ule has captured the pole position. 2.0. For the project, a decision has to be
processor generation or technology can be made regarding the housing. Standard
accomplished. A brief pit stop, old module Dimensions and Space housings are available on the market,
out, and new module in. The standard has The SMARC 2.0 Short is dimensioned but an in-house version and a 3D-printed
clearly defined the interfaces. Conversion similar to a Qseven module and was version are options for our ergonomic
to the full-size module is even possible built for the upper performance class of design. The geometry of our baseboard
because the connector, as the transition the small form factor design. Although depends on the housing dimensions.
to the carrier board, remains the same. slightly longer than the Qseven, at
We can start our design with the Apollo 50 x 82 mm, the SMARC module also Interfaces
Lake and switch to the most recent proces- has a slightly lower height. The mod- Characteristics of our special-class
sor generation later. To ensure a smooth ules are a finely coordinated mixture of mobile HMI:
changeover, congatec delivers all neces- size, performance, and power consump- • Wireless network connectivity
sities, such as BIOS, drivers, and similar, tion. Because a perfectly balanced fireball • Hard drive for operating system
with the respective module (Figure 3). can be moved easily and rapidly on the • Connections for mouse and keyboard

Realization
• W
ireless connectivity to the
network either directly from the
module or via M.2 Socket 1 Key E
• Storage for BIOS eMMC 5.0
onboard flash with up to
64 gigabytes
• Connections for mouse and
keyboard – two USB 2.0 ports
• 11.6-inch internal display – eDP1
• Connection options for external
monitor with USB-C with power
delivery
• Battery solution – Conga SBM3
• Charging via USB-C with power
delivery
• SMARC module connector
• Reset
• Power supply
carrier board. M.2 cards can be connected

via PCIe, SATA, USB, DisplayPort, SDIO,
UART, or I2C. With M.2, different sockets
are defined depending upon the applica-
tion. Socket 1 is the so-called connectivity
socket and is typically used for Wi-Fi. Each
socket has a mechanical “key.” If you want
to use M.2 cards, then you take an M.2
card with key E, which is connected to the
host system via PCIe and USB. The circuit
diagrams for congatec’s evaluation carrier
board are available for this. However, we
decide to go with the easy solution, the
SA5 x7i3950 with wireless connector sol-
dered onto the module. In other words,
the possibility of detachment, loosening,
or popping out can be ruled out. Sturdy
robustness by design. An HMI for rugged
male hands, a rough course, and brutal
handling. Figure 4.
SSD Hard Drive for Operating Sys-

tem. For the operating system, we can
Figure 6: HDA circuit diagram. use either an M.2 card or the eMMC 5.0
onboard flash with its up to 64 gigabytes.
The onboard flash is the more robust of
• Connections for microphone and Wireless Connection to Network. Wire- the two. If you prefer the M.2 card solu-
loudspeaker less LAN can be realized in different ways. tion, take the PCIe variant, Socket 3 (Key
• 11.6-inch internal display with touch The hardcore variant would be to develop M) for SSDs because PCIe has become
control this functionality yourself with a wireless the primary bus. With the new processors
• Connection options for external chip on the carrier board. The compar- supporting an ever-increasing number of
monitor for service monitoring atively easy solution would be to select PCIe lanes, its use will increase.
• Battery solution the high-end conga SA5 x7i3950 module
• Charging via USB with Intel Atom® x7-E3950 processor, on SATA’s days are numbered and this inter-
which the wireless connection is already face will soon be out of the race. PCIe
Let’s have a look at the interfaces derived implemented. An exciting middle ground is the current point-to-point serial bus
from this. between these two solutions uses com- for very fast data transfer. If you want
mercially available WLAN M.2 cards on the to delve deeper into PCIe, you can find

Figure 7: Audio circuit diagram.
more information on the website at camera interfaces as well as an audio inter- Connection Options for Monitor. The
www.pci-sig.org. The circuit diagram is face via HDA or I2S. eDP is the well-known HDMI interface can only be used with
given in Figure 5. LVDS successor. Admittedly, LVDS displays a license. More information on this can
are currently still cheaper than eDP dis- be found at www.hdmi.org. For this rea-
Mouse and Keyboard. We provide a plays. We provide an eDP1 interface for the son, we use USB Type-C. The definition
standard USB 2.0 port for each of the internal display of our HMI on our base- of USB Type-C was extended to include
mouse and the keyboard. The USB host board because it is the more recent stan- transmission of display data, in addition
bus connector utilizes 4 pins, a power dard. The backlight design depends on the to normal USB data. Moreover, adapters
supply (5 V), a differential pair (D+ and display. LCD displays with multiple sets of for directly connecting an HDMI device to
D- pins) and a ground pin. The USB ID on LED strips are available for the backlight. the USB Type-C port are available. The
the fifth pin is initially irrelevant for our Ready-made solutions for power supply USB-C pinout is given in Figure 8, the
application. Our SMARC USB1 and USB2 and control of the backlight are provided schematic in Figure 9.
are defined as the hosts. To enhance the in the SMARC 2 module design guide. Ven-
robustness of our design, we give the dors such as Texas Instruments and Ana- Battery Solution. Next we consider the
USB ports rubber dust covers. log Devices supply suitable components. power concept and analyze the power
budget for the different power rails.
Internal Display with Touch Control. Audio. For our audio part, we decide to Some elements expect a 5-V and oth-
Impressive features of the SMARC 2.0 go with the HDA interface (Figure 6) ers a 12-V or 3.3-V supply. We first enter
modules are their up-to-date multimedia and an HD audio codec (Figure 7). We the various supply voltages, the so-called
capabilities. Up to four video outputs are base our development on the correspond- power rails, into a list with worst-case
possible; two 24-bit LVDS/eDP/MIPI DSI ing section of the circuit diagram for the assumptions. This gives us an overview
plus HDMI/DP++ and DP++ are imple- evaluation board. Normal audio jacks are of the required power, which forms the
mented. Added to this are two MIPI CSI-2 used for headphones and microphone. basis for dimensioning of our supply. The

design guide contains a sample table with
a hypothetical power budget. The SMARC
2.0 standard defines 3-V and 5.25-V
modules. The congatec module expects
a stable supply of 5 V. IC solutions, e.g.,
from Linear Technology are available for
voltage supply and battery management.
If we generate all of the necessary volt-
ages with switching regulators, we can
keep track of the efficiency. Because our
primary source is a battery, which means
that it can certainly fluctuate, we take
the upper and lower voltage extremes
into account in our calculation. It is a
good idea to keep an eye on the power
rise time. The rise in input voltage to the
module should remain well below 50 V/ Figure 8: USB-C pinout.
ms. An FET and a hot-swap controller
in the input voltage path function here
as the safety car to brake the voltage SBM3 battery management system. This schematics, and documentation. It was
ramp-up. Additional information on the optimized reference design for mobile originally developed for Qseven and low-
supply design can be found in the SMARC battery solutions, which is available for power COM Express modules but can also
design guide. You can reach the finish a fee, contains the entire battery man- be used for the new SMARC 2.0 modules
line faster with the tried and true conga- agement with the corresponding logic,
+AT_CARRIER
USBC_LDO_3V3
T3 T4 +VUSB_C
R28 TAON7522E T T TAON7522E C13
C14 R1%0R005S1206 3 5 5 3 C100nS02V16X R29 R30
C10uS06V35X up to 5A 2 6 +VUSB_C_SW 6 2 R1%4k7S02 R1%4k7S02
U3A max. 0.125W 1 7 7 1 D5
PLoss 8 8 DPTVS28VS1UR U4
USBC_ALT_MODE 41 30 USBC_HV_SNS+ 8 5 USBC_SPI_MOSI
USBC_MUX_DP_EN GPIO0 SENSE_P R31 R32 VDD SI 2 USBC_SPI_MISO
25
USBC_MUX_POL 19 GPIO2 29 USBC_HV_SNS- R1%4k7S02 R1%4k7S02 SO 1 USBC_SPI_CS#
4
4
13 DP1_HPD DP1_HPD 26 GPIO3 SENSE_N CE# 6 USBC_SPI_CLK

GPIO4_HPD_TXRX USBC_SPI_W P#3 SCK
R33 R1%100kS02 USBC_GPIO5 23
20V_PRSNT 20 GPIO5_HPD_RX 31 USBC_HV_G1 WP#
38 GPIO6 HV_GATE1
4 USB3_OTG_ID USBC_VBUS_DET_3V3 1 GPIO7 32 USBC_HV_G2
21 GPIO8 HV_GATE2 USBC_SPI_HLD# 7 4
USBC_BUSPOW ERZ 22 GPIO9_RESET# R34 HOLD# VSS
R35 R1%100kS02 USBC_MRESET 24 GPIO10_BUSPOWER# 13 USBC_CC1 R5%0R0S02
GPIO11_MRESET C_CC1 SSOIC8_W IESON
12 USBC_RPD1 USBC_RPD1 USBC_CC1
4 USB3_EN_OC# RPD_G1
2 C15
USB Type C
R36 R1%100kS02 USBC_DEBUGCTL1 45 DEBUG1_GPIO15 C220pS02C R38
R37 R1%100kS02 USBC_DEBUGCTL2 44 DEBUG_CTL1_GPIO16 15 USBC_CC2 Do Not Stuff
I2C Addr: 0x4E/0x4F DEBUG_CTL2_GPIO17 C_CC2 16 USBC_RPD2 np +VUSB_C
SMB_CLK_3V3S 47 RPD_G2 C16 D6
7,15 SMB_CLK_3V3S SMB_DAT_3V3S 46 I2C_SCL1 USBC_SPI_CLK USBC_T+ 1 6 USBC_T-
37 C220pS02C
7,15 SMB_DAT_3V3S USBC_I2C1_IRQ# 43 I2C_SDA1 SPI_CLK USBC_SPI_MOSI
36 R40
SMB_ALERT#_3V3S I2C_IRQ1# SPI_MOSI USBC_SPI_MISO 2 5
R39 R5%0R0S02 35 R5%0R0S02
TP10 USBC_SW D_DAT 49 SPI_MISO 39 USBC_SPI_CS# USBC_RPD2 USBC_CC2 C17 C18 C19 C20
TP11 USBC_SW D_CLK 50 SWD_DAT SPI_CS# USBC_B+ 3 4 USBC_B- C100nS03V50XC100nS03V50XC100nS03V50XC100nS03V50X
SWD_CLK 6 USBC_T+ R41
C_USB_TP 7 USBC_T- Do Not Stuff DNUP4114_SOT23-6
DP1_AUX+_65981 54 C_USB_TN np
AUX_P X4
DP1_AUX-_65981 55 8 USBC_B+
AUX_N C_USB_BP USBC_B- D7 USBC_T+
9 A6 A4
C_USB_BN USBC_RX1+_CON 1 10 USBC_RX1+_CON USBC_T- A7 D1P VBUS A9
4
4 USB3+ USB_RP_P 10 USBC_SBU1_65981 RPD = GND -> no dead battery support USBC_RX1-_CON 2 9 USBC_RX1-_CON D1N VBUS B4
5
4 USB3- USB_RP_N C_SBU1 11 USBC_SBU2_65981 RPD = CC -> dead battery support 3 8 USBC_B+ B6 VBUS B9
C_SBU2 USBC_TX1+_CON 4 7 USBC_TX1+_CON USBC_B- B7 D2P VBUS
USBC_HV_SS 52 USBC_ROSC USBC_TX1-_CON 5 6 USBC_TX1-_CON D2N
3 R362 R361
SS ROSC R1%1M0S02 R1%1M0S02 USBC_TX1+_CON A2 A1
USBC_TX1-_CON A3 SSTX1P GND A12
C21 R42
DTPD4E02B04 SSTX1N GND B1
C220nS02V10X UTPS65981 R1%15kS02
USBC_RX1+_CONB11 GND B12
D8 USBC_RX1-_CON B10 SSRX1P GND
USBC_TX2-_CON 1 10 USBC_TX2-_CON SSRX1N
USBC_TX2+_CON 2 9 USBC_TX2+_CON USBC_TX2+_CON B2 MPP1
SSTX2P GND
+V3.3S
13 DP1_AUX+ R353 np Do Not Stuff DP1_AUX+_65981 3 8 USBC_TX2-_CON B3 MPP2
SSTX2N GND
USBC_LDO_3V3 R43 np Do Not Stuff USBC_BUSPOW ERZ C22 13 DP1_AUX- R354 np Do Not Stuff DP1_AUX-_65981 USBC_RX2-_CON 4 7 USBC_RX2-_CON
+V5S C100nS02V16X USBC_RX2+_CON 5 6 USBC_RX2+_CON USBC_RX2+_CONA11
USBC_LDO_1V8A R44 np R355 R5%0R0S02 DP1_AUX+_TUSB1046 USBC_RX2-_CON A10 SSRX2P
Do Not Stuff
R356 R5%0R0S02 DP1_AUX-_TUSB1046 SSRX2N
DTPD4E02B04 USBC_CC1 A5
R45 R1%100kS02 R46 U5
5 1 USBC_CC2 B5 CC1 SH1
R1%10k0S02
4 2 USBC_VBUS_DET_3V3 D9 CC2 SH1 SH2
3 USBC_SBU1_65981 R357 np Do Not Stuff USBC_SBU1 USBC_SBU2 1 6 USBC_SBU1 USBC_SBU1 A8 SH2 SH3
BUSPOWERZ specifies USBC_SBU2_65981 R358 np Do Not Stuff USBC_SBU2 USBC_SBU2 B8 SBU1 SH3 SH4
dead battery startup behaviour: 4 USB3_VBUS_DET 2 5 SBU2 SH4
USN74LVC1G07
LDO_3V3: do not distribute 5V to rest of platform USBC_SBU1_TUSB1046 R359 R5%0R0S02 LRO, A.0:
LDO_1V8: distributes 5V to rest of platform through PP_HV +VUSB_C USBC_SBU2_TUSB1046 R360 USBC_CC1 3 4 USBC_CC2 removed connection from XUSB_C_ALYSIUM_IT
EXT R5%0R0S02
GND: distributes 5V to rest of platform through PP_ +VUSB_C to D9.5
+V5S USB voltage can be up to 20V
DNUP4114_SOT23-6 which causes the ESD protection
R60 R61 to fail
U3B C23 R1%1M0S02 R1%1M0S02
C10uS06V35X +V3.3S
C24 C25 up to 3A 27 17
C10uS03V10X 28 PP_5V0 VBUS 18
C10uS03V10X C26 C27 PP_5V0 VBUS C28
C100nS02V16X C100nS02V16X 14 C10uS03V10X C335 C336 C337 C338
PP_CABLE 51 USBC_LDO_3V3 C10uS03V10X C100nS02V16X C100nS02V16X C100nS02V16X
+V12S LDO_3V3
up to 3A 33 56 USBC_LDO_1V8A
34 PP_HV LDO_1V8A
20
28
PP_HV
1
6
C30 C31 40 USBC_LDO_1V8D C29 U6

