2nd IEEE Inter. Symposium on Industrial Embedded Systems

Keynote: Embedded Systems in Industrial Applications – Trends and Challenges Richard Zurawski, ISA-GROUP, USA ABSTRACT: Application domains have had a considerable impact on the evolution of embedded systems in terms of required methodologies and supporting tools, and resulting technologies. A good example is the accelerated evolution of the SoC design to meet demands for computing power posed by DSP, and network and multimedia processors. SoC based designs are slowly making inroads in to the area of industrial automation to implement complex field-area intelligent devices which integrate intelligent sensor/actuator functionality by providing on-chip signal conversion, data and signal processing, and communication functions. There is a growing tendency to network field-area intelligent devices around industrial communication networks, or fieldbuses. Industrial applications of embedded systems, and in particular in factory and process automation, pose a range of challenges to the designers arising from frequently unique requirements imposed by the industrial environment. Although these requirements tend to be application dependent, some of the typical requirements include a need for availability and reliability, safety and security, real-time constraints and frequently a need for deterministic response, need for a temporal synchronization, power consumption restrictions, life-cycle, etc. Networking of those systems, be it around wireline or wireless solutions or hybrid ones, in an industrial environment poses many unique challenges for the embedded system design and selection of communication protocols - particularly in case of wireless links due to wireless channel characteristic degradation artifacts compounded by the presence of electric motors or a variety of equipment causing the electric discharge, which contribute to even greater levels of bit error and packet losses. This presentation attempts to characterize requirements imposed on embedded systems by industrial applications, as opposed to typical applications in stand alone appliances or multimedia. Networking of embedded systems around wireline and wireless solutions is explored, with a focus on real-time and sensor/actuator networks including wireless ones. Platform Based Design paradigm which offers a prospect for a rapid design and implementation of application domain dependent solutions is overviewed in the context of industrial applications.