Ethernet in Intelligent Transportation System Applications

 

In an attempt to decrease congestion on the roads and save lives, Departments of Transportation  are exploring  solutions that make highways  ‘intelligent” By using intelligent transportation Systems. This way Departments of Transportation are able to monitor and react to traffic-flow issues, speed up the with the public of traffic issues, In addition expedite traffic by using automated toll collectors. To that end Networked applications are critical to the success of intelligent transportation Systems solutions and they require the ability to handle many types of data and performance. Ethernet is a cost-effective, high-bandwidth, intelligent technology that gets the most out of the ITS network infrastructure. Performance requirements of intelligent transportation system (ITS) networks are increasing dramatically. And we are seeing more and more new ITS projects using video monitoring, which in-turn increases bandwidth demands from thousands to tens of millions of bits per second. Mission-critical data coexists on the same network as lower-priority monitoring data, creating the need for bandwidth optimization.

Wordsworth Technology offers the following range of networking products ;

• Industrial Ethernet switches
• PoE switches
• Industrial wireless access points
• Industrial VPN router
• Industrial device servers
• Industrial media converters

POE Switch Technology

PoE technology , 'a system to pass electrical power safely, along with data, on Ethernet cabling. The IEEE standard for PoE requires category 5 cable or higher for high power levels, but can operate with category 3 cable for low power levels. Power is supplied in common mode over two or more of the differential pairs of wires found in the Ethernet cables and comes from a power supply within a PoE-enabled networking device such as an Ethernet switch or can be injected into a cable run with a midspan power supply.'   Wikipedia 2011

Did you know that Power over Ethernet (PoE) switches can drastically reduce installation costs of network devices?  by providing data and power over the same piece of cable. Up to 15.4W @ 48Vdc can be delivered over Cat 5 / Cat 6 cabling to power devices such as IP cameras, wireless Access Points, IP telephones or any other device that supports the 802. PoE can be used at the end of a powered Ethernet connection to break out the power and data connections. This means that non-PoE compliant devices can also be installed with only a single cable being run to them. Splitters also provide a selectable voltage output ranging from 5 to 24Vdc.   ORing Industrial Networking products from Wordsworth Technology are used in a wide variety of applications and environments and comply fully with safety & EMC certification. Other certification includes IPv6, UL508, EN50155, C1D2 harsh certification and environmental directives

Trackside Networking Applications

Many rail systems such as IP CCTV, signalling, power distribution and general data transfer use a high reliability redundant LAN topology based on an Ethernet backbone. Fibre-optic cabling is typically used as the physical media thanks to its electrical noise immunity and transmission distances up to 100km in a single span.

To build such a LAN, Industrial Ethernet switches must be installed at regular intervals into trackside enclosures, buildings and substations and fibre-optic cables spliced and terminated at each location.

Wordsworth represent one of the world's most respected Industrial Ethernet switch manufacturers – O-ring a partnership that gives us over countless product permutations and a very high calibre portfolio of products that have been tried and tested on railways around the world.

Our vendor neutral position and team of networking experts allows us to offer the best solution at the best price with the approvals and credibility required for major trackside installations. Whether we employ the uniquely flexible 'O-Chain' revolutionary network redundancy technology from O-ring or ORing's proprietary redundant ring technology, with recovery time of less than 10 milliseconds often used in IP CCTV systems, our experts will provide an ideal solution for your trackside data distribution system.

In some systems, it may be necessary to communicate beyond the trackside LAN infrastructure, perhaps to the train itself or to a remote LAN using the 3G cellular networks:

Train to Trackside
There are several methods of maintaining communications between a moving train and a stationary trackside environment. One of them is to use the wired LAN backbone on the trackside to build a continuous Wireless LAN using Industrial wireless Access Points with rail approval.

Trackside to WAN
The default gateway from the trackside LAN will usually be at a central control room or similar where a WAN link will provide access to remote LANs or the internet as required. In some instances a standalone route out of the network may be required through a cellular router using the 3G phone network. This may be as a backup or as part of an independent trackside system. VLANs can be used to secure the content of the communications and a secondary SIM card can be used to connect to an alternative network (eg. Vodafone) if the primary network is down or the cell is saturated.