C32 C33 C100nS02V16X C100nS02V16X 53 LDO_1V8D C2u2S02V6X
VCC
VCC
VCC
VCC
C10uS06V35X VIN_3V3 48 USBC_LDO_BMC C34 USBC_SSTX+ 8

LDO_BMC 4 USB3_SSTX+ R351 R5%0R0S02
42 C2u2S02V6X R352 R5%0R0S02 USBC_SSTX- 7 SSTXp
VDDIO 57 C35 4 USB3_SSTX- SSTXn
+V3.3S GND C2u2S02V6X C329 C100nS02V16X USBC_SSRX+ 5
4 USB3_SSRX+ C330 C100nS02V16X USBC_SSRX- 4 SSRXp 40 USBC_RX2+ R52 R5%0R0S02 USBC_RX2+_CON
4 USB3_SSRX- SSRXn RX2p 39 USBC_RX2- R53 R5%0R0S02 USBC_RX2-_CON
UTPS65981 RX2n
C36 C38
C1u0S02V10X C100nS02V16X C41 C100nS02V16X DP1_L0+_C 9 37 USBC_TX2+ C44 C100nS02V16X USBC_TX2+_CON
13 DP1_LANE0+ DP0p TX2p
C42 C100nS02V16X DP1_L0-_C 10 36 USBC_TX2- C45 C100nS02V16X USBC_TX2-_CON
13 DP1_LANE0- DP0n TX2n
C331 C100nS02V16X DP1_L1+_C 12 33 USBC_TX1+ C39 C100nS02V16X USBC_TX1+_CON
13 DP1_LANE1+ DP1p TX1p
C332 C100nS02V16X DP1_L1-_C 13 34 USBC_TX1- C40 C100nS02V16X USBC_TX1-_CON
13 DP1_LANE1- DP1n TX1n
C333 C100nS02V16X DP1_L2+_C 15 30 USBC_RX1+ R47 R5%0R0S02 USBC_RX1+_CON
+AT_CARRIER +V3.3S 13 DP1_LANE2+ DP2p RX1p USBC_RX1- USBC_RX1-_CON
C334 C100nS02V16X DP1_L2-_C 16 31 R48 R5%0R0S02
C43 +V3.3S 13 DP1_LANE2- DP2n RX1n
C100nS02V16X C46 C100nS02V16X DP1_L3+_C 18
13 DP1_LANE3+ DP3p
C47 C100nS02V16X DP1_L3-_C 19
R49 D10 13 DP1_LANE3- DP3n
5
R1%220kS02 U7 +V3.3S DLED0603YEL DP1_AUX+_TUSB1046 24 27 USBC_SBU1_TUSB1046

DP1_AUX-_TUSB1046 25 AUXp SBU1 26 USBC_SBU2_TUSB1046
VDD
AUXn SBU2
20V_VMON+ 3 1 DP_EQ0 14
INA+ OUTA R57 20V_LED 6.5dB @ 4.05GHz DP_EQ1 DPEQ0/A1
2
R56 R1%22kS02 DPEQ1 3.5dB @ 5GHz
R1%1k0S02 R58 SS_EQ0 11 35 USBC_EQ1
R5%150RS02 5.3dB @ 5GHz SS_EQ1 3 SSEQ0/A0 EQ1 38 USBC_EQ0
20V_VMON- 4 6 20V_PRSNT SSEQ1 EQ0
INB- OUTB USBC_MUX_POL R367 R5%0R0S02 I2C_EN_TUSB1046 17 29 CADSNK internal PD
GND
18V < AT_CARRIER < 22V 20V_LED_R SMB_CLK_3V3S R363 np Do Not Stuff FLIP_TUSB1046 21 I2C_EN CAD_SNK/RSVD1 32 DP1_HPD
3
R59 SMB_DAT_3V3S R364 np Do Not Stuff CTL0_TUSB1046 22 FLIP/SCL HPDIN/RSVD2

USBC_ALT_MODE R368 R5%0R0S02 CTL1_TUSB1046 23 CTL0/SDA
R1%4k02S02 UTPS3701
GND
2
T57 CTL1/HPDIN
20V_PRSNT 1 T2N7002A USBC_MUX_DP_EN R369 R5%0R0S02
DP1_HPD R370 np Do Not Stuff UTUSB1046I-DCI
41
2
Figure 9: USB-C circuit diagram.

ties. To secure a place on the podium for
SMARC 2.0 in detail the layout trophy, we have to take the
SMARC 2.0 added several new ports compared to SMARC 1. Up to six USB utmost care. An eight-layer PCB for the
ports, including two USB 3.0 ports, a second Ethernet port for segmented IoT carrier board makes the board mechani-
connectivity or linear bus and ring topologies, a fourth PCIe lane, and one eSPI cally stiff and hence increases the robust-
leave no communications wishes unfulfilled. Wireless is important. In the SMARC ness of our system. In addition, we can
2.0 specification, a special area is provided on the module for placement of the easily incorporate four signal layers with
necessary miniature RF connectors for high-frequency signals. On the congatec ground reference planes. With this solu-
modules, corresponding logic modules for WLAN and Bluetooth flexibly shape the tion, which is suitable for high-speed sig-
choice of the appropriate wireless protocol according to the M.2 1216 interface nals, the power supply can also be routed
specification. more easily. A small number of transition
layers, ideally only two (SMARC connec-
For both Ethernet ports, software-defined pins are routed to the SMARC 2.0 tor to internal layer and internal layer to
connector. One possibility is to use these configurable inputs/outputs on the target connector or to part), is optimal.
Ethernet controller for hardware-based implemented of the precision time protocol Many of the fast interfaces, including
(PTP) in accordance with IEEE 1588(see [3]). PCIe, SATA, and USB, must be routed
This type of PTP implemented in hardware achieves nanosecond-scale accuracies as differential pairs over a ground plane
and keeps software-based solutions, which are usually in the microsecond range, as a reference plane. They should be
at bay. This translates into maximum synchronization between multiple local routed as a common pair on the same
devices, even in combination with WLAN. Powerful IoT gateways can increase their layer and never follow the same X-Y path
lead over the competition. as a pair on different layers. The layout
of differential pairs is described in detail
External monitors can be connected flexibly via the DisplayPorts. Two dual-mode in the design guide. The pairs should
DisplayPorts (also known as “DisplayPort++” or “DP++”) are available for this. be maximally symmetrical, no stubs are
The advantage: systems that support DP++ functionality for external monitors allowed, and no right-angle, tight, sharp
can provide DisplayPort, HDMI, or even VGA signals. The cable, in part equipped bends are permitted. Validation, debug-
with active electronics, decides which signals are exchanged. The latest version, ging, and compliance test support ser-
1.4, of DisplayPort supports monitor resolutions of up to 7680 × 4320 pixels. vices are provided for a fee by congatec.
Internal displays can be controlled via LVDS. The two channels are designed for
24-bit data. Via an I²C bus, the configuration data of the graphics are transmitted, Fine-tuning in the
two separate signals (VDD_EN) control the power supply to the displays, and the compliance test
brightness of the backlight is controlled with enable signals (BKLT_EN) and a pulse With high data rates, a signal path on
width signal (BKLT_PWM) separately for two panels. the PCB can unfortunately no longer be
Alternatively to LVDS, two independent embedded DisplayPort (eDP) signal sets viewed as a straightforward path between
are available in SMARC 2.0 modules for controlling two internal panels. Compared the transmitter and the receiver. The once
with LVDS, an eDP implementation requires fewer signal wires. For each eDP purely “digital” design turns into an RF
interface, up to four data channels are supplied for this. design due to the high data rates. Every
via, every connector, every cable, and even
As a third, forward-looking alternative, panels can be connected with the MIPI the geometry of the signal path cause sig-
DSI (display serial interface) specified by the Mobile Industry Processor Interface nal shifts or degeneration, reflections, and
Alliance. These small, high-resolution displays can be found in smartphones. noise. Rapid switching times, unbalanced
impedances, and sources of interference
in the frequency range accumulate to yield
high bit error rates. Specifications such
as USB and PCIe define the electrical and
SMARC Module Connector. Our high- ESD-protected switch can be found in mechanical characteristics. If a device con-
power engine will take its place on a the design guide. forms to the specifications, i.e., is compli-
low-profile 314-pin right-angle connec- ant, then the transmit-receive connections
tor later on. The connector type is known Emergency shut-off. The emergency must meet the requirements of the timing
from the MXM3 graphics cards, although shut-off switch can be realized via a gen- and the voltages in the time domain and
there it has a different pin-out. eral-purpose I/O. in the frequency domain. If you already
eliminate potential sources of error in the
Emergency Brake Reset. A reset pre- Transition impedances, trace design phase, you see the checkered flag
vents us from ending up off-road in an lengths, and other chicanes at a lower cost, in a shorter time, and with
emergency. The SMARC RESET_IN# To save ourselves the pain of having greater success. Unfortunately, the corre-
signal can force the SMARC system to our design disqualified prematurely, we sponding test equipment is expensive and
go back to the starting line. The signal strictly adhere to the specifications in special know-how useful. The specs for
is an input signal to the module. When the design guide for the layout. Here, we new interfaces foresee both transmit and
the reset switch is sitting on the carrier can find detailed specifications for trace receive tests, and that means different test
board, an open-drain device or a switch lengths, transition impedances, dimen- concepts and hardware. Both are present
to GND must be used. An example of an sioning of capacitors, and similar subtle- in the well-equipped and experienced con-

Let’s consider our first race together to
have been an installation lap. In the real
race, you will have to master various
chicanes. congatec has packed numer-
ous efficient tools into the toolkit for its
racing team. With them, you will be sure
to get out of the pit lane quickly. The
SMARC evaluation carrier board already
provides M.2 cards, SATA, and USB-C,
and the circuit diagrams for these circuit
parts are available for use. Experienced
congatec technicians help customers get
back onto the circuit if they are heading
toward the gravel trap. Tools, documen-
tation, and tech notes are on hand in the
Figure 10: Accurate comparison of trace length. Source: Presentation by Mr. Stadler, TSC Services, pit lane. Thorough training is provided
page 14, 31.5.2017. for a warm-up lap. If you are driving in
your own personal race of COM cham-
pions, then you will gain valuable expe-
rience, your career-boosting qualifying
for upcoming projects. This could well
PASS FAIL be enough to convince your boss to send
you to the start line with a challenging
baseboard design.
or Web Links
[1] www.youtube.com/
watch?v=EtwySDa1mTo
[2] www.youtube.com/
watch?v=zDS-keNKfOA
Figure 11: Example of a jitter pass/fail test result. Source: Presentation by Mr. Stadler, TSC Services, [3] www.nist.gov/el/isd/ieee/
page 8, 31.5.2017. ieee1588.cfm
gatec laboratory. There, the critical section • User Guide,

is fine-tuned during the layout review. The • Design Guide, The Author
paths of the differential signals with their • Application Notes Daniel Stadler (B.Eng.) studied
folds for internal bends are checked with • Shematics electrical engineering at the
micron-scale precision to ensure that they • Whitepaper Deggendorf Institute of Technology,
are the same length (Figure 10). • Datasheet Germany. In 2006 he started his
• Smart Battery Solution Youtube career at congatec as an electronics
With the finest technology and equipment video technician apprentice for devices
worth several hundreds of thousands of • SGET support and systems. Since 2013 he works
euros, e.g., an Agilent DSA-X 91604A 16 as a hardware engineer in the
GHz oscilloscope or an Agilent N4903B Summary congatec Technical Service Center to
(J-BERT) high-speed serial BERT, the spe- The idea of the computer-on-module con- support customer baseboard designs
cialists can track down jittery, damped, cept scores points with the following: and trainings.
or noisy signals from PCIe, SATA, USB
2.0, USB 3.0, Ethernet 10/100/Gbit, Dis- • CPU easily exchangeable, even
playPort, and HDMI interfaces. Figure across technologies (x86/ARM)
11 shows a pass/fail test. Also view the • Standard modules are combined with
video at [2]. an application-specific carrier board
to form an individualized device
Racing Team Qualities • Established, evolving standards
As everyone knows, teamwork is the key available
to winning trophies. That’s why the con- • Modules available with numerous
gatec team has parked more detailed combinations of power, performance,
information on and dimensions
www.congatec.com/how-to-design-smarc • Wide range of modules from differ-
ent manufacturers

Operation Marketing
Are we becoming IoT dependent?

