Industrial Ethernet Applications

For more information on Comtrol solutions, visit http://www.comtrol.com/

Comtrol Corporation says its new RocketLinx ES7506 industrial managed PoE plus switch changes the game when it comes to where you place your devices. Designed for applications such as IP surveillance, security and transportation, where power sources are not conveniently located, the RocketLinx ES7506 offers four Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) ports delivering up to 30 watts and supporting the new IEEE802.3at standard. When setting up an IP camera or wireless access point, for instance, says Comtrol, you can choose the optimum location for the application, versus mounting the device closest to an available power source. Tasks such as configuring ports, rebooting a failed device or implementing green power scheduling can be controlled via SNMP, Web interface or the included RocketLinx NetVision management software. Additionally, the switch features two uplink ports that support redundant ring network topologies, which enable network failure recovery at less than five milliseconds.

When using the G4-NVR-P NVR each of the four PoE ports in the back are assigned to 4 different IP addresses within the NVRs personal network. These IP address use the default gateway of 10.1.1.1 and the IP addresses start at 10.1.1.65 and go through.68. Port 1 is assigned.65 and port 2.66 and so on and so forth. These 4 addresses are hard coded into the box and cannot be reset. Additionally Gen IV IP cameras are coded so that if they are inserted into these ports then they will have their standard 192.168.1.108 address overwritten in favor of these IP addresses. This would make it seem that no more than 4 IP cameras can be used between these 4 PoE ports, this however is not true with a bit of ingenuity and work. Get A PoE Switch Depending on how many IP cameras you have on the system (up to 16) you can determine whether you will want 2 8-port PoE switches or 1 16-port PoE switch. I would recommend 2 8-port PoEs as it will help reduce the stress on each port. For the purpose of this article we will assume 2 8-port PoEs and proceed regarding that type of setup.

The M2M 100 is a directory of the most important and influential machine-to-machine technology providers as determined by the editors of M2M magazine and its editorial advisory board. It is designed to provide a snapshot of the market as it exists today and the companies with the greatest impact on its direction. The M2M 100 is published annual in the M2M Sourcebook.

The Comtrol IO-Link Master EIP-4 is claimed to be the industry's highest density IO-Link to Ethernet/IP master solution. It combines the benefits of the IO-Link standard with the Ethernet/IP protocol. Featuring a strong IP67 slim-line design, two Fast Ethernet ports and four IO-Link ports having M12 connectors, and a wide operating temperature range (-40 to 85 C), the IO-Link Master EIP-4 has been designed for industrial applications. According to Comtrol, this device is easily integrated into a system network, and is compatible with both existing and new Ethernet/IP environments.

North Carolina State University (NCSU) sponsored Insight Racing Team is one of the select few invited to participate in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Urban Challenge National Qualification Event in October. The race posting a $2 Million prize will pit driverless autonomous vehicles in an urban race to complete missions over 60 miles of city driving conditions. The final race is scheduled to be conducted on November 3rd of this year. Insight Racing is the only team from the Carolinas eligible to compete and they will be there with a sleek Lotus Elise. Driven by a Congressional mandate to convert one-third of the military vehicles to driverless computer-driven mode by 2015, the Department of Defense who authorizes the event, believes the future holds great promise for autonomous vehicles to perform missions that put our men and women in uniform at risk. The Urban Challenge is the third in a series of Grand Challenge events. The first 2 races in 2004 and 2005 featured vehicles that navigated a 132+-mile course through the Mojave Desert. Although none of the vehicles completed the course in the first Grand Challenge, 5 teams completed the course in 2005. Insight Racing placed 12th in that event. First prize for the November 3rd race is $2 million for the vehicle that completes all of the missions on the urban course in the fastest time under 6 hours. The field was narrowed down to 36 participants from the original 89 entrants on the basis of site visits that demonstrated the viability and capability of each entrant. Grayson Randall, Insight Racing founder stated The technology developed for the Urban Challenge gives us a glimpse of how driving will change in the not to distant future.