Rolling Stock Companies Improve Rail Travel for Customers

Rolling stock companies (ROSCOs) own the actual trains that run on the rails. It is their job to work with the train operating and freight companies to determine the sorts of engines, carriage and trucks required to deliver the desired customer services. Developments in technology have provided Rolling Stock Companies (ROSCOs) with the opportunity to improve the customer experience on modern trains. Seat-back advertising / entertainment and Mobile broadband provision are just two of the ideas that have emerged to improve the passenger environment and generate revenue for Train Operating Companies (TOCs). Wordsworth has involvement in several areas of rolling stock automation, some of which are highlighted below:

Network enabling rolling stock.

 With most systems converging on an Ethernet and TCP/IP based infrastructure it is essential to provide an Ethernet LAN on new and existing carriages. The Industrial Ethernet switches required to facilitate a reliable network must be ruggedized and meet associated rail standards such as EN50155 and EN50121-4. Wordsworth can supply switches suited for use onboard trains and can provide many case studies highlighting previous successful installations in different parts of the world. Our technical team can help with complex fault-tolerant architectures, EMC considerations, training and commissioning support.

Mobile Broadband
With the advent of high speed internet access over the 3G mobile phone networks comes a great opportunity for TOCs (Train Operating Companies) to provide internet connectivity to otherwise unoccupied commuters. This allows rail travel to be sold as a mobile office experience and becomes a favourable alternative to travelling by road.

Provision of Mobile Broadband requires a cellular router with an external antenna communicating with 3G base-stations and an internal antenna providing Wi-Fi coverage. Two-piece solutions comprising a cellular router and a separate rail-approved Wi-Fi Access Point are sometimes used to give greater flexibility over the choice of hardware used.

Maintenance systems
Wordsworth regularly supply data acquisition devices such as data acquisition boards and Ethernet data acquisition modules along with Industrial computers for track geometry and ultrasound systems. Most of these systems are retrofitted to rolling stock hence need to be rugged, vibration-proof and meet stringent EMC requirements. Wordsworth's TANK-101 computer has proved to be particularly popular for this type of application.

Why use choose Ochain Technology?

Many Ethernet protocols defined by IEEE, such as STP, RSTP, MSTP, are developed to recover from network disconnections. However, the recovery time is much more critical in industrial applications than commercial ones. Due to these needs, industrial networking devices often utilize proprietary redundant ring technologies to minimize the downtime. ORing develops a variety of proprietary redundant ring technologies including O-Ring, O-RSTP, and Open-Ring, etc. These ORing’s proprietary redundant ring technologies not only meet the demands of different networking topologies, but also assure the reliability of the network.

O-Ring is ORing's proprietary redundant ring technology, with recovery time of less than 10 milliseconds and up to 250 nodes. The O-Ring redundant ring technology can protect mission critical applications from network interruptions or temporary malfunction with its fast recover technology

Ethernet Solutions for Intelligent Transport Systems

The fast progression of Ethernet and TCP / IP has affected all areas of intelligent transport systems, especially in the field of barrier systems and ticket sales. Many distributed systems are connected via a serial interface such as RS232 and RS485. To ensure full integration of these systems in an IP backbone, there are a series of Ethernet converters, ethernet switches. These devices enable innovative equipment with legacy serial interfaces to be added to an IP network that allows them to communicate through a LAN, WAN or Internet! Other models in the range commonly used to connect the access control panels and fire at a LAN site save the cost of regular maintenance visits by a technician with a laptop.

 

The new ticket barrier that is often networked directly to the Ethernet Converter Ethernet series are vacuum complaint. System builders and OEMs often require high reliability industrial Ethernet switch is part of their products in combination with the devices inside the machine and provides a connection to the network machines. IES-1050A is the ideal affordable railway agreed to change cable connections, optional fiber optic cable. ICS-4040 Embedded Industrial Ethernet switch with a temperature range of a large number of fault-tolerant Ethernet technologies. This gives the advantage of a systems integrator of redundancy built in communications between nodes - easily achieved by separating more than competitive solutions.