On the eve of my overseas business trip, I am
debating with myself about what to pack, making
sure that I have everything I need for over ten days
of business meetings and private time with friends. I am
sure that many readers, seasoned travellers, have experienced this situation
more than once. Matching the right clothes with the expected weather and
business conditions! Sports shoes for the days when one feels guilty about
all that wonderful restaurant food! And of course the right electronic devices
to stay informed, both productive and for entertainment. Packing is no
longer about clothes and shoes only, it is about tools and their accessories. By Flavio Stiffan — Stiffan Consulting
With a network of over 100 education

institutions, Stiffan Consulting strives to
help companies to act as a role model
and work with educators, students and
incubators to share knowledge, creating
innovative demonstrators and proofs of
concepts. By assisting you in reviewing
your goals, understand the potential
markets and validate the right approach,
we help create the relationships and
project manage collaborations with
educational institutions, ensuring long-
lasting product positioning and success.
One size fits all? Not really is just a matter of a few pieces of soft- little more than my trusted mechani-
If everyone would run with the same ware. In the meantime, one less charger cal watch requiring zero cabling and
power supply, that would be quite nice, to take along. recharging…am I getting dependent
yet, smartphone, tablet and laptop all on my IoT device?
require their specific cables and adap- This morning, my last dilemma was: do
tors to charge. The USB charger is stan- I take my trusted mechanical Rolex or This is just about travel, where, I think,
dard with the exception for the laptop do I keep my smartwatch on my wrist connected devices are the most used
— yet it is coming quite close to it with instead? and had the steepest adoption curve.
USB-C chargers. Next will come the car and the house...
Let’s dissect this for just a second: Expect a new article about that soon.
Convenience vs. dependence I’ll be travelling through several time
To me, the laptop is not an option; zones, I will hit the fi tness centre, I And you?
I have a very light notebook with USB-C will attend multiple meetings, I wish to How dependent are you on your elec-
power adaptor, quite compact and effi- stay in touch with my family in case of tronic equipment during travel? Do
cient although dongles are required to any emergency and not pop my smart- you carry more adaptors, chargers and
interface with the rest of my equipment. phone out of my pocket each time there cables than pairs of socks? What are
is a notifi cation (how rude!) of fl ight your priorities? Full office in the bag or
On this trip, I have decided that the gate change or delay…. the smart- relying more on cloud data to access
tablet stays home as it is a duplicate of watch probably is a safe take. Down- your information via mobile devices
the computer… I am sure that soon this side: I need an extra charger (plus plug like a smartphone or tablet? Feel free
will no longer be the question as con- adapter) and cable in my carry on. This to comment!
vergence between notebook and tablet IoT smart device has me carry just a
17.115-Operation Marketing-EN-01.indd 1 07-09-17 16:27

LoRa Alliance Surpasses 500 Member Mark
The LoRa Alliance, the global association of companies backing the LoRaWAN standard for low-power
wide-area IoT networks, announced last June that it has achieved a new milestone, surpassing
500 ecosystem members in just over two years. Those members, along with their partners and
customers, are rapidly deploying the LoRaWAN protocol, with 42 publicly announced operators
– a 3.5 x increase in one year – and over 250 ongoing trials and city deployments.
(Source: LoRa Alliance; infographic: LoRaWAN Network Coverage as of August 2017)
INNOVATION STARTUP TRADE
Publicly Announced
Other Deployments
Growth Because of Industry 4.0: Germany

In the literal sense of the word, Germany is one of the most industrial countries in the world.
This is reflected in the growth figures that are contributed to Industry 4.0 alone.
The term ‘Industrie 4.0’ originates from Germany.
(Source: Fraunhofer IAO/BITKOM) 1.7%**

52.1
2013 2025
Added Value by Sector
(Billions in Euros) 40.1 107.7
93.7 Total 88.8

Chemicals
Automotive
Machinery Total
€ 422.1
74.0 21.3
Electrical equipment
18.6
€ 343.3
Agriculture
ICT
40.3
52.4
* Estimate
** Annual growth
76.8 99.8
17.115-EBM05-Infographics-EN-03.indd 1 07-09-17 16:28

How Well are Designers
Following Industry Best Practices?
Barr Group’s 2017 Embedded Systems Safety & Security Survey has exposed that many development teams
currently designing IoT devices are not following industry best practices for designing safe and secure embedded
systems. As proven by the Dyn DDoS cyberattack in 2016, any device that is connected to the Internet is
vulnerable to tampering unless properly designed for maximum security. Until efforts are made to maximize the
security of every IoT access point, the integrity of our networked world will continue to be at risk
(Source: Barr Group 2017 Embedded Systems Safety & Security Survey)
9% Don’t keep their 60% Don’t use a static analysis

source code in a version tool to check source code
control system
56% Static Analysis

Basic static analysis can be configured
quickly and identify ‘low-hanging fruit’
types of fixes.
Don’t perform regular source

code reviews for bugs and
security holes
37%
Don’t utilize a written coding standard,
and others don’t enforce one consistently
25% Don’t have a Coding Standard Incorporating coding standard

bug database or other system conformance into static analysis improves the readability and
to track known issues maintenance of the code.
An Everlasting World of Connected Possibilities

According to marketing research company Gartner, the Internet of Things is definitely here to stay.
The US firm predicts an everlasting world of connected possibilities. (Source: Gartner)
The Internet of Things – An Explosion of Connected Possibility 50.1

2020
2025* Billions of Devices 50

42.1
2019
40
IoT Inception 34.8
88.8 2009
28.4
2018
2017
30
22.9
2016
18.2
2015 20
8.7 14.4
2012 2014
0.001 0.5 2013
2003 10
1992 11.2
0
1990 2000 2010 2020
17.115-EBM05-Infographics-EN-03.indd 2 07-09-17 16:28

Energy Harvesting
for Low-power Devices
makes perfect sense for IoT applications
By Maurizio Di Paolo Emilio
The impact of energy harvesting could be economically huge and, more importantly, it could be massive
for the environment. Consequently we must start thinking about how to best protect and preserve it.
Environmental energy is naturally occurring both at massive scale and infinitesimally small; the technologies
have been widely and efficiently disseminated. How much energy is available around us? What kind of energy
sources do we have? What is their utility?
Solar energy is an example showing that energies such as electromagnetic. The

its use is highly appreciated although purpose is always to harvest the energy
the overall efficiency remains remark- available from the environment for reuse
ably low at around 30 %. Photovoltaic in other forms (like electric current) to
cells converting solar energy into an power other electronic devices, or to
electrical signal (photovoltaic effect) are power one and the same device in a way
an example of this. In general, design- that we could define as cyclic energy.
ing a power management system for a Collecting all these energies (heat, light,
device that collects energy from the envi- sound, vibration, movement) could have
ronment from different sources can be a significant impact on economic and
very demanding. These sources are not environmental factors, as well as help
just solar or vibrational, but also ther- to reduce costs and develop new sensor
mal and RF derived, and are good for technologies.
small amounts of energy that sadly vary
unpredictably. The main part of every electronic sys-
tem is the battery, as in a computer or
Electronics and microelectronics are a smartphone, and the idea of recharg-
spreading steadily, and, day after day, ing it by an external source of energy Figure 1: General layout of energy harvesting
many companies provide energy-har- in ‘auto-harvesting mode’ could be very system.voltages, which are typically too high or
vesting systems for different types of impressive as the result is a smartphone too low to power direct electrical loads.
17.115-EBM05-di Paulo Emilio-EN-02.indd 1 07-09-17 16:30

effectively powered by environmental the demand for functionality increases,
energy i.e. without a battery. so does energy consumption. ebm article tagging
Beginner
An energy harvesting system captures The wireless sensor market is estimated Level: Intermediate
environmental energy and converts it at about $ 4 trillion by 2020. With regard
Professional
into electricity. There are many tech- to equipment and thermal monitor-
niques concerning this field: for example, ing systems, that market is estimated Product
to capture lost or dissipated energy as at around $ 22 billion. The market for
Subject: Service
heat, light, sound, vibration, or move- vibration and velocity sensors and trans-
Advice
ment, then using special electronic cir- mitters was estimated to grow from $
cuits to manage the collection of energy 17.4 billion in 2006 to $ 112.5 billion in Trading
and then transform it into an electrical 2012 with an estimated annual growth
signal. of 34.4%. The chart in Figure 2 repre-
Potential
sents the potential market for Energy
An energy harvesting system can be Harvesting in the various areas of use in Production
described as in Figure 1. The blocks are the world. It is important to observe the
Advice: Technology
described in the following points: predominance of the military and devel-
Regulatory
oping countries in relation to the aero-
• Energy transducer used to con- space and industrial sectors, especially
Theoretical
vert ambient energy into electrical with respect to the industrial sector for its
Approach: Practical
energy of input. as yet uncompetitive research and devel-
Mixed
• Conditioning circuits: opment costs compared to the traditional
-- Rectifier and super capacitor: a rec- use of energy. There is also a significant
Website:
tifier and an optional storage system impact on the commercial sector in the
www. Linkedin.com
for energy management. many applications of Energy Harvesting.
-- Voltage regulator: a controller sys-
tem for adapting the voltage level At present, as far as energy collection
to the requirements of the powered goes, the conversion of solar energy mobile phones, radio stations, cellular
device. makes it a master in the world market. base stations, TV stations, etc. Obviously,
This type of environmental energy col- the energy amounts are under SAR lev-
Market lection is subdivided into two application els (specific absorption rate). The abil-
The market for intelligent smart devices areas: small scale photovoltaic applica- ity to collect RF energy allows the wire-
has exploded in recent years, and the tions for the use of small photovoltaic less charging of low-power devices, at
core architecture for a device consists panel surfaces to power low energy elec- the same time it allows limits to be set
essentially of a microcontroller, MEMS tronic devices, while the use of photo- in battery use. Devices with no battery,
sensors, wireless connectivity, a battery, voltaic is at an intermediate scale for the for example, can be designed to oper-
and electronics support. Power is a major supply of private homes at private level, ate at certain time intervals or when a
challenge for wearables designers. As while large-scale applications involve the super-capacitor has accumulated suffi-
use of photovoltaic panels for the supply cient charge to activate the electronic
of medium power stations or substations.
Figure 3 shows the electrical current
supplied by photovoltaic panels and the
corresponding electrical power accord-
ing to the required operating voltage.
In addition to solar, there are variants

of energy that could be defined and
exploited on a small scale for imple-
mentation in low-power systems such
as wearables and smartphone devices.
Walking and footwear can also be used to
produce energy by using electromagnetic
mechanisms. The most used sources are
vibration, thermal, RF, movement, and
sound which can be captured and con-
verted into electricity using piezoelectric
materials.
Figure 2: Potential use of energy harvesting in RF energy Figure 3: Solar energy conversion by
the international market [Source: NiPS Energy RF energy is the cornerstone of trans- photovoltaic transducers.
Harvesting Summer School]. mitters around the world, just think of

mV/K. This type of transducer also pro- passing through RF energy. An input
vides high-efficiency DC-DC conversion. shunt protects a variety of different
There are also TE-CORE (thermal har- piezoelectric elements.
vesting modules) transducers with an
on-board DC-DC integrated booster with Conclusion
2.4-V fixed voltage for an input voltage Collecting energy from the environment
variation of 1.8 V to 4.5 V. is one way to prolong battery life in an
electronic design. Instead of having to
Low-power DC-DC and recharge a small battery every 12 hours
conditioning circuits or so, small amounts of energy applied
Conditioning and regulating circuits play when the system is in sleep mode can
a crucial role in an energy collection sys- provide more power and prolong the use-
tem, through various parameters such ful length of the charge. This energy can
as input impedance, power control and come from a number of environmental
filtering. Advanced techniques like pre- or alternative sources.
polarization influence the behaviour of
energy harvesting devices. The challenge The “traditional” and “ruling” energy
Figure 4: Thermoelectric conversion. is always the same: to optimize energy harvesting technology is and remains
and the associated conditioning circuits to solar. However, power demand for smart
cope with a system with optimal match- watches with colour displays, wireless
circuitry. Mobile phones are an excel- ing between power profiles and those of links, smartphone notifications, and even
lent source of RF energy and could be a operating dynamics. the ability to make calls directly from
source for providing energy-on-demand the watch, have greatly increased power
for a variety of applications. DC-DC converters are critical blocks in requirements from alternative sources.
energy harvesting systems. They are Studying new energy harvesting oppor-
Thermal energy required to meet very strict specifica- tunities with low power DC-DC solutions
Thermoelectric transducers convert ther- tions and, at the same time, consume should help to improve the overall effi-
mal energy into electricity by using sur- less energy. Therefore, their power ciency of electronic systems.
faces at different temperatures using the conversion efficiency and the stability
“Seebeck effect” phenomenon. The See-
beck effect occurs in a system consist-
ing of a contact with a junction surface,
a hot surface, and a cold surface. It has The Author
been shown that the junction of these two Maurizio Di Paolo Emilio has a
high heat differential surfaces generates Ph.D. degree in Physics and is a
a distribution of electric charges, i.e. a telecommunication engineer. He
potential difference V to the extremities has worked on various international
of the junction surface, thus resulting in projects in the field of gravitational
an electric current in a load connected waves research. Working as a
to the ends of the surface of the junction software/hardware developer in
itself. The current is proportional to the the data acquisition system, he
temperature differential of the two hot/ participated in the design of the
cold surfaces. thermal compensation system (TCS)
for the Virgo/Ligo Experiment.
Figure 4 illustrates the principle of ther- Figure 5: The DC-DC converters play an Additionally, Dr. Di Paolo Emilio has
moelectric operation based on the See- essential role to power electrical loads. The authored many technical and scientific
beck effect. The thermoelectric trans- energy transducers provide various output papers and books relating to electronic
ducer is capable of achieving high power voltages, which are typically too high or too
design and embedded systems.
low to power direct electrical loads.
conversion rates. Currently the cost of Currently, Di Paolo Emilio works as
this kind of transducer is average to electronic designer and technical writer
high. Heat sources are in industrial proof functionality in the environment for Italian and English magazines.
duction sites, but also in domestic appli- become important considerations.
cations, such as heat production due Conventional PWM control is not usu-
to cooking, or diffused by radiators for ally suitable for DC-DC converters in
room heating, and so on. Thermoelectric energy harvesting situations because
transducer types include thin film trans- of its poor stability and low power con-
ducers such as the TGP (Thermal Gen- version efficiency (Figure 5). A buck/
erator in Package) transducers, whose boost converter is an architecture suit-
performance includes high output volt- able for collecting energy from many
age. An example is the TGP-751, which artificial sources, from motion or vibra-
yields an output voltage beyond 100 tion through a piezoelectric transducer

Synchronous IoT Remote Control
with Arduino MEGA and AppMyProduct By Carsten Gregersen, Nabto
One framework to support synchronous free. Next, Generate licenses by clicking // Enter device id and pre-shared
“realtime” operation for IoT is AppMyProd- the “Generate licenses” button. Then go to key from portal.appmyproduct.com
uct. It focuses on delivering an easy way to the new domain device list. Note one of the const char* DEVICE_ID = “abc.xyz.
remote control IoT devices directly via apps “Device IDs” and the matching “License appmyproduct.com”;
on smartphone and tablet (Figure 1). One Key” needed later (copy it to a text file on const char* PRE_SHARED_KEY =
such use case could be turning your sum- your computer or similar). “4f2a03f29f509035c03bc229ae870849”;
merhouse heating on and off remotely. Or
viewing a live video stream from a camera,
although that’s much more complex and
out of scope of this brief article.
Remote-control an Arduino
MEGA board + Ethernet shield
The Arduino Mega 2560 has 54 digital
input/output pins, 16 analogue inputs, 4
UARTs, a 16 MHz crystal oscillator, a USB
connection, a power jack, an ICSP header,
and a reset button. It is not as widely
deployed as the Arduino UNO boards, but
for our IoT project which requires both an Using the s/w adapters with the device id and key that you noted
IP stack and encryption, the extra-large The adapters come ready programmed. from the AppMyProduct portal.
Flash Memory of 128 KB/256 KB and extra Fetch them from: https://github.com/ After compiling and uploading your Heat-
8 KB SRAM comes in handy. nabtodaemon/heatcontrol-arduinomega. Pump sketch to the Arduino Mega, it
AppMyProduct is built on the Nabto soft- Download the .zip file for the Arduino IDE. establishes a connection to your Ether-
ware stack. You can sign-up to the ser- Next add the .zip file to the IDE and start. net network and starts the uNabto server.
vice for free and get 10 IoT device ids and Add the library to the Arduino IDE via In operation the system shows screens
matching keys for free. This will enable these steps: Sketch  Include Library  like in Figures 3 and 4. Now you can start
you to deploy and remote control 10 IoT Add .ZIP Library. Browse to the folder con- your journey to the summerhouse.
devices using the platform. Three ‘adapt- taining the downloaded library file and add
ers’ needs to be plugged into the frame- the unabto-arduinomega-sdk-2.1.1.zip.
Web Links
work. A UDP stack adapter needs to be Open the HeatPump.ino example like so:
interfaced with the IP stack of the native File  Examples  Nabto-Mega2560  App for iOS devices: https://itunes.
platform. A DNS adapter needs to be inter- HeatPump. apple.com/dk/app/appmy-
faced with the platform DNS resolver ser- The sample sketch includes the Nabto product-heat-control-client/
vice. The framework also needs to be able class, which encapsulates the Nabto id1213447922
to make decisions based upon the time. setup. For the sketch to work, the below App for Android devices: https://
With the above mentioned hardware ready settings are to be changed. The setting play.google.com/store/apps/
and Arduino IDE installed on your PC you should specify the board’s MAC address details?id=com.ionicframework.
need to sign-up with the AppMyProduct. (found on the Ethernet board) followed nabtoionicstarter
com SaaS service. Next, create a product, by the unique Device ID and pre-shared App sourcecode: https://play.google.
for example “MyTestProduct”. Don’t regis- key of the device obtained from: com/store/apps/details?id=com.ion-
ter as a “Free Product”, since you currently portal.appmyproduct.com icframework.nabtoionicstarter
can get up to 10 production licenses for You need to adjust the line:
17.115-EBM05-Nabto-EN-02.indd 1 07-09-17 16:32

