Automation and remote management of data from a micro-aerogenerador
This approach might also be a revolution when applied to manufacturing plants, through the Elimination of connections twisted to machines, so that they can manage and monitor the machines and production devices at a distance. This means that it is not necessary that the workers are on site, or to move a machine to another. An operator will be able to manage many more machines in a centralized manner, monitoring the machines remotely. The plants will also be much more flexible with regard to aspects mobility of machine and flexible lay-out, and remote alarm detection.
Given that the applications are very diverse, different solutions for each project are adapted to the specific requirements in each case. Customized solutions range from development of applications based on the integration of commercial packages and adaptation of the same, until complete own developments based on more complex technologies such as Artificial Intelligence. In this line, Fatronik has a Software platform based on intelligent agents and standard interface based on XML-WEB, for a comprehensive management of machine information; platform which was already presented in an article in this magazine (N ° 14 March 2003), and that was cause for a presentation at the Congress of machine tool 2002 held in San Sebastián (14th Congress of machine tools, ISBN 931828-4-2).
One of these applications has developed for the management and remote acquisition of data of a wind micro-aerogenerador. This generator is located in a place of difficult access on the slope of a hill. The management and monitoring of the same required of the displacement of a person to that place; which constantly resulted in a loss of time and excessive and unnecessary costs in displacement.
What was needed was the capture of the parameters of the generator without having to scroll to the place where is located. Also addressed the possibility of interacting with the generator so that it could be managed remotely.
But without going into the final technical objective of the solution, in many cases and in various industrial environments, the location of the devices on which there is a need to control, prevents that this can be performed in an optimal way.
Faced with this situation, and with a more global vision that allows a simple adaptation to new environments, design an integrated solution based on a programmable embedded system, which combined the technologies needed to remotely manage devices with difficult access or that are too old and their integration in network systems is complicated (e.g. that only have ports) (serial communication). In addition, the system meets the requirements of robustness, low consumption and constant operation that require these settings.
The core of this system is a programmable embedded controller and Modular manufacturer ICP-DAS (Controller of the family i-7188), with MS-DOS-based operating system, which allows the development of programs with demanding temporary requirements. Being modular, it enables the integration of modules of input/output Analógicos/Digitales of the same family to be managed and synchronized by the driver. The communication between the elements of this modular is via RS-485, and is managed by the controller 7188, which obviously contains the programme of control and data-logging entirely designed and developed by Fatronik (downloaded and run from a PC or laptop) via RS-232.
The driver operates independently on the basis of the instructions, storing data controlled in a FLASH memory at the same time. In this way, the system works off-line until the person in charge is connected to the system to collect data, which allows a timely realization.
To give a complete solution to the problem, add the possibility to manage and remotely download the data, which allows not only a work offline and on time, but that the location of the devices is not a problem. To this end, GPRS becomes the main element, the traditional telephone lines, twisted, as it is evident, do not cover all locations and make it difficult for the lay-out of the elements. To make this management can be performed from the central office, the system described has coupled a router (or Router) GPRS (manufactured by TEMPEL, www.tempel.es) connected to a server's serial ports (transforms commands IP series and vice versa, of MOXA)(, www.moxa.com). The integration of these elements allows remote management via TCP/IP from a basic device that locally only allows to be managed by RS-232.
According to this pattern, Fatronik has developed the programme of control and data-logging which runs on the controller (located on the hill next to the mill), and a Windows-based interface to manage and download data from the controller via series. With the integration of the rest of the elements has been a complete and innovative solution for the management of devices for production of small size to which the remote management is impossible or very expensive with traditional solutions.
In addition, within this theme, Fatronik has carried out projects of different dimensions within the European research framework V-Programa, as well as with the Ministry of science and technology of the State and also in research programs of the Basque Government. Fatronik has always taken into account in its developments the multi-sectoral applicability, in a way that a solution can be easily integrated in different disciplines: machine tools, goods team, renewable energy, tourism, health, services, transportation,...
In this way, the Fatronik Foundation shows its capacity for development of ICT solutions innovative, value-added to production devices, combining own developments with integration of different products and technologies, and on different platforms, from traditional operating systems to embedded systems based on microcontroller and Real time.