 

Distributed Ticketing / prevention systems often require the processing power of 2 seats. First, the relatively low-power processor card is in each machine and, secondly, a better performance (Core 2 Duo or newer), or you need a rackmount embedded computer to provide end-to manage all network devices . Wordsworth may be a service sector, which represents all on-board computer systems such as PC/104 system based on Xeon Quad-Core server. Technical sales team is ready to help all the IT or network elements ticket / barrier systems

 

Distance module E / S are also a valuable part of any OEM or system integrator level. These units can transmit analog or digital data (such as contact closure, PIR door, proximity sensors and temperature sensors) and distribute information through an optical fiber or copper-based Ethernet LAN.

Networking Range provided by Wordsworth

Ethernet Switch available from Wordsworths, IPS-3082GC is a managed Redundant Ring Ethernet switch with 8x10/100TX ports with PoE (P.S.E) function & 2x1000 combo ports. With completely support of Ethernet Redundancy protocol, O-Ring (recovery time < 10ms over 250 units of connection), Open-Ring, O-RSTP and MSTP/RSTP/STP (IEEE 802.1s/w/D) can protect mission critical applications from network interruptions or temporary malfunctions with its fast recovery technology. This is a Managed Ethernet switch at its best.

IPS-3082GC also support Power over Ethernet, a system to transmit electrical power, along with data, to remote devices over standard twisted-pair cable in an Ethernet network. Each IPS-3082GC switch has 8X10/100TX P.S.E (Power Sourcing Equipment) ports. P.S.E is a device (switch or hub for instance) that will provide power in a PoE setup. IPS-3082GC support new DDM (Digital Diagnostic Monitoring) function, which can monitor instantly the status of electronic voltage, current and temperature.

All function of IPS-3082GC can be managed centralized and convenient by a powerful windows utility — Open-Vision. In addition, the wide operating temperature range from -40 to 75°C can satisfy most of operating environment. Therefore, the POE switch is one of the most reliable choice for highly-managed and Fiber Ethernet application with PoE function.

Other features include:

•	World’s fastest Redundant Ethernet Ring : O-Ring (recovery time < 10ms over 250 units of connection)
•	Open-Ring support the other vendor’s ring technology in open architecture
•	O-RSTP support applications with complex topology
•	8 ports P.S.E fully compliant with IEEE802.3af standard, provide up to 15.4 Watts per port

Wordsworth introduce Ethenet products that have assisted a water treatment works in South China area to establish its automation network.

Access to clean water through secure water treatment plants is vital to the welfare of any society. As populations grow and water plant technologies and complexities increase, water plant managers are increasingly turning to Ethernet to manage the plant facilities. Ethernet has become a key technology for new and updated supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems. Ethernet and IP protocols are the ideal basis from which to build or expand a secure network due to bandwidth and ubiquity. Heavy-duty networks designed to provide both physical and cyber security will provide the best industry solution as water treatment plants continue to evolve.

ORing offers a wide range of Ethernet solution for harsh industrial environments, related line offers Ethernet switches, media converters, device servers and AP routers covering 10/100/1000Base-T(X) connection speed, fiber, copper and wireless ports. The followings are two major applications:

In early 2010, ORing Industrial Networking Corp. (ORing or the Company) assisted a water treatment works in South China area to establish its automation network. This water treatment works provides a treated water supply to eastern part of the island with output of 227,000 m3 per day. The maximum pumping capacity is 285,000 m3 per day consist of 5 pumps located in the pumping station. The entire treatment works makes optimum use of the limited land available; incorporating specially designed landscaping features to blend with the natural environment. In order to enhance operation efficiency, a sophisticated “Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system is provided for automatic plant operation, monitoring and control.

Consisted of ORing’s IES-2042PA, IES-3082GP and IES-3242GC industrial Ethernet switches, the hybrid network of fiber and Ethernet solve the long transmission distance problem due to large area of the plant floor. In addition, wide operating temperature range (-40° - +70°) enables the devices to operate efficiently, and ORing’s patent redundancy technologies O-Ring (recovery time < 10ms over 250 units of connection) and Open-Ring can protect the water treatment’s mission-critical applications from network interruptions or temporary malfunctions with its fast recovery technology. Hence ORing’s switch products offer an ideal solution to achieve the real-time requirement communication task of the network system. 

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Please note we have moved and our new address is:

Steatite Ltd.