Jumpstart
Forwards with
New Investments and
Certified Environmental
Friendliness
By Volker Feyerabend,
APROS Consulting & Services
Many manufacturers like to

attach eco labels to their products
to emphasize their company’s
environmental credentials.
Sometimes unfortunately there
is no evidence beyond the label
itself to support their claims. Now
we have a certification process
that will demonstrate to all that
a company is serious about its
commitment to the standards. Fig. 1: The new HML multi-layer LP100 press at Becker & Müller.
This type of certifi cation is also very

important for the internal operating
procedures of a business. By following
comprehensive corporate environmental
strategies and procedures, employee’s
commitment to the standards and its
aims are reinforced to increase com-
pliance and reduce waste. At Becker &
Müller Schaltungsdruck (PCB produc-
tion) GmbH based in Steinach nestling
in the Kinzig Valley of the Black For-
est, Germany, the topic of the envi-
ronment is taken very seriously. For
many years they have been working
to certified procedures and guidelines
set to their own challenging standards. Fig. 2: Investment in both the environment and efficiency. The new Digital Direct Imaging System:
They have now recently been re-cer- eco-friendliness and the latest tech is a good combination
17.115-Jumpstart Apros-EN-02.indd 1 07-09-17 16:33

tified to the latest standards for ISO impact, in accordance with economic, upgrade a company’s EMS to conform
14001 (environmental management) social and political requirements... “ with the new standard and seek certi-
and ISO 9001 (quality processes). In fication. A period of 3 years has been
addition, many improvements have ISO 14001 … set for the transition but Becker & Mül-
been implemented in the company. ... is not a mandatory standard for envi- ler wanted to be ready as early as pos-
The ISO 14001 standard has been the ronmental performance, but maps out a sible. The company’s procedures were
basis for the establishment, introduc- framework that a company or organiza- quickly put to the test according to the
tion, monitoring and further develop- tion can follow to set up an effective EMS. new standards. The fact that the re-cer-
ment of EMS (Environmental Manage- It can be used by any organization to tification process proceeded without a
ment Systems) since 1996. It estab- help improve resource efficiency, reduce hitch is an indication of the importance
lishes appropriate guidelines that are waste and costs. the company places on the environmen-
applicable to organizations of all types tal aspects of their manufacturing pro-
and size. The overall objective is to pro- In September 2015 a new version was cesses and their determined adherence
mote environmental protection and mit- introduced, to achieve certification to to the requirements. An environmental
igate an organization’s environmental ISO 14001 it will now be necessary to representative is required at the com-
pany awarded ISO 14001 certification.
At Becker & Müller, one of the managing
directors, Xaver Müller, took on the task
himself to show his commitment and
made it ‘a job for the boss’.
Fortunately, many environmentally-
friendly processes are already standard
practice in industry today. For a branch
of industry using chemicals and plastics
adherence to the regulations is of par-
amount importance. Some of the rec-
ommendations are guidelines but some
are legally enforceable. The most up to
date standards deal with the handling of
materials, ventilation and waste water
treatment (and much more) to ensure
improved benefits for both the environ-
ment and employees.
Fig. 3: Rooftop PV array certificate guarantees

Becker & Müller Schaltungsdruck GmbH is
powered from sustainable sources.
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Fig. 4: The company car line out in the
parking lot shows the company’s commitment
to environmental awareness and the latest
e-vehicle tech. A free charging point and the
Tesla Roadster owned by the Managing Director
Xaver Müller.
Over the past years the PCB prototype Müller environmental friendliness is a day reportedly enjoyed their eco-car
manufacturing company has been suc- subject close to his heart. A photovoltaic taster day.
cessful in reducing its energy require- system with a peak capacity of 42 kW
ments. In an industry, which has a rela- is installed on the company roof. Each The message about environmental
tively high energy requirement, there year, this array produces around 50,000 issues merits a wider audience and
are often opportunities to make large kWh, which equates to a CO2 saving of sustained effort to spread the word.
savings. In the production of multi- 35 tonnes. As Figure 3 shows, the sys- Becker & Müller is involved with vari-
layer PCBs for example it was previ- tem is also fully certified. ous university projects involving energy
ously necessary to waste energy heat- efficiency of vehicles. The great enthu-
ing and cooling the large mass of the A charging station is available at the siasm with which the young students in
PCB press mechanism but now with, company car park (Figure 4) for use by their ‘Formula Student’ electric racing
the introduction of a new HML Multi- the employees and the company’s elec- teams (Figure 4) develop new solutions
layer press (Figure 1) together with a tric vehicles – this charging point can to benefit the environment is inspiring;
new cooling press, heating is confined also be used by the general public at Becker & Müller is also looking forward
to just the PCBs themselves. The over- no cost. You may argue that e-mobility to continued collaboration with more
all system is altogether more suitable only really makes sound ecological sense universities in the future.
with improved efficiency especially for when you can be sure the energy used
prototype production. to recharge the vehicle has been pro- The future looks bright
duced by a sustainable process. That The decision to invest in environmen-
In Practice is not an issue at Becker & Müller; the tally friendly technologies and pro-
The company’s use of chemicals in PCB company has a contract with its util- cesses is an investment in our future
production has also been significantly ity supplier guaranteeing that energy and should by no means be a burden
reduced. Some time ago, Becker & Mül- used by the company has been gener- on company finances. Xaver Müller and
ler invested in the ‘Digital Direct Imag- ated using sustainable processes such Michael Becker are predicting a profit
ing System’ (Figure 2). This particular as hydropower for example. growth in the region of “good double-
manufacturing process allows the layout digit percentage points” for 2017. By
design to be transferred directly to the The Managing Director likes to set a the looks of their healthy order book
circuit board blank, reducing the num- good example, parked in Xaver Müller’s this prediction does not seem to be too
ber of processing steps along with the bay at the front of the building is his far off the mark.
chemicals necessary for image fixing Tesla roadster. Recently on the com-
and transfer to the PCB. In addition to pany’s open-day to celebrate its 30th
the fewer processing steps the energy anniversary, Xaver Müller invited visi-
consumed is also reduced. tors to test drive some modern electric
vehicles. “I wanted to run an electric
“Whenever we invest in new or replace- vehicle myself for environmental rea-
ment technology or make new invest- sons; they also have good efficiency,
ment one of our most important con- significantly higher than is possible with
siderations is how it will impact the an internal combustion engine.» He is
environment. A product with better keenly committed to the incorporation
environmental credentials will always of sustainable production methods at
have priority in our decision”. For Xaver the company and visitors at the open

A new spin on electronics
Interface between insulators enables information transport by spin
Together with colleagues at the Kyoto University in Japan imparting its spin onto the two-dimensional electron gas.
scientists at the Walther-Meißner-Institute (WMI) and the
Technical University of Munich (TUM) in Garching (Germany) The electron gas then transports the spin information to
have now demonstrated the transport of spin information a non-magnetic contact located one micrometer next to
at room temperature in a remarkable material system. the contact. The non-magnetic contact detects the spin
transport by absorbing the spin, building up an electric
In their experiment, they demonstrated the production, potential in the process. Measuring this potential allowed
transport and detection of electronic spins in the boundary the researchers to systematically investigate the transport
layer between the materials lanthanum-aluminate (LaAlO2) of spin and demonstrate the feasibility of bridging dis-
and strontium-titanate (SrTiO3). What makes this mate- tances up to one hundred times larger than the distance
rial system unique is that an extremely thin, electrically of today’s transistors.
conducting layer forms at the interface between the two
non-conducting materials: a so-called two-dimensional Based on these results, the team of scientists is now
electron gas. researching to what extent spin electronic components
with novel functionality can be implemented using this
system of materials.
The research was funded by the German Research Foun-

dation (DFG) in the context of the Cluster of Excellence
“Nanosystems Initiative Munich” (NIM).
www.tum.de
The German-Japanese team has now shown that this two- Publication: Strong evidence for d-electron spin
dimensional electron gas transports not only charge, but transport at room temperature at a LaAlO3/SrTiO3
also spin. The two key questions were: How can spin be interface. R. Ohshima, Y. Ando, K. Matsuzaki, T. Susaki,
transferred to the two-dimensional electron gas and how M. Weiler, S. Klingler, H. Huebl, E. Shikoh, T. Shinjo,
can the transport be proven? S.T.B Goennenwein and M. Shiraishi. Nature Materials,
Advanced Online Publication 13. February 2017.
The scientists solved the problem of spin transfer using a DOI:10.1038/nmat4857
magnetic contact. Microwave radiation forces its electrons
into a precession movement, analogous to the wobbling
motion of a top. Just as in a top, this motion does not
last forever, but rather, weakens in time – in this case by
17.115-News-EN-02.indd 7 07-09-17 16:34

Narrowband-IoT:
Pushing the Boundaries of IoT
NB-IoT, a new standard for connecting
Internet of Things projects
This article aims at giving technical decision-

makers an overview of NB-IoT, the communications
technology that will underpin industrial-grade
internet of things deployments. The evolution of the
Internet of Things means that there is an urgent
need for a low-power way to connect thousands of
devices in field. NB-IoT fits the bill perfectly.
A whitepaper contributed by Vodafone
Low Power Wide Area (LPWA) describes a category of wireless • This gives it a performance boost, which is vital when
communication technologies designed to support internet of planning ahead a decade or more.
things (IoT) deployments. LPWA technologies are designed to • Flexible power management for 15-year operational lifes-
deliver the requirements shown pictorially in Figure 1. pans. Despite its coverage and performance advantages,
NB-IoT offers comparable battery life to other LPWA tech-
A number of different technologies have been developed to fulfil nologies, thanks in part to advanced power-saving modes
LPWA requirements, and we believe Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) that minimise unnecessary chatter over the network.
not only offers enterprise-grade technical specifications, but • Simple designs for cost-effectiveness. NB-IoT has been
is also the practical choice for carriers, device manufacturers designed to minimise hardware costs, from chipset fabrica-
and ultimately enterprise users. tion to antennas. We forecast that communications compo-
To understand why NB-IoT is uniquely suited to business IoT nent costs will drop to $2 once full production is reached.
deployments, we compare NB-IoT against two LPWA alterna-
tives, LoRa and Sigfox. NB-IoT is an open standard based on LTE. It has the backing
NB-IoT offers great range, throughput and power efficiency at of major equipment manufacturers, and is based on familiar
a low price. Consider these aspects: technology for easier integration into existing infrastructure
and processes.
• Coverage in challenging deployments. NB-IoT offers cover-
age penetration in difficult environments that characterise • Fast and flexible for carriers to deploy. NB-IoT can be
LPWA use cases. Because it uses licensed spectrum bands flexibly deployed on any existing network, either leverag-
(just like 3G and 4G) NB-IoT isn’t significantly affected by ing the LTE network footprint in-band or co-existing with
interference. other network technologies in standalone mode.
• Faster data throughput, without limitations on usage. • Broad market support as an open 3GPP standard.
NB-IoT isn’t limited by legal restrictions on how often each NB-IoT is an open standard. A critical mass of network
device can transmit — so-called “duty cycle”. operators and hardware manufacturers are backing
17.115-EBM05-Vodafone-EN-03.indd 1 07-09-17 16:35

NB-IoT. It’s the safe bet for long-term commitment glob-
ally, and benefits from economies of scale.
• Easy to integrate into traditional cellular technol-

ogy ecosystems. In many ways NB-IoT behaves like LTE,
Strong coverage over large areas, even when

devices are underground or deep within buildings.
Great power efficiency, so devices can run on

batteries for 10 years or more without a charge.
Massive scale, connecting potentially millions of

devices at once in a single deployment.
Low cost communications hardware, enabling

so it’s familiar to network engineers, application data collection devices to be built for less than $10.
developers and hardware developers.
Security is important in any IoT deployment. NB-IoT

inherits LTE’s strong security features, making it the
safest choice. Low bandwidth, with most use cases requiring
just a few bytes of data to be transmitted per device
• LPWA security matters. Even the simplest net- per day.
worked devices can cause business disruption if
they’re breached. Security is critical.
• Securing ultra-simple devices is challenging. The
limited bandwidth and processing power makes even
foundational security practices like authentication and Figure 1: Just a few of the challenges LPWA technology has to rise to.
encryption non-trivial.


