WHITE PAPER
Developing a Data Acquisition
Platform for Industrial IoT
Applications
Ryan Teng
Moxa Product Manager
WHITE PAPER
Developing a Data Acquisition Platform for
Industrial IoT Applications
The impact the Internet has had on the way humans live their lives has been unprecedented.
It has allowed us to communicate and interact with each other in ways previously
unimaginable. Recently, it has opened the door for what many are describing as something
that will become more important to our everyday lives than the Internet, the Internet of
Things (IoT). One of the most exciting possibilities is in industrial applications, more commonly
referred to as the Industrial Internet of Things (Industrial IoT), where communication and
interaction capabilities can be extended to devices or things used for factory automation,
renewable energy applications, smart grids, intelligent transportation systems, and even oil
and gas applications. Strategy Analytics released a report last year that predicted machine-tomachine connections will grow from 368 million in 2015 to 2.1 billion by 2022. No one doubts
that the potential of the Industrial IoT is enormous. However, before these statistics and the
full potential of it become visible in our everyday lives, there are several issues that need to be
addressed.
In Industrial IoT environments, it is very common for several devices to share the same
network, but it is often the case that different devices support different communications
protocols. For the Industrial IoT to be truly valuable, the diverse devices that are deployed
must be able to share information and communicate freely. As it currently stands, data is
harvested from devices and sent to the central server. Depending on the size of the application,
anywhere from several up to hundreds of thousands of devices could be involved. Then, the
server has to process the device data so that people can make data-informed decisions. The
problem of different devices using different communication protocols can be overcome by
companies writing their own programs to ensure that their devices can communicate with each
other. However, taking into consideration that this is a complex and costly integration
procedure that could prolong the installation process, this is not an ideal choice for smart
companies. With the possibilities that the Industrial IoT presents, we must not lose sight of its
ultimate purpose, which is to make users’ lives easier. As Brown University Computer Scientist
Michael Littman has pointed out: If users need to learn different interfaces for their vacuums,
their locks, their sprinklers, their lights, and their coffeemakers, it’s tough to say that their
lives have been made any easier.
Since an Industrial IoT environment is comprised of several areas, each of which requires a
different type of expertise, engineers from a wide range of backgrounds are needed to handle
projects efficiently. For example, many people in the automation industry are knowledgeable
about industrial protocols such as Modbus, but they are not familiar with Information
Technology and 4G LTE. Conversely, many people in the IT industry are familiar with
communication technology but not with industrial protocols. This problem often presents
companies with two scenarios:
Released on February 15, 2016
© 2016 Moxa Inc. All rights reserved.
Moxa is a leading manufacturer of industrial networking, computing, and automation solutions. With over 25 years of
industry experience, Moxa has connected more than 30 million devices worldwide and has a distribution and service
network that reaches customers in more than 70 countries. Moxa delivers lasting business value by empowering
industry with reliable networks and sincere service for automation systems. Information about Moxa’s solutions is
available at www.moxa.com. You may also contact Moxa by email at [email protected].
How to contact Moxa
Tel:
Fax:
1-714-528-6777
1-714-528-6778
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a)
Developing a Data Acquisition Platform for
Industrial IoT Applications
Spend a significant amount of money on their current engineers to train them how to
operate devices they are not currently familiar with.
b)
Acquire new talent to fill the areas currently lacking professional knowledge and
expertise.
More and more developers in Industrial IoT environments have noticed the aforementioned
problems when building Industrial IoT infrastructures. It cannot be underestimated how
important it is to overcome these problems in order to implement successful Industrial IoT
deployments and how critical any technology is that can help reduce costs.
First, in order to solve businesses’ pain points and allow them to successfully develop and
deploy their Industrial IoT applications, the diverse devices must be able to share information
and interact freely. Second, engineers working with protocols they haven’t previously worked
with or in applications where they don’t have specialized knowledge is an issue that must also
be addressed in order for the Industrial IoT to reach its full potential. In short, helping
businesses save costs and get their products to market quicker is going to be of paramount
importance for any Industrial IoT environment. In order to gain a more detailed understanding
of the challenges businesses face when implementing Industrial IoT projects, an example of a
typical solar energy management firm and the technical issues they must overcome in order to
be successful will be used to further illustrate this point.
A solar energy management company must produce scalable software to serve everything
from small residential solar installations all the way up to large buildings and power plants. The
purpose of the software is to extract data from the database and display it on dashboards to
allow users and administrators to see how much power they have produced, as well as the
status of their field equipment. These companies must also allocate their engineering resources
on how to display the information on dashboards, instead of taking care of remote device
management and data transmission from the field to the central server. Thus, solutions that
can help users take care of data acquisition and device management are going to be the most
beneficial for users.
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Developing a Data Acquisition Platform for
Industrial IoT Applications
One of the solutions available is a software suite developed by Moxa, called ThingsPro, which
helps businesses address these issues. ThingsPro is installed on a field gateway, such as
Moxa’s UC-8100 series, and its primary function is to collect data from field devices and then
convert the data into a format that can communicate with the central server and database.
ThingsPro currently has two utilities, Data Logger and Wireless Manager, which solve
compatibility issues between different protocols as well as reduce an engineer’s workload
during installations. Data Logger converts the information from different end devices so the
information can be sent to the database, and in turn produces information that can be used by
the business. Wireless Manager assists people who are familiar with automation technology in
connecting their field devices to a WAN by conducting the conversion work for them. The result
is that it is not necessary for engineers to spend extra effort to become familiar with wireless
connectivity technology so they can focus more on the data collected from the devices and
data analysis, which is the ultimate goal of an Industrial IoT project. The advantage of this
approach will in turn allow businesses to deploy their equipment faster, complete the project
quicker, and overall to develop a more effective solution.
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Developing a Data Acquisition Platform for
Industrial IoT Applications
As Industrial IoT environments continue to expand rapidly, the demand for the ThingsPro
Software Suite is also increasing because of its ability to assist businesses in bringing their
solutions to market quicker by functioning as a wireless manager for people unfamiliar with
ICT protocols and as a data logger for people unfamiliar with automation technology.
Additionally, in comparison to other solutions, it offers a much lower Total Cost of Ownership.
One of the main reasons for this is because the gateway has a built-in cellular module, which
with the support of ThingsPro allows it to function as a wireless router and perform the data
logger functions that would normally be performed by a computer. Thus, users do not have to
purchase a separate computer and wireless router, which significantly reduces costs.
Furthermore, to adapt various Modbus devices, the Modbus template can be reused to add
additional Modbus devices without the user needing to program the configurations again. The
existing gateway configuration and template settings can also be imported/exported allowing
for faster deployment via the GUI. Finally, the user can also perform troubleshooting and
maintain the system’s historical log files through ThingsPro.
For more information about ThingsPro and the Industrial IoT in general, please see:
http://www.moxa.com/Event/Sys/2016/UC-8100-CG_Data_Acquisition_Solutions/index.htm
Disclaimer
This document is provided for information purposes only, and the contents hereof are subject
to change without notice. This document is not warranted to be error-free, nor subject to any
other warranties or conditions, whether expressed orally or implied by law, including implied
warranties and conditions of merchantability, or fitness for a particular purpose. We specifically
disclaim any liability with respect to this document and no contractual obligations are formed
either directly or indirectly by this document.
© 2016 Moxa Inc.
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