Ravensbank Business Park

Acanthus Road

Redditch

Worcs

B98 9EX

Interesting case stories from Steatite regarding the Oring networking range System in Russia

ORing's Industrial Networking Devices Strengthens the DVR Surveillance

In early 2009, one of ORing’s European distributors assists a system integrator to construct the DVR surveillance system in a 42-level high skyscraper in Russia. The Gigabit backbone network, a Gigabit redundant ring to communicate the central control room, video server and the other Ethernet switches in each level, is constituted by ORing’s high performance industrial full Gigabit Ethernet switches, IGS-3044GP and IGS-1050A.

Depended on the distance from the level at issue to the central control room, IES-3062GT and IES-1062GT is installed to connect to the IP cameras and link to the Gigabit backbone network or deployed to enable optic fiber connections to the cameras and the Gigabit backbone network. 

Furthemore, in order to offer seamless and efficient communication capabilities, ORing’s industrial wireless access point, IAP-6002-WA is installed to connect to the sensors located in somewhere difficult to deploy a wired cable inside the skyscraper.

In this successful case, ORing provides a total solution, including industrial full Gigabit Ethernet switches, industrial Ethernet switch with optic fiber connections, and industrial wireless access point, to assist its partner to establish a cost effective and high performance IP surveillance system of a skyscraper successfully.

For more information on the Oring networking range visit ; Wordsworth website

IEI Launches 3.5” Single Board Computer with Intel® Atom™ processor D425/N455/D525 and open frame heat spreader

IEI Technology (IEI), the global industrial PC innovator, released the 3.5” Single Board Computer (SBC) WAFER-PV-D4252/N4552/D5252. Following the release of WAFER-PV-D4251/N4551/D521, the WAFER-PV-D4252/N4552/D5252 is a 3.5" SBC with Intel® Atom™ D4252/N4552/D525 processor with open frame heat spreader. It supports 800 MHz DDR3 memory and an increased processor speed of 1.8 GHz . The WAFER-PV-D4252/N4552/D5252 delivers efficient performance in a wide range of applications. Key features include open frame heatsink thermal design for fanless environment and dual gigabit LAN. ASF 2.0 and UEFI BIOS architecture support over 2.2 TB of HDD storage on a 64-bit operating system.

The WAFER-PV-D4252/N4552/D5252 has a 3.5” form factor with Intel® Atom™ D425/N455/D525 processor. It features open frame heatsink thermal design for fanless solution. In addition, the AT/ATX power function allows for a 12V only single voltage option. Dual-display support is provided through a VGA port and 18-bit single channel LVDS interface. The WAFER-PV-D4252/N4552/D5252 comes complete with several I/O options including eight USB ports, two SATA 3Gb/s ports, one CF Type II port, six COM ports and one audio port.

All IEI dual-core Intel® Atom™ D525 SBCs include IEI's unique One Key Recovery software solution. One Key Recovery eliminates the frustration of system recovery after unexpected system failure by allowing users to easily create full system backup on demand and system restoration to a previously made backup with just a single click.

General Dynamics Itronix GD8000

  On March 16, 2009, General Dynamics Itronix released the   GD8000   , a fully rugged notebook computer and successor to the company's XR-1 model. Goals for the new machine were maximum reliability under even the most extreme operating conditions and state-of-the-art electronics with increased emphasis on long battery life in the field. Based on the critically acclaimed XR-1 platform, the GD8000 is an evolutionary second-generation product that preserves the many qualities of its predecessor, but offers a larger display and significantly longer battery life thanks to a powerful but very frugal ultra-low voltage 1.86GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor. This machine is what General Dynamics Itronix terms "Fully-Rugged+," essentially taking ruggedness to the next level. The GD8000 is intended for any application that requires strong processing and wireless performance and maximum battery life in a machine that is rugged enough for any job.

 

Featuring elegant high-tech design, the GD8000 is the second General Dynamics Itronix machine to leave the venerable "GoBook" moniker behind, together with the smallish 12.1-inch display of the XR-1 that's been replaced with a larger 13.3-inch touchscreen. What hasn't changed is the platform's superb outdoor   view ability  , thanks to the patent-pending DynaVue technology that greatly adds to the utility of this machine under any lighting conditions.

