Sreejumon's Industrial World

Bluetooth to harness the speed of WiFi (802.11)

sreejumon@gmail.com — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 19:00:00 GMT

Wireless transfer of large format entertainment data – music, video, and photos – between devices at short range is imminent. The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) today announced a new way it will provide for consumers’ growing need for speed.

The Bluetooth SIG is developing an innovative method of radio substitution. It will allow the well known Bluetooth protocols, profiles, security and pairing to be used in consumer devices while achieving faster throughput with momentary use of a secondary radio already present in the device. This architecture, called ‘Alternate MAC/PHY’ by Bluetooth SIG members working on the specification, is taking on a two-phased approach as SIG member companies drive the specification forward.

“This is the wireless technology equivalent of ‘low hanging fruit,’” said Michael Foley, Ph.D., executive director, the Bluetooth SIG. “What we’re doing is taking classic Bluetooth connections – using Bluetooth protocols, profiles, security and other architectural elements – and allowing it to jump on top of the already present 802.11 radio, when necessary, to send bulky entertainment data, faster. When the speed of 802.11 is overkill, the connection returns to normal operation on a Bluetooth radio for optimal power management and performance.”

In 2006, the Bluetooth SIG announced the selection of the WiMedia Alliance brand of ultra wideband technology as a high speed channel for Bluetooth technology. This development work continues between the two organizations in advance of widespread ultra wideband technology adoption – expected to be co-located in many Bluetooth devices. In the meantime, however, the SIG will make use of IEEE 802.11, a technology already present in many of the devices demanding greater speeds.More

Windows CE Industrial Embedded Computer with Serial Ports, Dual LANs, SD, USB

sreejumon@gmail.com — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 19:00:00 GMT

The UC-7122/7124 embedded computers come with 2 or 4 RS-232/422/485 serial ports and dual 10/100 Mbps Ethernet LAN ports to provide users with a versatile communication platform, making these RISC-based embedded computers ideal for your embedded applications.
The pre-installed WinCE 5.0 operating system provides a common Windows-based software operating system for software program development. This means that software written in Visual C/C++, VB, and .NET for desktop PCs is easily ported to the UC-7122/7124 by using a general programming tool such as Microsoft Embedded Visual C++ or Microsoft Visual Studio 2005. You will not need to spend time modifying existing software code, and the operating system, device drivers, and your own software can all be stored in the UC-7122/7124’s Flash memory.

Target Markets

Industrial Automation
Building Automation
Transportation Automation
SCADA Systems
Medical Automation
Energy Automation

Features

Cirrus Logic EP9320 ARM9 32-bit 200 MHz processor
32 MB RAM on board
16 MB Flash Memory
Dual 10/100 Mbps Ethernet for network redundancy
2 or 4 software-selectable RS-232/422/485 serial ports
Serial port speed from 50 bps to 921.6 Kbps, supporting ANY BAUDRATE
Supports SD socket for storage expansion
Built-in RTC, Buzzer, WatchDog Timer

More details can be found here

ArchestrA Symbols for Wonderware InTouch 10 and System Platform 3

sreejumon@gmail.com — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 07:00:00 GMT

Built for Now & the Future - ArchestrA Symbols built specifically for InTouch 10 and beyond.

Scalable - Symbols are vector based and scale independent of screen resolution. The symbols leverage the vector graphics capabilities of the ArchestrA Symbol Editor

Animatable - Every part of the symbol is available for connecting your custom properties and animations to achieve just the look you want.

Centrally managed in your ArchestrA IDE Graphics Toolbox and can be deployed throughout your galaxy.

More details can be found here

Windows XP SP2 and OPC via DCOM

sreejumon@gmail.com — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 19:00:00 GMT

If you are trying to connect to a remote OPC server from Windows XP SP2 and you are getting the message “DCOM was unable to communicate with the computer using any of the configured protocols”, then think about the additional security features and firewall configuration provided by Windows XP Service Pack 2.

Let’s consider the following points while configuring XP SP2 for OPC communication.

“Turn Off” firewall only for testing purpose (OPC client should work if firewall is “Off” and DCOM settings are correct).
If firewall is “On”, proceed with the following steps.
- Goto “Exceptions” tab and select “Add Program”. Add all OPC Clients & Servers and OPCEnum.exe to the list.
- Select “Add Port” and add TCP port 135 (which is required for DCOM)
Start DComcnfg.exe and select “COM Security” Tab.
Edit the limits for “Access Permission” and provide Local and Remote access for Anonymous Login.
Edit the limits for “Launch Permission” and provide full access to “Every one”

Hope this info will help to solve your OPC issues from Windows XP SP2 clients.

Soccer Simulation for Microsoft Robotics Studio

sreejumon@gmail.com — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 07:00:00 GMT

Microsoft has sponsored RoboCup 2007 in Atlanta and will host competitive soccer matches using the Microsoft Robotics Studio. The matches are simulation-based and will be hosted within the Microsoft Robotics Studio physics-based 3D simulation environment which uses the licensed PhysX™ engine from AGEIA™ Technologies Inc.

While this contest will demonstrate a competitive simulation environment, Microsoft is also working with robot manufacturers developing hardware for RoboCup to demonstrate how easily player competition software can be transferred to physical robots.

Download the preview of the soccer simulation for Microsoft Robotics Studio today, which includes a 3D simulated soccer field and scoring services.