Subject: Advice: Technology www.vodafone.com/iot
Service
Advice Regulatory
EBM ARTICLE TAGGING

• Proprietary LPWA technologies don’t do enough.
While LoRa encrypts its traffic, Sigfox doesn’t. And both
are vulnerable to jamming.
• NB-IoT inherits LTE’s authentication and encryp-
tion. NB-IoT mutually authenticates the network and the
device, and encrypts traffic between the device and deep
within the core network.
Massive-scale IoT projects have specific

connectivity needs
Look at many of the most promising applications for IoT and
you’ll find the same basic wireless connectivity needs.
Whether it’s smart water meters, connected agriculture, smart
cities or asset tracking, these connected devices need:
• Long lifespans in the field: devices, such as soil condition

monitors in precision agriculture, are often deployed with-
out reliable access to power. Batteries must last for the
lifetime of the device — perhaps a decade or more.
• Deep coverage: devices, such as water and gas meters,
may be deployed in rural areas, beneath manhole covers
or deep within building basements. The network connec-
tion must offer strong penetration and reach.
• Massive scale, at low cost: devices, such as smoke or fire
alarms or smart rubbish bins, may be deployed in their
thousands or millions. The device and connectivity cost
must be low and networks must be able to support high
density of devices while guaranteeing QoS.
• Low bandwidth: devices may often send only a few bytes
of data each day — for instance, smart parking sensors
may only ping the network when a bay becomes free.
These use cases don’t need to support voice or even
duplex data transmission.
The “five 10s” of LPWA

What’s needed in applications like these is a low-power, low-
cost, long-range wireless technology. That’s why in the past
few years we’ve seen the rise of a new category of connectiv-
ity: LPWA, or low-power wide-area (Figure 2).
There’s no precise definition of LPWA, but here’s a rule of thumb:
an LPWA device should be able to last for 10 years in the field,
Figure 2: As may be expected, LPWA technology fills the segment calling connect as far as 10 km from the cell, and cost under $10,
for both low power and long range. when transmitting down to 10 s of bytes per hour. Each cell or
base station should be able to support more than 10 k devices.
Many technologies are competing in LPWA

Many different technologies are being developed to meet these
or similar criteria, sponsored by a wide variety of private com-
panies, consortia, standards bodies and alliances. Weightless,
DASH 7, 802.11ah, Ingenu, LTE-M, EC-GSM-IoT — these, and
many others, are all competing for market share, and they
often take very different approaches to meet the criteria that
LPWA use cases need; not least, whether they’re based on open
standards or built on proprietary technology stacks.
However, a few technologies — notably Sigfox, LoRa and NB-

IoT — have emerged as the front-runners in LPWA.
Each has multiple high-profile deployments in the field and
sufficient technological maturity and market support that they
are likely be considered by any enterprise developing LPWA
Figure 3. An overview of LPWA standards. IoT projects.

Which is the right technology for your LPWA project’s connec-
tivity needs? And which is the safest option for your organisa- South East Water: coverage underground
tion to bet on in the long run? After all, your business cases are
In Australia, the use of NB-IoT has been trialled with South
based on devices operating in the field for a decade or more.
East Water to monitor rainwater tanks and pipe flow, as
Vodafone has evaluated each LPWA technology under develop-
well as to guard against unauthorised entry to sewers, car
ment, and made the decision to commit to NBIoT.
parks and other sites. South East Water ultimately wants to
We believe that global standard technologies are the way for-
be able to analyse performance, asset condition and fault
ward to guarantee security, interoperability, scalability, quality
management across its networks in real time. Because many
of service and longevity. In particular, NB-IoT is designed to
of the monitoring sensors will be installed under manhole
address low-power wide-area requirements and is believed to
covers and underground, it’s ideal proof of NB-IoT’s ability to
be both suited to largescale deployments and have impressive
offer strong signal penetration.
prospects for widespread market success.
NB-IoT in a nutshell
NB-IoT is a specification developed by 3GPP, and standardised
as part of 3GPP Release 13 in June 2016 (Figure 3). It’s a cel-
lular technology related to LTE, designed specifically for LPWA
applications, using licensed spectrum on a range of possible
bands. It was designed to offer 20dB coverage improvement
versus GSM, 12–15 years operation on a single battery charge,
low device cost, and compatibility with existing cellular network
infrastructure, with the same level of security as LTE. It can be
deployed in a variety of frequency bands using a bandwidth of
only 200 kHz as a self-contained carrier.
Find out more detail about the features of NB-IoT as described

in the 3GPP specification Release 13 from June 2016, avail-
able at [1].
is likely to be able to communicate at closer to peak through-
Industrial grade (it shall be…) put, and it means that the network can manage with fewer
LPWA is designed to deliver the greatest coverage for the base stations (or gateways, repeaters and signal concentra-
lowest power consumption, and at the lowest cost, while still tors, depending on the network type) to cover a given area.
maintaining sufficient real-world data throughput. Table 1 Maximum link budget is a way of quantifying a connection’s
compares NB-IoT against LoRa and Sigfox in all four areas. performance accounting for attenuation and other losses, and
LPWA deployments often involve devices being installed across it gives us a simple way of comparing different radio commu-
a large area in less than ideal spots for a strong radio signal. nications technologies fairly.
Devices may be installed underground, deep within buildings,
or in rural areas far from the nearest mast. NB-IoT offers deeper coverage than alternative LPWA technolo-
A connectivity technology that delivers better coverage not only gies, and compared to conventional GSM/GPRS, a huge 20dB
means that devices in “edge” deployments are more likely to advantage, which equates to a sevenfold increase in coverage.
be able to connect to the network: it also means each device In our live trials, NB-IoT has been shown to penetrate an addi-
Sigfox LoRa NB-IoT
Coverage 160 dB 157 dB 164 dB

Technology Proprietary Proprietary Open LTE
Spectrum Unlicensed Unlicensed Licensed (LTE/any)
Duty Cycle restrictions Yes Yes No
Output power restrictions Yes (14 dBm = 25 mW) Yes (14 dBm = 25 mW) No (23 dBm = 200 mW)
Downlink data rate 0.1 kbps 0.3 – 50 kbps 0.5 – 200 kbps
Uplink data rate 0.1 kbps 0.3 – 50 kbps 0.3 – 180 kbps
Battery life (200b/day) 10+ years 10+ years 15+ years
Module cost <$10 (2016) <$10 (2016) $7 (2017) to <$2 (2020)
Security Low Low Low Very high
Table 1: Key technical specifications for NB-IoT (from R1-157741, Summary of NB-IoT evaluations results, 3GPP RAN1#83, Nov 2015), Sigfox, and LoRa
(from LoRaWAN: a technical overview of LoRa and LoRaWAN, LoRa Alliance, Nov 2015).

tional two to three double brick walls, enabling reliable con- All LPWA technologies prize power efficiency by design. While
nectivity of devices in underground car parks and basements. actual battery lifespan depends totally on the strength of the
Many LPWA use cases require only minimal bandwidth, instead device’s network reception and how much data it transfers
prioritizing coverage and power efficiency. But all other factors each day, most LPWA devices can happily endure for ten years
being equal, having more bandwidth available is a good thing. without a charge, even accounting for battery self-discharge
It gives customers more headroom to evolve their use of the and other factors.
technology in the years ahead. But perhaps more importantly,
it also ensures performance is acceptable even in extended NB-IoT does even better than that. It has been rigorously engi-
coverage situations. neered and in our statistical models can comfortably achieve
lifespans of around 15 years even on the very edge of cover-
NB-IoT has a theoretical bandwidth advantage over both Sigfox age, as Table 3 shows.
and LoRa, with downlink rates of up to 235 kbps (when deployed NB-IoT features two power-saving capabilities that work in tan-
standalone). By comparison, LoRa’s maximum data rate is dem to maximize performance and efficiency: Extended Dis-
27 kbps. But at the extreme limits of coverage, with a signal continuous Reception (eDRX) and Power Saving Mode (PSM).
to noise ratio of -12.6 dB, a standalone deployment of NB-IoT
transfers 3 kbps downlink (Table 2 shows) — a significant When a device is connected to the network, the network peri-
speed drop due to repetitions. Apply the same kind of signal odically sends paging messages on its control channels, which
degradation to a slower technology like Sigfox and LoRa and devices listen for and can respond to. Typically these messages
the data transfer rates drop close to zero. happen at least every few seconds, enabling the network to
maintain accurate information about the devices connected
The most significant bandwidth constraint for network technolo- to it, but at the cost of battery life: the devices are effectively
gies like LoRa and Sigfox is that, on their unlicensed spectrum always awake. For maximum efficiency, Power Saving Mode
bands, they’re subject to heavy legal restrictions on duty cycle (PSM) enables devices to slip into a deep sleep state for up to
— the percentage of time that a channel may be actively occu- 310 hours, only then waking to update the network and lis-
pied on the network. Duty cycle restrictions are typically 1%. ten to pages for a brief period before sleeping again. During
deep sleep the device is not reachable. Extended Discontinu-
Let’s see how that impacts real-world data transfer using ous Reception (eDRX) extends the paging interval cycle up to
Sigfox, for example. A Sigfox message has a maximum pay- nearly three hours, eliminating unnecessary receiver activa-
load of 12 bytes, and takes about six seconds to transmit. tions while still allowing the network to reach the client device
At 1% duty cycle maximum, a Sigfox device can send up to when needed.
144 messages per 24-hour period, for a daily data maximum One of the main arguments for Sigfox and LoRa is that GSM-
of about 1.6 KB. family technologies are generally complex. But NB-IoT has
been designed from a cellular standpoint to minimise many of
This may not be a problem during normal usage, where a device the factors that have conventionally increased hardware costs
is only expected to transmit a daily status update payload of for GSM client devices.
a few bytes. But it may be a real limiting factor during peri-
ods of high activity, when interference demands that a high NB-IoT hardware modules for example need limited memory
percentage of packets are retransmitted, or in exceptional (which is of the more affordable PSRAM variety), only a single
circumstances — such as pushing a new firmware version to antenna, and have no need for full-duplex operation, thereby
a device over the air to secure a vulnerability. avoiding the cost of an RF duplexer. Compared to LTE, they
Good Cell-edge Deep coverage Extreme coverage

+10 dB +20 dB
SNR > 7.4 dB SNR = 7.4 dB SNR = –2.6 dB SNR = –12.6 dB

Downlink (kbps) 235 75 34 3
Table 2: NB-IoT downlink throughput at different coverage levels (from R1-157741, Summary of NB-IoT evaluations results, 3GPP RAN1#83, Nov. 2015).
Years of battery life for Cell edge Deep coverage Extreme coverage
a 5 watt-hour battery: (144dB MCL) (154 dB MCL) (164 dB MCL)
50 bytes/day 36.7 33.1 20

200 bytes/day 36.3 29.7 14.2
Table 3: Estimated battery life (in years) for different coverage levels and data volumes. Source: R1-157741, Summary of NB-IoT evaluation results,
3GPP RAN1#83, Nov 2015.

have very relaxed constraints on timing delays, making chip
design and production less stringent. NB-IoT devices have
lower clock rates and can therefore be produced on larger
dies in more mature semiconductor fabs, at a lower cost. The
use of limited 200 kHz bandwidth reduces the size of buffers
and processing blocks, while the choice of decoder simplifies
the design of the modem and digital signal processor (DSP).
As a result of all this, we expect that NB-IoT devices, includ-

ing baseband and RF chipsets, will cost as little as $2 by end
of 2020, compared to approximately $40 for an LTE device
today. This will make NB-IoT communications components at
least as affordable as LoRa and Sigfox.
When you choose an LPWA technology, you need to be sure

that there will be networks available where you plan to deploy,
with significant national and international coverage for you to
scale up your business.
Aguas de Valencia: remote monitoring, without the
NB-IoT is a 3GPP standard closely related to LTE technology. hassle of network management
As a result, it can be deployed on almost all LTE base sta-
tions, alongside LTE traffic, through a straightforward software
Aguas de Valencia is multinational water provider. It’s
upgrade to the radio access network (RAN).
committed to innovation, and was an early adopter of
automated meter reading. Today it manages more than
Vodafone is in the process of adding NB-IoT to about 85% of its
600,000 automated meter reading devices, which until now
network through a software upgrade, with the rest upgradeable
used a proprietary technology that required Aguas de Valencia
after a small hardware modification, and the goal is to enable
to install and maintain its own infrastructure. It wanted to
all LTE sites with NB-IoT by 2020. Trials so far have demon-
migrate to a new communications technology that enabled it to
strated that NB-IoT is able to co-exist with legacy technologies.
remotely monitor meters without running its own infrastructure.
NB-IoT was the ideal candidate. Aguas de Valencia worked
Network operators can choose from three deployment options to
with Vodafone on a trial, testing NB-IoT’s ability to provide
suit different network environments, making NB-IoT perhaps the
coverage in hard-to-reach meter locations.
most flexible LPWA technology. It’s designed to fit into 180 kHz
of spectrum, so it fits neatly within one or more standard LTE
“The most important aspect of the trial was to identify locations
Physical Resource Block (PRB). Where it’s undesirable to divert
where it’s harder for a signal to reach, such as meter rooms in
any capacity away from LTE, NB-IoT can also be deployed within
basements with little or no coverage, meter boxes below ground,
the “guard band” at the edge of an LTE allocation — the gap
and recess niches with metal covers that block the signal. So
between frequency bands that’s designed to prevent interfer-
far the results have been very promising as the signal has been
ence. NB-IoT can also be deployed standalone on a single GSM
able to reach its destination without any issues in all of the
carrier spectrum, for example in locations where a carrier’s full
locations tested. We’ll be able to outsource communications to
4G rollout plans aren’t yet defined, or standalone alongside an
a telecomms carrier that guarantees data quality and security.
LTE spectrum band (Figure 4). Whichever way it’s deployed,
The life of a meter is about 10 years, aligned with battery life
NB-IoT does not rely on any other system’s signalling resources.
that this technology will be able to provide.”
This flexibility of deployment and ability to reuse existing net-

Víctor González, Director of Meters and Remote Reading, Aguas
work assets is a huge advantage over proprietary radio tech-
de Valencia
nologies like Sigfox and LoRa, where new network infrastructure
— gateways, masts, repeaters and so on — must be deployed
and managed separately, either by a carrier or by an enter-
prise or consortium of enterprises directly.
Such deployments are not only costly and slow, but may also
involve challenges around planning permission, backhaul pro-
visioning and other intractable problems, particularly in dense
urban areas.
Security and availability

Every survey of enterprise IoT adopters — including Vodafone’s
IoT Barometer — highlights the importance of security in IoT
deployments. Enterprises are concerned that their IoT devices
and connections will be vulnerable to hackers looking to steal Figure 4: In-band and guard-band spectra.