 

The GD8000, which measures 11.8 x 9.65 x 2 inches and weighs about eight pounds, also perpetuates another General Dynamics Itronix tradition, that of facilitating excellent wireless performance via integrated antenna systems for fast and accurate fixes, advanced RF shielding and noise filtering, and specially designed "CRMA" wireless modules. The GD8000 also offers good onboard connectivity and expansion potential via externally accessible card slots and a flexible-use media bay.

 

Existing XR-1 customers will appreciate the new GD8000's compatibility with what appears to be all XR-Series docks and peripherals, and the significantly longer battery life of the GD8000 will be a strong upgrade and expansion incentive as well. Overall, the GD8000 is a machine that combines consumer notebook performance and features with superior battery life and a degree of ruggedness that makes this machine suitable for any application.

 

Performance

 

While being the formal successor of the critically acclaimed XR-1, the GD8000 is more than just a technology update. This is essentially a new machine with somewhat different goals and priorities from the older XR-1. Whereas in the past, Itronix generally aimed for having the most powerful notebooks in its class, the emphasis now seems to have shifted towards providing a more balanced combination of performance, ruggedness, usability and battery life. This is what Panasonic has been doing for years with its flagship CF-30 model and its predecessors, and so it's no surprise that GD-Itronix, probably having been stung a bit over the years by reports of shorter battery life, is taking aim at Panasonic's successful formula.

 

As a result, instead of using one of Intel's many hot-running high-performance processors, the GD8000 comes with a reasonably power-efficient 1.86GHZ Core 2 Duo SL9400 that's just a bit quicker than the 1.6GHz SL9300 Panasonic currently uses in the CF30. Coincidence? We think not. The SL9400 is a modern 45-nanometer technology chip that provides good performance while sporting a thermal design power of just 17 watts, about half that of standard notebook computer processors, and also 14 watts less than the XR-1's T2400 chip that ran at the same clock speed. The SL9400 also comes with 6MB of L2 cache and a speedy 1066MHz front side bus. This is a processor that will reliably power mobile systems for many years to come.

 

 

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Dynavue Technology GD8000

 While a good balance between performance and long battery life makes the GD8000    an efficient companion for work in the field, it's the computer's display that makes it suitable for outdoor duty and a pleasure to use. Like all General Dynamics Itronix machines, the GD8000 uses the patent-pending DynaVue display technology that combines a number of optical properties to minimize reflection while preserving contrast, facilitating exceptional viewability under almost all lighting conditions. With DynaVue, users can work outdoors and even in the brightest sunshine and direct sunlight. The display takes on a bit of a greenish tint, but you can easily see the screen and you can use it for work. In the past, working outdoors with a notebook computer meant hunting for a shady spot in the hopes of being able to see the screen well enough. That is just not a problem with the GD8000. You get full outdoor viewability and you can use the computer anywhere and anyplace.  
DynaVue makes clever use of optics and physics that affects the way light is reflected or absorbed. When I first saw DynaVue I was blown away by how well it works. The unretouched picture on the right, taken with a 14.5-megapixel Canon G10 digital camera, shows the GD8000 directly facing the California morning sun. The screen does not wash out and remains clearly visible, with excellent contrast. Digital cameras often have problems duplicating what the human eye sees when it comes to polarized and optically treated displays, and they also tend to over-emphasize blue; in reality the GD8000 screen looked even better to the eye than what the camera captured. It was also very sharp and rendered colors far better than in the picture.

 

The pictures below are a side-by-side comparison between the 13.3-inch DynaVue GD8000 screen on the left and the standard 12.1-inch display used in the "Hummer" version of an older GD-Itronix GoBook VR-1. Both have touch-screens and both screens work very well indoors, but outdoors you can clearly see the difference DynaVue makes. Again, the GD8000 screen actually looks better, more vibrant, and far less blueish than what the camera captured, but the images accurately depict the difference in glare, reflection and contrast between the older model's display and the GD8000's DynaVue screen. For a detailed description of DynaVue, click here.

 

    

 

Comparison: Conventional Display Versus DynaVue
The first picture below compares the two displays in bright early afternoon daylight, mid-May, in a shaded location. The GD8000 display with DynaVue is perfectly readable with some minor reflections on its glossy surface. The older non-DynaVue display's anti-glare coating shows almost no reflections, but the anti-glare coating diffuses the light and turns the display milky. 

