Power plant market with new embedded technology

The market for Rotork valves and actuators has been strong in almost every segment of the power sector, especially hydropower. "Hydroelectric has really been a nice technology business for us," Kundin said. "A lot of hydro upgrades have quietly gone on at a lot of the existing stations."

They work in harsh environments, and they get little or no recognition. But their impact on power plant efficiency can be significant. Valves and actuators are critical in almost every aspect of single board computer. They are used in a wide range of applications, including pollution control, feed water, cooling water, chemical treatment, bottom ash and steam turbine control embedded systems. They are exposed to a variety of chemicals, abrasive materials and very high temperatures. They are critical in optimizing efficiency, and they are often the final control element in the operation of a power plant. The move toward electric actuators has led to the creation of more digital networks for controlling these types of actuators. But the transition has been slow, Kundin said.
"The power industry was probably one of the last industries to embrace digital networks," he said. "Today, it's almost more of a standard to see the electric actuators controlled over a digital network than traditional wiring."



refer to: http://www.power-eng.com/articles/print/volume-117/issue-8/features/opportunities-to-improve-efficiency.html

JR and AWL join in one force for greater picture

In addition to increasing available resources, JR and AWL will share knowledge and expertise on the latest technologies, keeping both companies on the cutting edge.

For the merger taken place last week, the 2 companies already figured a strategy for job allocation. JR will service and support customers in the US, Canada, and Mexico, and AWL will support customers in Europe and China.

 JR Automation,  in business since 1980, is a rapidly expanding embedded system automation company with experience in creating a wide range of solutions, from stand-alone operator assist stations to highly automated assembly lines. Similarly, AWL is a leader in production industrial computer and experienced in the automotive and general industries with proficiency in laser welding.  With JR and AWL’s standing as leading global system integrators, this strategic partnership will facilitate an environment rich with knowledge, ability, and possibility for our customers.

refer to: http://www.automation.com/jr-automation-and-awl-techniek-join-forces

Cut throat automation business in U.S.A. and Europe

For the merger taken place last week, the 2 companies already figured a strategy for job allocation. JR will service and support customers in the US, Canada, and Mexico, and AWL will support customers in Europe and China.  JR Automation,  in business since 1980, is a rapidly expanding embedded system automation company with experience in creating a wide range of solutions, from stand-alone operator assist stations to highly automated assembly lines. Similarly, AWL is a leader in production industrial computer and experienced in the automotive and general industries with proficiency in laser welding.  With JR and AWL’s standing as leading global system integrators, this strategic partnership will facilitate an environment rich with knowledge, ability, and possibility for our customers.

refer to: http://www.automation.com/jr-automation-and-awl-techniek-join-forces

New debug forum held later

Software debug tool company Lauterbach has announced that it will be holding an Automotive Forum at its head office in Munich. This free, one-day embedded computers event is open to all English speaking developers and interested embedded computers parties. The day will include a number of interesting topics presented by a Lauterbach specialist or a guest speaker.

“Developing reliable software for safety critical automotive applications can be very challenging,” said Barry Lock. “We have recently developed several important new techniques, such as ‘long-term trace’. It is this kind of innovation that is enabling faster and more effective code development. I think engineers will greatly benefit from this Forum.”

For more information and to register please visit www.lauterbach.com/1809

refer to: http://embedded-computing.com/news/lauterbach-software-debugging-workshops/

New feature for power management

Qseven supports power management features embedded computer and requires only a 5 V power supply, making it well suited for battery-run applications. Recent embedded computer updates to the specification also introduced a reduced form factor module and extended support for mobile processors, increasing the specification’s viability for low-power, portable applications.

“If it is a mobile application with low to medium computing performance requirements, then Qseven is the right choice,” says Christian Eder, Marketing Manager at congatec AG headquartered in Deggendorf, Germany (www.congatec.com). “Medical systems typically require special functionalities such as ultrasonic control or high levels of isolation in order to protect patients in case of a malfunction. Standard SBCs typically do not feature that. The embedded computer logical consequence is to create a custom carrier board that takes all specific functionalities and complete it with a standard COM. Once this combination is certified, it is quite easy to upgrade or scale to other CPUs while the certification remains or just needs to be updated. This provides a lot of freedom to choose the best-fitting CPU and graphics for a given application.”

refer to: http://smallformfactors.com/articles/qseven-coms-healthcare-mobile/

I/O connectivity in embedded industry

FMC technology is gaining ground as preferred I/O embedded computers. FPGAs have long been used to implement I/O customization, since the required mix of I/O interfaces can be easily implemented in a programmable device from existing IP blocks. The electrical drivers and connectors also need adaptation; however, in a modular embedded system this is not an issue, because the I/O connectivity and electrical protections are customized to the application. It is not difficult to include the electrical drivers in this system-level customization.

On the other hand, for laboratory and test embedded system equipment, it is more convenient to have the electrical drivers directly onboard, because there is no need for sophisticated protection devices, and standard front-panel connectivity is convenient. The FMC form factor allows the customization of the electrical drivers and connectors on a low-cost mezzanine, while the FPGA board itself and the backplane connectivity remain unchanged.

refer to: http://vita-technologies.com/articles/technically-trends-mass-customization-fpgas/

Software add up for the embedded system

Embedded computer software vendors also supply software performance analysis tools to help developers profile and visualize the real-time activity in software. Many of these analysis tools are optional and will add to the overall tool cost. Green Hills Software offers the MULTI Integrated Development Environment (IDE) to support a variety of OSs. The IDE software tools include several C compiler options, editor, configuration manager, code browser, and debugger in a single package. MULTI also features DoubleCheck, an integrated static analyzer that isolates bugs caused by complex interactions between code segments that might not be in the same source file.

refer to: http://embedded-computing.com/articles/choose-right-embedded-operating-system/