data, bring down services, or cause disruption by taking con- That aside, neither LoRa nor Sigfox build in sufficiently robust
trol of remote assets. security. Sigfox has hardly any: the communications channel
is not encrypted and there is no authentication built in; Sigfox
It’s tempting to view LPWA devices as too limited or unin- recommends that security is managed at the application layer
teresting to need protecting. After all, what’s the worst that instead. LoRa encrypts the message payload using an appli-
can happen if a hacker can tamper with a simple sensor, for cation session key, and message integrity is verified using a
example in a smart bin or smoke alarm? The reality is that the network session key, each provided when the device joins the
security of these devices does matter. network. But cryptographic key management is challenging.
If an attacker could trigger ten thousand smoke alarms simul- Furthermore, because ISM radio frequency bands need no
taneously, tell a council’s refuse team that every bin in the city licence to transmit on, it’s legal for anyone — including mali-
needs emptying all at once, or overload a farmer’s fields with cious hackers — to transmit data compatible with the LoRa
fertiliser by tampering with soil sensors, chaos would ensue. specification and thereby jam legitimate LoRa data transmis-
The challenge is how to adequately secure these devices in sions, creating a denial of service effect. Denial of service is
practice, using the foundational security pillars such as authen- just as damaging as a security breach.
tication and encryption. Most LPWA deployments, by design,
have little room for security. NB-IoT is a 3GPP standard closely related to LTE and inherits all
of the security techniques associated with it. A secret key built
For a $2–$5 device that needs to conserve power, the proces- into the NB-IoT SIM at point of manufacture is used to mutu-
sor overhead of encrypting and decrypting traffic is meaning- ally authenticate the network and the device, and to generate
ful. And under the limitations of a 1% duty cycle, it can be frequently updated session keys for encrypting traffic between
difficult to spare the few extra bytes needed to authenticate a the device and deep within the core network.
communications session. That same limited throughput also
leaves no spare capacity for patching devices to close vul- Obviously, where necessary and practical, additional “over the
nerabilities discovered during their infield lifespan. Layering top” layers of security can be applied to the device, commu-
a central traffic monitoring solution over the top to identify nications and application to increase the level of protection.
suspicious traffic is one response, but it does little to actually
prevent or react to disruption. Next steps
Vodafone believes the technological and market advantages
In the eyes of the security community, there are inherent dis- make NB-IoT the clear choice for any enterprise pursuing a
advantages to both LoRa and Sigfox: proprietary code reduces LPWA solution today (including start-ups and crowd-funded
the ability to scrutinise it and identify vulnerabilities before enterprises, Ed.) But you’d be right to test the technology for
hackers can exploit them. yourself before making any commitment.
1. Discuss NB-IoT as part of the NB-IoT Forum, formed by the

GSMA — contact us for details of how to participate
About Vodafone 2. Experience NB-IoT at our Open Labs in Newbury, UK or
Vodafone has more than 25 years of experience in IoT and Düsseldorf, Germany, to test example hardware modules
over 45 million active IoT connections. Our IoT customers and examine our network testbed, and request the latest
represent every sector, giving us deep insight into the information on field trial applications.
kinds of applications that are driving demand for LPWA 3. Contact your Vodafone Account Manager for sample NB-
technologies. IoT modules and SDK support to accelerate your solution
development. Find out more at [2].
And we’re putting that insight to work, as chair of the NB-
IoT Forum and one of the leading developers of 3GPP IoT … or expressed in narrow-band fashion: >get connected!
standards.
Web Links
[1] www.3gpp.org/images/PDF/R13_IOT_rev3.pdf
[2] www.vodafone.com/business/iot/nb-IoT

ROHM and A*STAR’S IME
to Develop Artificial Intelligence Chip For Predictive Maintenance
in Smart Factories
ROHM Semiconductor, and A*STAR’s Institute of Micro- ration will enable the developed chip to filter volumes of
electronics (IME) today announced the joint development data across multiple sensors, and analyze complex data
of an artificial intelligence (AI) chip to boost efficiency in patterns in real-time.
predictive maintenance for smart factories.
This novel AI chip is expected to perform significantly faster
The concept of ‘Predictive Maintenance’ has become wide- than the conventional method for predictive maintenance,
spread in the manufacturing industry as manufacturers as well as reduce power consumption, paving the way for
begin to digitalize their production lines for increased pro- greater asset productivity and lower overall maintenance
ductivity and competitiveness. Predictive maintenance costs. ROHM has plans for the AI chip to be compatible
forecasts machine failures, and it involves monitoring the with wireless technologies such as Wi-SUN, and EnOcean,
function and health of machines, and identifying potential and incorporate the chip to its proprietary sensor nodes
problems based on data received through device logs and and wireless modules.
sensors, and eventually taking counter-measures such as
repairing or replacing the affected machine. “I’m exceptionally delighted that we have our first opportu-
nity for cooperative research with A*STAR’s IME. Through
In order for any machine abnormality to be detected the fusion of ROHM’s sensor technology, analogue low-
throughout a production line, diverse amounts of data power technology and AI architecture with IME capabilities
gathered from multiple sensors are first transmitted over in low-power integrated circuit technology, we want to pro-
a wireless network to a central computer server for provide the optimum solutions for edge nodes”, commented
cessing and analysis. However, as the number of sensors Mr Koji Taniuchi, Fundamental Research and Development
increases in the future, the wireless communication technol- Division, General Manager at ROHM.
ogy for Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) would face band-
width constraints, and be unable to expeditiously transmit “Over the years, IME has built up strong expertise and
the increasingly large sensor data to the computer server. capabilities in integrated circuits and systems, as well as
research design and process technologies. The factories
Powered by the Internet of Things (IoT), AI is becoming a of tomorrow will demand highly intelligent solutions for
key enabler for predictive maintenance and performance greater integration of their operations in a seamless net-
improvement, because of its cognitive abilities such as work across the value chain. Our joint research with ROHM
learning, reasoning and problem-solving. ROHM and IME in developing an artificial intelligence chip is an important
will develop an AI chip that is capable of processing and step towards achieving greater efficiency in data transmis-
analyzing data as soon as they are received by a sensor sion and analysis necessary for predictive maintenance in
node. This drastically reduces the amount of sensor data the era of smart manufacturing”, said Dr Tan Yong Tsong,
to be transmitted wirelessly to a central computer server Executive Director of IME.
for them to be further processed and analyzed.
Leveraging ROHM’s original AI analytical algorithms, and

IME’s capabilities in ultra-low power analog/digital inte- www.rohm.com/eu
grated circuit and systems, as well as analog computation www.ime.a-star.edu.sg
circuits developed by both parties, the research collabo- www.a-star.edu.sg
17.115-News-EN-02.indd 9 07-09-17 16:38

5G — It’s Not Here Yet,
but Closer Than You Think
The race to define 5G may be ending,
but the process to design and deploy 5G technology
is just beginning
By Sarah Yost — mmWave Product Manager, National Instruments
It’s all about 5G. No matter where you go who and you’re talking to, 5G is at the center of conversations
about exciting new technology. While recent announcements from Mobile World Congress indicate that 5G is
already here, it’s not. But we’re getting very close.
The wireless communications com- the past year mean for 5G? And when Figure 1 shows the wide range of
munity has had a busy year — from will 5G be here? requirements expected of 5G, from
progress made on the standardization ultra-reliable, high-bandwidth commu-
process and essential updates com- 5G Frequencies: a combination nication for enhanced mobile broad-
municated from regulatory bodies, to of mmWave and sub-6 GHz band (eMBB) applications, to the low-
gaining understanding of the channel There is a lot left to be defined when bandwidth, machine-to-machine (M2M)
for newly proposed millimetre wave it comes to 5G, but one thing is cer- type communications we expect to see
(mmWave) frequencies and technolo- tain: sub-6 GHz spectrum is still very in Internet of Things (IoT) applica-
gies under development that will turn important, and mmWave frequencies tions. It is difficult, if not impossible,
5G into a commercial reality, anticipa- will be used to supplement sub-6 GHz for one band of spectrum to meet these
tion for 5G is at an all-time high. So, technology. needs, but combining two bands pro-
what do all the accomplishments from vides complementary coverage. Sub-6
17.115-EBM05-National Instruments-EN-02.indd 1 07-09-17 16:39

GHz spectrum offers better propagation The timeline
and backward compatibility for narrow- The International Telecommunications
band applications, while the contigu- Union (ITU) has defined two phases of Beginner
ous bandwidth at mmWave frequencies research as shown in Figure 2: Phase 1 Level: Intermediate
enables the key eMBB applications that for sub-40 GHz and Phase 2 for sub-
Professional
5G promises. 100 GHz. Phase 1 is scheduled to end
Product
Subject: Service
Advice
Trading
Potential
Production
Advice: Technology
Regulatory
Theoretical
Approach: Practical
Mixed
Website:
www.ni.com
in June 2018 to correspond with the

3GPP’s LTE release 15. Phase 2 is slated
to end in December 2019 to correspond
with LTE release 16. Figure 2 shows
both the ITU and 3GPP timelines as of
fall, 2016.
The ITU’s proposed dates and the fre-

Figure 1: Targeted 5G applications include quencies that will be used, however,
enhanced mobile broadband and are anything but certain. At the March
machine-to-machine communication. 2017 3GPP RAN plenary meeting (#75),
a way forward (WF) was presented
with an accelerated schedule for the
release of 5G New Radio (NR), as seen
in Figure 3.
NTT DOCOMO presented its recommen-

dation for which frequency bands should
be used during the last RAN4 meeting
(#82) in a Way Forward (WF). Table 1
summarizes the frequency ranges and
corresponding telecom operators.
28 GHz and Verizon

The work at 28 GHz has dominated the
news on sub-40 GHz research over the
past year, but it is not the only fre-
quency under consideration. The FCC
and Verizon have been driving the
work at 28 GHz. To allocate additional
mmWave bands for fl exible use and
future proposed rulemaking, the FCC
Figure 2: ITU and 3GPP Timelines for 5G. Image source: http://frankrayal.com/ approved the Spectrum Frontiers Pro-

In 2015, Verizon established the 5G
Technical Forum (5GTF) with Cisco, Eric-
sson, Intel, LG, Nokia, Qualcomm and
Samsung. The working group’s main goal
was to develop a wireless alternative to
Fiber to The Home (FTTH) using mmWave
spectrum also known as Fixed Wireless
Access (FWA). The 5GTF draws largely
from the LTE standard and adds concepts
now being researched and proposed for
5G in 3GPP.
The 5GTF extends the subcarrier spac-

ing by a multiple of 5 (75 kHz subcar-
riers versus 15 kHz yielding 100 MHz
bandwidth per component carrier) and
reduces the subframe spacing by an
inverse proportion to maintain timing
consistency with LTE. The 5GTF has also
Figure 3: Accelerated 3GPP NR Release Schedule (as of March 2017). added control signals and expanded the
physical layer to include digital beam-
forming and precoding.
At the IEEE Wireless Communications

and Networking Conference (WCNC) in
San Francisco, National Instruments
(NI) demonstrated a real-time work-
ing prototype of the 5GTF. While it was
not the first prototype of the specifica-
tion, it was notable for several reasons,
one of which being that it was the first
public demonstration of the technology
in action.
Verizon is aware that it will push out

mmWave technology pre-standardiza-
tion. The question looming over V5G is
whether it will comply with 3GPP 5G stan-
dards or not, hence the risk of deploying
mmWave technology before the stan-
dards are defined. If Verizon’s gamble
Figure 4: mmWave Bands Allocated by the FCC. pays off, Verizon will have a significant
head start in the race to 5G. If not, it
will need to replace a lot of outdated
posal in July 2016. The 28-GHz band is Verizon secured a license for the 28-GHz hardware.
one of the three bands available today band from XO Communications last year,
for flexible use in the United States [1]. and has been vocal about its desire to New Radio (NR)
Figure 4 presents a visual of the bands. use this frequency for its initial deploy- NR is intended to cover all applications
Based on the WF at the RAN4 meet- ment. Despite not having a fully stan- and all frequency bands, including the
ing, global carriers, including European dardized version of the technology to three main application key performance
operators Orange, British Telecom, and roll out for this testing, Verizon is mak- indicators for 5G put forth by the ITU:
Telecom Italia, have established signifi- ing a bet that the hardware they deploy enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB),
cant alignment around 24–28 GHz. This now will have the capability to run what- Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communi-
may seem surprising based on previ- ever specification is eventually released cations (URLLC), and Massive Machine
ous conclusions that 28 GHz is not a through a software update in the future Type Communications (MMTC). That
suitable band for Europe because of [2]. Other US carriers have agreed to means that the physical layer needs
frequency incumbents, but the lower use the 28-GHz band and both AT&T and to be flexible enough to generate sig-
frequencies in that band have poten- T-Mobile indicated that they will conduct nificantly higher data throughput while
tial. As expected, those same European more research on 28-GHz based tech- allowing for hundreds of times more
operators are requesting spectrum at nologies and partner with equipment pro- devices to connect to the network for
32 GHz. viders for additional field trials. Narrow Band IoT (NB-IoT). The PHY

Frequency range / LTE band Operators whose request is included in the frequency range
3.3 – 4.2 GHz DOCOMO, KDDI, SBM, CMCC, China Telecom, KT, SK Telecom, LG Uplus,
Etelisat, Orange, Telecom Italia, British Telecom, Deutsche Telekom
4.4 – 4.99 GHz DOCOMO, KDDI, SBM, CMCC, China Unicom, China Telecom
24.25 – 29.5 GHz DOCOMO, KDDI, SBM, CMCC, KT, SK Telecom, LG Uplus, Etelisat, Orange,
Telecom Italia, British Telecom, Deutsche Telekom
31.8 – 33.4 GHz Orange, Telecom Italia, British Telecom
37 – 40 GHz AT&T, Verizon, T-mobile
1.427 – 1.518 GHz Etelisat
1710 - 1785 MHz / 1805 – 1880 MHz (Band 3) CMCC, China Telecom
2500 – 2570 MHz / 2620 – 2690 MHz (Band 7) CHTTL, British Telecom
880 – 915 MHz / 925 – 960 MHz (Band 8) CMCC
832 – 862 MHz / 791 – 821 MHz (Band 20) Orange
703 – 748 MHz / 758 – 803 MHz (Band 28) Orange
2496 – 2690 MHz (Band 41) Sprint, China Telecom, C-Spirte, China Telecom
1710 – 1780 MHz / 2110 – 2200 MHz (Band 66) T-mobile
1920 – 1980 MHz / 2110 – 2170 MHz (Band 1) China Unicom, China Telecom
Table 1: Proposed New Radio (NR) Spectrum Way Forward from RAN4 Meeting #82, Recommended to RAN Plenary #75.
also needs to be reliable enough with of 2017. Frequency selection does not
low enough latency to be used in self- have a strict deadline, but operators are
The Author
driving cars. This is no easy task, and pushing technology forward to get 28
the standards that are being proposed GHz hardware deployed in 2017 field Sarah is a product marketing
for NR are significantly more complex trials. By the second quarter of 2018, manager on the software defined
than V5G. Certain aspects like adding South Korea will have demonstrated its radio team at NI. She manages NI’s
beam management are similar between 5G technology preview. The full stan- mmWave hardware products. Sarah
the two, but NR will incorporate both dardization process will not be complete also focuses on outbound marketing
slow and fast beam management. NR yet, but a clearer picture of what 5G is activities for both 5G prototyping
will also leverage LTE as much as pos- will begin to emerge. The race to define and SDR. She has a deep knowledge
sible, but it uses different sample and 5G may be ending, but the process to of USRPs from her time spent on the
subcarrier rates. design and deploy 5G technology is just Ettus Research R&D team.
beginning.
Despite the buzz around NR and a desire
to finalize the standard earlier than ini-
tially planned, not much data has been
References
published about the performance of the
specification. The limited trials at 28 GHz [1] Use of Spectrum Bands Above
have focused more on channel sound- 24 GHz for Mobile Radio Services,
ing than demonstrating the feasibility of GN Docket No. 14-177, Notice of
the NR specification. NI has developed a Proposed Rulemaking, 15 FCC Record
New Radio prototyping system that can 138A1 (rel. Oct. 23, 2015).
run a multi-user MIMO link. This system [2] www.fiercewireless.com/tech/
uses the NI mmWave Transceiver Sys- verizon-files-to-conduct-28-ghz-
tem (MTS) and flexible physical layer IP market-trials-4-states.
written in LabVIEW.
A 2018 finish line

for the race to 5G
By early 2018, we will likely have an
answer to “What is 5G?” Based on the
accelerated schedule presented at the
March 2017 3GPP RAN plenary meet-
ing (#75), the physical layer and MAC
layer for NR will be settled by the end