     

 

In the picture below, the two machines are in direct sunlight, but the image was taken from an angle so that the sun would not directly reflect into the camera. The GD8000's DynaVue display remains very readable and now looks like a reflective TFT. The older display's matte surface diffuses the light so much that the screen becomes virtually unreadable.

 

     

 

 

 

Some three years after its 2006 introduction, the General Dynamics Itronix DynaVue is still about as good as it currently gets. DynaVue is no longer alone in facilitating sunlight-viewable displays, but we haven't seen anything better either. There is room for improvement as in bright sunlight even DynaVue is still not close to looking like a magazine or book page, and at times you need to move or tilt the display to avoid reflections. It is still remarkable that DynaVue makes such good outdoor viewability possible even with a touchscreen. Touchscreens usually add reflection and degrade the image, something General Dynamics Itronix successfully warded off by treating and optimizing every single surface separately.

 

While DynaVue impresses, the LCD's vertical viewing angle doesn't. It is wide horizontally, albeit with a change in colors (gray turns sort of yellow), but quite narrow vertically, with the chromatic shifts that hopefully will be gone from all LCDs soon and forever.

 

 

 

 

 

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HiBrite® LED Technology Comes to DLI Rugged Tablets

  Brighter displays, improved battery efficiency 

Wacom ®  digitizer technology join to deliver enhanced user experience  

 

LAPORTE, IN, USA June 17, 2010 –  DLI  , a leading manufacturer of rugged mobile tablet and in-vehicle computers today announced the release of two major display enhancements coming to their line of rugged mobile devices. The first upgrade comes in the form of DLI’s new HiBrite ®  LED Display technology. HiBrite ®   LCD displays deliver increased brightness, improved contrast, and a wider angle of view  along with reduced power consumption to deliver a superior outdoor viewing experience. A  combination of improved internal reflection, enhanced polarization coatings and a stronger LED backlight form the foundation of this advance in screen technology. The result is a more than 200% increase in NIT-rating (up to 900 NITS) while maintaining similar power levels  as the previous CCFL displays“We are really excited about HiBrite ® , our newest advancement in outdoor-readable display  technologies, “ states Tom Poplawski, lead product engineer at DLI. “HiBrite ®  has allowed us to do more than just triple the screen brightness, although that was the primary goal.  The real payoff comes in the form of the increased contrast ratio, which is critical for  outdoor viewability.” Using a combination of an anti-reflective film and integration of DuraPixel™ Technology, DLI has been able to increase the contrast ratio on the HiBrite ® displays by more than 1.6 times. In addition to the increased screen brightness and reduced power consumption the new  HiBrite ®  displays deliver, there is the added benefit of reduced weight and increased screen  strength. Finally, the new HiBrite displays bring with them an expanded range of operating temperature of (-30ºC – 85ºC), critical for applications that operate in extreme temperatures. HiBrite ®  LED Displays are now available for both the  DLI   8300 Rugged Tablet and the DLI 8400 Ultra-Mobile Tablet. Along with the release of HiBrite ®  displays on the DLI 8300 Rugged Tablet, DLI has also upgraded their standard display to include an LED backlight, instead of the traditional CCFL backlight. This upgrade boosts screen brightness from 275NITs to just over 400NITs for the non-HiBrite displays. DLI rugged devices will also soon see the integration of Wacom’s Penabled ®  digitizer touch screen technology. Based on Wacom’s EMR® Technology, digitizer-based input can now be incorporated into DLI rugged devices bringing with them lower cost, reduced power  consumption, improved precision and increased durability. “The name Wacom is synonymous with world-class digitizing technology,” says DLI president Bryan Wesolek. “Given the high standards for quality and technological advancements that are a part of every DLI product, the addition of Penabled ®  digitizing displays is a natural for us.” Penabled ®  digitizer screens are available immediately on the  DLI 8300 Rugged  Tablet and DLI 8400 Ultra-Mobile Tablet, with additional availability coming to the DLI 8800 Mobile POS Tablet within the next 90 days.  

    

 

 

 

 

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