Automation Possibilities Using System-on-Chip FPGAs

Feb. 12, 2013

EDITOR’S NOTE: Suhel Dhanani will be presenting at The Automation Conference on May 14-15, 2013. To hear Mr. Suhel's presentation and many others focusing on improving production efficiency with automation, register here: www.theautomationconference.com.

David Greenfield, editor in chief

Suhel Dhanani of Altera (www.altera.com) cites three examples of potential new system designs that are now possible with the wide availability of system-on-chip FPGAs.

One example is a drive on a chip that integrates the drive control loop with communication functions, custom interfaces for encoders, analog-to-digital converters and, potentially, even IGBTs.

Another possibility involves embedding a programmable industrial Ethernet function within the system-on-chip to accommodate any protocol. This removes the need to add a special communications board and a special communications ASIC.

A third option is to enable localizedcontrollers in areas where latency iscritical. Here, system-on-chip FPGAs playa role in partnership with the main PLCcontrol processor, such as an Intelmicroprocessor unit.

>> Read Automation World's complete embedded coverage: How Embedded Systems are Changing Automation

About the Author

David Greenfield, editor in chief | Editor in Chief

David Greenfield joined Automation World in June 2011. Bringing a wealth of industry knowledge and media experience to his position, David’s contributions can be found in AW’s print and online editions and custom projects. Earlier in his career, David was Editorial Director of Design News at UBM Electronics, and prior to joining UBM, he was Editorial Director of Control Engineering at Reed Business Information, where he also worked on Manufacturing Business Technology as Publisher.