Global Development Trends
in Embedded and Internet of
Things Technology
By Allan He — Beijing Microtec Software Technologies Ltd. (BMR)
2016 was a year of swift development in embedded

technology and Internet of Things (IoT). Based on
traditional application, embedded technology is now
deep in the process of exploring rising market, where
IoT is one of the most promising aspects. In the
current evolution of new technology, IoT is the game
disrupter; it bridges the physical and digital worlds
and is changing how companies approach customers
and provide new services. Mid 2017 has arrived and
I analysed the current trends of embedded and IoT
technology.
Acquisitions will continue kets are still small in scale, chip companies are counting on the
Acquisitions have been frequent within the chip manufacturing future of them; the trend of acquisitions will likely continue.
this past year, and are likely to continue this year — the main
reason being the incentive to cut cost and raise profit. As R&D IoT lays particular emphasis on low cost, energy consumption
cost rises, manufacturers have to find ways to squeeze out and high efficiency. Current embedded processor and micro-
more profits. Recent high profile mergers include Qualcomm/ controller (MCU) products are suitable for most IoT applica-
NXP, Microchip/Atmel and Renesas/Intersil; such deals will nor- tions since they do not require particularly high performance.
mally take 1 to 2 years to come to a close. While acquisitions Prominent embedded processor vendors will continue to target
are likely to impact the industry in a negative way at first, they specific application and provide new products of suitable sizes
will help to popularize IoT technology and systems in the long with best efficiency.
term. IoT applications are end-user-facing; chip design require
high efficiency, security, usability (for dev tools), and low cost. After years of development the MCU, which became prominent
All of which demand investment to create embedded process with its 8-bit variant, is now at the frontier of IoT. Specifically,
(including MCU) designs that are highly integrated with rich 32-bit MCU is enjoying a good share of IoT due to its low power
software support. By 2018, I believe we will see more innova- and high uptime. As MCUs become more integrated and soft-
tive chip solutions for IoT. ware solutions become richer, processors/sensors are going
to be closely tied with the Cloud.
Mergers will lead embedded processor into the vertical market
of IoT. Industry leaders will seek to seize market opportunities Although ARM-based processors and MCUs are currently lead-
that have high growth rate, e.g. Advanced Driver Assistance ing the market of embedded/IoT, GPUs are gradually becoming
Systems (ADAS), Autonomous Driving, Computer Vision, Arti- influential as computer graphics processing, artificial reality
ficial Intelligence (AI) and 5G Network. Leading chip manufac- (AR) and AI (artificial intelligence) are growing. IoT is boost-
turers are already using acquisitions to leap into the vertical ing the development of low-energy computing and wireless
markets, noticeable examples like Samsung/Harman Interna- networking, where new processor technology and business
tional in automobile market and Intel/Movidius in computer models will arise. AI also has a long way to ripeness. Embed-
graphics field (graphic chips are now installed on devices like ded edge computing will play an important role in improving
DJI UAV and Tango AR smartphones). While these vertical mar- capacity and real-time aspects of computing, with Amazon
17.115-EBM05-Allan He-EN-02.indd 1 07-09-17 16:40

Alexa being one instance. IoT and AI will push the envelope
of R&D in processor architecture and application; open source
hardware will also be a continuous trend.
The IoT platform is reaching maturity

Cloud computing can be categorized into Software as a Ser-
vice (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure
as a Service (IaaS). The IoT cloud platform is in line with the
definition of PaaS, Figure 1 shows its typical architecture. IoT
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devices are connected to device gateways or smartphones

via Bluetooth or Zigbee, then to an IoT Cloud platform using
WiFi or 4G/LTE. Cloud platforms are usually built on top of
public cloud (IaaS), and provide lifecycle support to con-
nected devices.
Well-known IoT Cloud platforms include Amazon AWS IoT,

Microsoft Azure IoT, General Electric Predix IoT IBM Wat-
son IoT and PTC IoT (ThingsWork). In China there are China
Mobile OneNet, Guangzhou GizWits and Alibaba Smart Cloud.
Open source framework wise, Kaa and Eclipse Kura are prime
examples.
Traditional enterprise software vendors like Oracle, SAP and

RedHat are also developing IoT platform solutions, reaching
into the field of IoT sensors. IoT targeting enterprise applica- Figure 1: IoT Cloud Platform.


Subject: Advice: Technology www.bmrtech.com
Service
Advice Regulatory
EBM ARTICLE TAGGING

tions (Enterprise IoT) will be enjoying high growth in the next Another aspect is IoT functional safety, which is closely tied to
1-2 years, serving, for example, connected automobiles, the industrial IoT (IIoT) fields like automotive electronics, factory
smart city and the intelligent industry. automation, industrial control, railway signalling, smart power
grids etc. Compared to the IoT, the design and implementation
IoT OS emerging as a new force within IIoT are more formalized, with mature software, tools
E m b e d d e d s y s t e m s h ave b e e n u s i n g o p e n s o u r c e and consulting services.
software（OSS）widely, one of the best examples being Linux.
The traditional embedded OS has been moving slowly with few 2017 is likely to close as another year of development of embed-
good profitable business models. This is true with only a few ded and IoT technology. After “integrations” within the chip
exceptions like automobile electronics, aerospace and military/ manufacturer arena, many IoT applications will scale up and
defense. As the IoT Cloud platform is evolving, operating system prosper. Low-Power Wide-Area Network (LPWAN) is also likely
on devices are integrating with Cloud platforms and become IoT to advance rapidly, with different platforms and network stan-
OS (aka Operating System for Internet of Things), for instance, dards (e.g. LoRa, Sigfox and NB-IoT) competing with each other.
ARM mbed OS (Figure 2), Google Android Things, Microsoft The world’s largest 5G experiment field was just announced
Windows 10 IoT Core, Huawei LiteOS and MxChip Mico OS. in China, located in Huairou, Beijing, proving end-to-end test
environment to help forming 5G standard and pushing the
While high-tech giants are pushing IoT OS, open-source soft- industry forward. Low-power connection, low latency and high
ware will continue to be active, e.g. FreeRTOS (users include availability aspects of 5G will be major boosts to IoT.
smart watch pioneer Pebble and many other IoT devices) and
TinyOS. As the requirement and business model for IoT sys- 2018 is likely to be a year of breakthroughs. OS and network
tems are not yet clear, and IoT OS technology still has a long security technology in IoT will mature; processor technology,
way to go, many engineers opt to use OSS to customize IoT under influence of AI and AR, will explode; IoT will enjoy a
OS solutions. major growth period using the next generation of networks.
The Author
Allan He is the founder of BMR, an embedded software

company in China since 1995. With more than 30
years of embedded system development and marketing
experience in Asia Allan is an early practitioner in the
field of embedded operating systems. He was the Deputy
Chief Editor of “MCU and Embedded System Applications”
journal, and has published more than 60 papers and
articles in various international and domestic journals, and
for domestic conferences. Allan also authored the book
“Embedded Operating System: History of Development and
the Future of the Internet of Things”.
Figure 2: ARM mbed OS.
IoT Security and safety — a long way to go

On Oct. 21st 2016, DNS service provider Dys suffered severe a
DDos attack, causing widespread downtime of US websites like
Amazon and Twitter. Analysis indicates that 100 thousands of
IoT devices infected with Miral malware might be the culprits,
heating up the debate on IoT security. Shellphish’s live hack on
fingerprint unlock of Huawei P9 Lite (Oct 26th 2016), a massive
video surveillance leak in Hangzhou (2015) — there are many
incidents that raise public awareness of IoT security issue.
Previously, smart device manufacturers had to be concerned

about the device and the data generated only. Even this require-
ment is often not met in consumer electronic products. Now
they are asked to protect both the device and the network,
the being outside their customers’ direct powers. What’s more,
the security design of IoT is still being researched. There is no
true mature design or implementation yet.

IoT Helps Caribbean Hotels
Save on Energy
Thanks to the highly integrated nature of a

manufacturing plant developed in Blaichach,
embracing Industry 4.0, a vision of the future has
been clearly set out by Bosch.
The Buddy Ohm was developed by South Australian com- and in small tourism dependent islands like Barbados, air
pany Buddy Platform to help users moderate water and conditioning alone accounts for 48 percent of hotel elec-
electricity use. Using sensors, the device is able to deliver tricity consumption.
real-time information to the cloud, enabling building man-
agers to make the necessary changes to reduce costs as The Ohm monitors environmental conditions around hotels
efficiently as possible. and are powered by batteries that last a year, enabling it
to be used in areas where power is scarce.
Buddy platform has now partnered with leading mobile
operator Digicel for its Buddy Ohm product to be marketed, The system uses pulse sensors to track the flow of steam,
sold, distributed and installed across Digicel’s 26 markets water and gas to provide a complete view of usage.
in the Caribbean and Central America.
Digicel is the largest mobile operator in the Caribbean and
Buddy CEO David McLauchlan said the new deal was a big as such has key relationships with some of the largest
opportunity for the Ohm to expand across the world. “Tour- energy and resource consumers in the region.
ism is the largest driver of economic growth for Jamaica
and the Caribbean region but many tourism operators are Last year, Buddy Platform established its Australian head-
faced with extremely high bills for water and electricity,” he quarters in South Australia’s capital Adelaide, its first office
said. “Working in partnership with Digicel, Buddy Ohm will outside the United States. David McLauchlan had spent the
help these businesses reduce their resource consumption previous 15 years working for Microsoft in Seattle, found-
and associated costs, which will have a positive knock-on ing Buddy Platform, and acting as an advisor to the Bill
effect for the region.” and Melinda Gates Foundation. McLauchlan said he was
approached by almost every Australian state but chose
Hotels require a lot of energy to create unique tourist expe- Adelaide because of the lifestyle, ease of movement and
riences so monitoring and optimizing usage of electricity the high standard of engineering talent on offer.
and water is important.
According to the World Bank, electricity prices in the Carib-

bean are three to four times higher than the United States https://buddy.com/
17.115-News-EN-02.indd 11 07-09-17 16:42

by Robert van der Zwan
Our Business
On these platform pages innovators and small companies open their
workplace(s) exclusively to Elektor Business Magazine readers. Here are their
tools, gear, products in the making, and, importantly, the people active at any
phase of the InnovationStart-upTrade progression. In this edition the platform
is given to: Moritz Schwarz from Loetronic in Aachen, Germany.
A Worldwide Audio Market Orchestrated

from the City of Aachen
A fusion of intellectual property and hands-on experience
Since a month or two, Elektor has its head

office in the German city of Aachen. But that is
beside the point. More important is the fact that 12
years ago a worldwide audio specialist was born in this
beautiful city that once, around 800 AD, could be considered
Founder and CEO of the first capital of Europe. Loetronic has become a world-
Loetronic Moritz Schwarz: wide operating company, yet with only a handful of people
“We love to design, to program and to build without too much overhead. working in a 19th century industrial building just outside the
That is what brought us here. But we also want to move along, serving an city centre. What is the key to its success? Maybe the city
ever increasing customer base around the world.”
itself has something to do with it.
17.115-Our Business-EN-05.indd 1 07-09-17 16:43

Loetronic, founded in 2005 by Moritz Schwarz, has a cus- Okay, this is a rather compact glance at the company. But
tomer base of about 250 clients. These customers are truly what are its products about? Schwarz started out with an MP3
situated around the globe. They are from Germany of course, player during the days that iPods were things that belonged
but also from Austria and Switzerland, and from Belgium, to the future. “I designed a MP3 player, programmed it, built
France, the Netherlands, the UK, the USA… Asian countries it and tested it, together with a connector for a hard disk of
complete the list. course.” Later on he also used flash cards and SD cards as a
memory for the audio files. The MP3 players got sold by tens
This customer base has its origin in Aachen and Aachen alone – of thousands.
Schwarz didn’t feel the need to move elsewhere. Like all of his
colleagues he attended classes at the Fachhochschule (leading Marketing skills
to a Bachelor’s degree, BSc) and/or Aachen University, locally When asked where he got his marketing skills from, Schwarz’s
known by the acronym RWTH (resulting in a Master’s degree, answer boils down to the following: he never acquired mar-
MSc). It is also because Aachen is an internationally oriented keting skills at school. “With the help of
city, attracting both domestic and foreign students, lead- some friends, I created a website
ing to a mix of highly qualified people who are happy to where people could order their
use English as their lingua franca. MP3 players.” To this day, Loe-
tronic even operates without
an online shop. Instead of
visiting a web shop, cus-
tomers have to send a
mail to Loetronic or sim-
ply phone to Aachen. This
hasn’t stopped Loetronic
from becoming a global
player when it comes to
audio.
The Loetronic-developed Ultra MP3 Player:

“Please press a button!” Well, not just any button:
the Play/Pause button is a good start.
The Loetronic team: from left to right Tim, Sebastian, Durim,

Moritz, Max, Stefan.
Something more Obviously, this success cannot be explained by designing and

There is even something more to Aachen. Because of the pres- manufacturing MP3 players alone. MP3 players after all are
ence of both a more practical Fachhochschule and a more something of, ermm, the past? Somewhere around 2009,
theoretically oriented university, Schwarz knows that the city Schwarz realised he had to switch gears. “Not in the sense of
combines the two like no other. manufacturing more, but – quite the opposite – in the sense
of manufacturing less.” Being an audio specialist who origi-
That is why his company reflects his city. Schwarz’s colleagues, nally considered designing MP3 players more of a hobby than
quite often working as interns, could be soldering a prototype a business, he now knew he could use his knowledge to do
in the morning hours and doing some programming in the what he definitely liked most: to create an even more diverse
afternoon. Schwarz himself likes to concentrate on program- customer base for audio products worldwide.
ming microcontrollers and designing PCB layouts. PCBs that,
as a prototype, indeed get their final shape in the hands of In order to create such a customer base, he and his colleagues
his colleagues. All in all, not more than six people are working just had to specialise. And they did. In niche markets you do not
at Loetronic. That is because the actual manufacturing for all sell into the thousands, let alone into the ten-thousands. You sell
250 customers is done elsewhere in Germany. in the hundreds if you are lucky. But it is here where added value
can be found, added value for which customers are willing to pay.

