Embedded Controllers Get Industry Specific

Designed for manufacturers of devices for the solar panel and traffic management industries, a new automation controller combines an embedded computer and plug-in data acquisition (DAQ) cards in a small, low-profile unit. The fanless ECU-1710A automation controller from Advantech integrates Advantech’s PCI-1710UL and PCI1720U DAQ cards onto a motherboard with a 16-channel analog inputs, 4-channel analog outputs along with 16-channel isolated digital inputs and 16-channel isolated digital outputs.

Advantech says it powers the ECU-1710A controller with the Intel Atom D510 dual core processor, featuring 1GB DDR2 RAM, so that it can handle the complex processes required for calculating traffic flow as well as the fine measurements needed for solar cell manufacturing. The controller has six communication interfaces: two 10/100MB Ethernet, two RS-232 serial, and two USB 2.0 ports.

Another key aspect of the controller is its programmable software. According to Advantech, customers can develop their own applications and monitoring solutions through the use of DAQNavi, a free software package that can be downloaded from Advantech’s Website. DAQNavi includes all utilities, driver, software development kit, and documents necessary for hardware configuration, testing, and programming.