Schwarz upgraded his MP3 Could this STEM character also stem from the fact that, since a
module so that it could be couple of months, Elektor has its head office in Aachen? After
used together with a carrier all, Aachen University is just around the corner of the Elektor
board, one that would (or premises. Well, Elektor should show some humility here. It
would not…) require some is the other way around of course: Elektor is just around the
modification when used for corner of all kinds of buildings belonging to Aachen Univer-
specific applications. This way, sity. Okay, let’s find middle ground here: both institutions are
Loetronic combined the best of working together closely, covering audio and much more.
both worlds: being specific while at
the same time consolidating its knowl-
edge base to the full of its extent.
The universal MP3 Module can be found in many different products. It can
Quite impressive be plugged onto a specially designed carrier board, opening up a window
What kind of applications are we talking about? The list is quite of audio opportunities.
extensive and quite impressive: speaking robots (or trees…)
in theme parks, announcement systems in trains and coaches,
audible sightseeing info while being in a cable car (or a museum
of course), interactive audio for managing queues in super-
markets and so on.
As for the latter: this checkout lane opening system in a super-

market is an exception to the rule that specialised systems
could only sell into the hundreds range instead of the thou-
sands. Indeed, around 10,000 of such interactive systems
are being used (or about to be used) by vari-
ous European supermarket chains. And all
of this started with a rather straight-
forward online request from a Ger-
man electronics company, asking
for Loetronic’s audio expertise…
(this company being Rickert
Systemtechnik from Schmal-
lenberg, a small town in the
middle of Germany; see also
the textbox).
Where does this al lead to?

Does Loetronic want to expand,
maybe even beyond Aachen, now A new checkout lane opening system
that its customer base becomes
more colourful and more international Back in 2011, the German company Rickert System-
by the day? This thought indeed crosses technik asked Loetronic to integrate an audio module into
Schwarz’s mind: “Yes, if you want to solidify your its so-called till lane (checkout lane) opening system. These
position, expansion is a next logical step. It is important that systems ensure that a retail customer is directed to checkout
your organisation is up to any new job. It is true: we consider desks in a targeted way, preventing queues from becoming too
small to be beautiful – after all, we are all technical people long. By using audible information in a consistent and timely
here. We love to design, to program and to build without too manner, such checkout lane opening systems can be very
much overhead. That is what brought us here. But we also effective and customer friendly. Also, all kinds of new possibi-
want to move along, serving an ever increasing customer base lities can be added, such as Store Managers being called to a
around the world.” specific location or an employee being requested to go to the
bottle deposit machine. Since 2011 the checkout lane opening
No worries systems have been further developed, perfected and manu-
There is one thing Schwarz need not worry about. Although factured in various versions.
in the rest of Europe and the United States it is rather difficult
to find the right people with ‘STEM’ qualifications (Science,
Technology, Engineering, Mathematics), this is something of a
no-brainer in Aachen. After all, both the Fachhochschule and
Aachen University are nearby, with people who are as motivated
as Moritz and his colleagues are.

DALI and Ethernet
Design | Driven | Distribution® Technologies comprised in One
IoT Ecosystem
First class supplier of active, passive

and electromechanical components
from leading manufacturers around
the world.
SE Skipper UBT21-1
Dortmund-based company Lemonbeat GmbH – the developer behind the IoT

infrastructure technology of the same name – is expanding its portfolio, adding
interfaces for “DALI”, the international standard for lighting controls in building
automation, as well as cabled Ethernet technologies.
With its software technology of the same name, Lemonbeat has developed
a comprehensive construction kit for the Internet of things that can bestow
“intelligence” on even simple battery-powered devices. In this way, devices
can interact with each other directly and independently of any central cloud-
based or gateway control system via the “Lemonbeat smart Device Language”
UBT21-1 is an industrial bluetooth
(LsDL). This makes IoT installations more reliable, and means that only data
stick built to simplify and optimise
that are relevant for analysis or monitoring purposes are transmitted for central
the communication between
industrial products and personal processing. The patented, energy-saving “Lemonbeat Radio” wireless techno-
computers (Windows, Mac, Linux). logy is typically used at sub-GHz frequencies to enable communication between
devices. This technology makes large bandwidths possible, and is suitable for
local networks that are operating at the their limits under conventional stan-
Skipper Features dards. Lemonbeat technology always uses proven Internet standards such as
XML or IPv6, which means that it can be implemented flexibly.
• Range: 300+ meters (Line of sight)
• Throughput: 720+ kbps (net data rate)
• Bluetooth 4.0 + Low Energy Initial applications can be found in areas such as smart homes, smart gardens,
(Bluetooth Smart Ready) and even in the professional automation of commercial buildings thanks to
Lemonbeat’s cooperation with Phoenix Contact.
Profiles & Services:
• SPP, DUN, PAN (Classic Bluetooth) In order to add “Lemonbeat Intelligence” to the international “Digitally Addres-
• GATT, u-blox Serial Port Service sable Lighting Interface” (DALI) standard that is used in building automation
(Bluetooth Low Energy) to control lighting equipment, the company now provides an adapter that
straightforwardly integrates these devices into the Lemonbeat IoT ecosystem.
An additional interface allows devices to be integrated into Lemonbeat net-
works via cables using Ethernet technology.
More information about the
products of Spezial-Electronic:
SE Spezial-Electronic GmbH
www.spezial.com
[email protected]
www.lemonbeat.com
+49 (0) 5722 / 203 - 104 www.wespeakiot.com
Components • Services • Logistics
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The SDS1000X series employs a new generation of SPO • Low ripple & noise
technology. With excellent signal fidelity, background noise is • Protection against short circuit, overload and over-temperature
lower than similar products in the industry. The SDS1000X has • Adjustable voltage range: 0 ~ 30 V
a minimum vertical input range of 500 µV/div, an innovative • Safety: EN 61010-1
digital trigger system with high sensitivity and low jitter, Specifications
and a waveform capture rate of 60,000 frames/sec. Add an • Output voltage (fixed) 0 ~ 30 V DC
impressive array of measurement and math capabilities, • Output current 0 ~ 5 A DC
options for an integrated 25-MHz arbitrary waveform • Load regulation ≤ 0.01% + 5 mV
generator. • Line regulation ≤ 0.01% + 1 mV
s are Item descriptions are subject to change, errors and omis- price: €559 rrp • €559 mp price: €89.95 rrp • €80.96 mp
dling. sions. rrp =recommended retail price; mp = member price.
www.elektor.com/siglent-sds1102x www.elektor.com/peaktech-6225a
SMD Soldering Station VTSS100 Voltera V-One Desktop PCB Printer ScanaQuad SQ200
Features: The Voltera V-One creates two layer prototype circuit boards ScanaQuad series of logic analyzers and signals generators
• Anti-static design with grounding on your desk. Gerber files go in, printed circuit boards come are 4 channel, USB powered devices that allow you to capture
• Adjustable airflow and temperature to suit your needs out. The dispenser lays down a silver-based conductive ink signals, visualize and analyze them on a host computer
• Auto cool-off process upon turning off the unit to ensure to print your circuit right before your eyes. Assembling software, and generate signals.
safety and to prolong heating element’s life traditional and additive boards is easy with the V-One’s
• Compatible with various types of air nozzles solder paste dispensing and reflow features. Simply mount Features
your board on the print bed and import your Gerber file into • 4 channels configurable as input or outputs
Specifications: Voltera’s software. No more stencils required. Compatible • 200MHz Sampling frequency
• Power supply: 230VAC / 50Hz with EAGLE, Altium, KiCad, Mentor Graphics, Cadence, • 4M Points memory per channel
• Power consumption: 250W DipTrace, Upverter. The VOne Desktop PCB Printer includes all • Adjustable input threshold from 0.5V -> 3V
• Temperature range: 100°C ~ 500°C accessories and consumables needed to get started. • Input protection up to ±35V
• Heating element: metal heating core • 2 configurable differential input pairs
• With diaphragm pump • Adjustable digital output voltage level 1.8V -> 5V
• Air capacity: 23l/min
price: €199.95 rrp • €179.96 mp price: €3,761.50 (also mp) price: €184.95 • €166.46 mp
www.elektor.com/vtss100 www.elektor.com/voltera-v-one www.elektor.com/scanaquad-sq200
17.115-EBM05-Store-EN-01.indd 2 07-09-17 09:35

Our Contributors Advertisers
Beijing Microtec Software Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Multi Leiterplatten GmbH .................................. 2

Global Development Trends in Embedded and Internet of Things Würth Elektronik............................................. 13
Technology | Allan He
Congatec ........................................................ 21
Kontron .......................................................... 41
Trinamic Motion Control ................................. 57
Bürkert Fluid Control Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SE Spezial-Electronic GmbH ............................ 63
Decentralized Intelligence in the Age of Industry 4.0 | Werner Bennek Elektor Business E-Store .................... 64 and 65
Elektor ........................................................... 67
Messe München .............................................. 68
congatec . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Baseboard Design for SMARC 2.0 | Daniel Stadler
Flavio Stiffan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Are we becoming IoT dependent? | Flavio Stiffan
IBM Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Industry 4.0/Industrial IoT: From Interoperability to Cognitive Concepts |
Ralf Bucksch and Plamen Kiradjiev
Infographics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Infographics | Robert van der Zwan
Maurizio Di Paolo Emilio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Energy Harvesting for Low-power Devices | Maurizio Di Paolo Emilio
Nabto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Synchronous IoT Remote Control | Carsten Gregersen
National Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5G — It’s Not Here Yet, but Closer Than You Think | Sarah Yost
Next Edition
Elektor Business Magazine edition 6/2017 has
a focus on Components & Production and is a special
release for the productronica trade show in Mu-
Nokia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Including | Whitepaper contribution nich on 14-17 November 2017. Among the contribu-
tors are companies and research institutions including
Becktronics, Windriver, 4D Systems, Pixus, Visotech,
premier Farnell, Botfactory, ROHM, Heraeus Sensor
Our Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A Worldwide Audio Market Orchestrated from the City of Aachen | Technology, Weller Tools, Molex, and Microchip.
Robert van der Zwan
Plus you’ll find fresh instalments of all the EBM regu-
lars like Infographics, Operation Marketing, Our Busi-
ness, and Business Store.
Vodafone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Narrowband-IoT: Pushing the Boundaries of IoT | Whitepaper contribution
Elektor Business Magazine edition 6 /2017 is
published on 1 October 2017 to Elektor Magazine
Gold members in print, and Elektor Green members
as a pdf download. The edition is also available for
purchase at www.elektormagazine.com.
17.115-EBM05-Contributors-EN-03.indd 1 08-09-17 09:47

Join the
Community
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16.116-Community-UK-A4-03.indd 1 13-03-17 18:14

Connecting Global Competence
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17.115-Adv-EN.indd 2
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Trade Startup Innovation: Iot & Industry 4.0

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DITION Edition 5/2017 | € 9.

INNOVATION STARTUP TRADE

17.115-EBM05-Cover-EN-01.indd 1 07-09-17 16:03

1-10 layers, from €232,05 €195 net • Ultra finest-line

SMD-Stencils and Printed Circuit Boards coordinated under one roof:

17.115-Adv-EN.indd 1 06-09-17 14:26

IoT and Industry 4.0 3

17.115-EBM05-Editorial-EN-02.indd 1 07-09-17 09:48

64 Elektor Business Store

Industry 4.0/Industrial IoT:

60 Our Business — Loetronics, Aachen From Interoperability to Cognitive Concepts

66 Index of Advertisers | Our Contributors |

News pages 9, 15, 23, 43, 51, 59, and 63

4 Elektor Business Magazin 5/2017

17.115-EBM05-Contents-EN-02.indd 1 07-09-17 17:20

Very Smart Bus

Shelters 36 Energy Harvesting for Low-power

Baseboard Design 39 Synchronous IoT Remote Control

52 5G — It’s Not Here yet, but Closer than

Decentralized Intelligence sed millimetre wave (mmWave) frequencies and

in the Age of Industry 4.0 into a commercial reality, anticipation for 5G is at

56 Global Development Trends in Embedded

IoT und Industrie 4.0 5

17.115-EBM05-Contents-EN-02.indd 2 07-09-17 17:20

Proprietary or not? Communication standard based on CANopen

6 Elektor Business Magazine 5/2017

17.115-EBM05-Bürkert-EN-02.indd 1 07-09-17 16:06

faces. This powerful software is available free of charge from

Beginner Trading Theoretical

Product Production Website:

IoT and Industry 4.0 7

17.115-EBM05-Bürkert-EN-02.indd 2 07-09-17 16:06

Bürkert Fluid Control Systems is a world-leading manufacturer

The company, headquartered in Ingelfingen in southern Ger-

is either data-flow orientated with function block diagrams

8 Elektor Business Magazine 5/2017

17.115-EBM05-Bürkert-EN-02.indd 3 07-09-17 16:07

5th generation mobile networks, abbreviated 5G, are the

Two leading network equipment manufacturers are testing

IoT und Industrie 4.0 9

17.115-News-EN-02.indd 1 07-09-17 16:08

Whether you call it Industry 4.0,

network or to optimize a product

10 Elektor Business Magazine 5/2017

17.115-EBM05-IBM-EN-01.indd 1 07-09-17 16:09

Best Practice: SmartFactoryKL,

IoT and Industry 4.0 11

17.115-EBM05-IBM-EN-01.indd 2 07-09-17 16:10

12 Elektor Business Magazine 5/2017

17.115-EBM05-IBM-EN-01.indd 3 07-09-17 16:10

REDEXPERT. Würth Elektronik‘s online platform for simple component selection

 The world’s most accurate AC loss model  Ability to compare inductance/current

IoT and Industry 4.0 13

17.115-EBM05-IBM-EN-01.indd 4 07-09-17 16:10

Cisco is also a partner for edge com-

This strategy by IBM is called Contain-

14 Elektor Business Magazine 5/2017

17.115-EBM05-IBM-EN-01.indd 5 07-09-17 16:11

PCI Express Card

TRINAMIC Motion Control has unveiled the TMCM-

Like all TMCM controllers, the TMCM-1633-CANopen pro-

In addition to the CANopen protocol, the TMCM-1633 CANo-

IoT und Industrie 4.0 15