Implementing a BACnet System Utilizing the TS-7680

BACnet is a data communication protocol for Building Automation and Control Networks. Developed by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), BACnet is a national standard in more than 30 countries around the world, and an ISO global standard. It was created to have a unified communication system for different devices across different manufacturers. Manufacturers of BACnet devices create a wide range of monitor and control modules, from basic IO, to analog, to specialized devices such as gas monitors. Home

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All Your Base(plate) Are Belong to Us!

Print Your Own Baseplate for Development and Prototyping

Abstract

A new development baseplate and accessories for the TS-7670, TS-7680, and TS-7970 are now available for 3D printing. The main baseplate features standoffs for securing the single board computer (SBC), clip mounts for cable management, and tabs for attaching accessory boards. The accessory boards include a full sized breadboard mounting plate, and two (vertical and horizontal) half-sized breadboard mounting plates with compartments for organizing resistors and components. Two different sized cable clips are also included. You can download the STL files for 3D printing by referring to the product webpage in the resources tab, or directly here: Development Baseplate and Accessories for 3D Printing

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Case Study: TS-7680 IoT Solution Provides Real Time Pool Temperatures to Keep Visitors Dreaming of Their Next Trip

In a continuing effort to usher their spa into the 21st century and stay top of mind with customers, Bozeman Hot Springs set out to provide real-time pool temperature data for their customers. They found an off-the-shelf solution with Technologic Systems which could integrate with their existing commercial automation controllers and serve temperature data over a REST API. Home

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Robust C Library and Utility for GPIO sysfs Interface in Linux

Thisis a comprehensive and easy to read example C code designed to work alone or included as a library for dealing with general purpose I/O via the sysfs interface in Linux. It can easily be applied to any computer which utilizes the GPIO sysfs interface (both pro and maker boards). Getting started is a breeze. You just need to decide if you’re going to use it as a library, including it into your existing code, or as a stand-alone utility. We’ll talk about both in this article, but first and foremost, here’s the source code we’ll be working with:

https://github.com/embeddedts/gpio-sysfs-demo

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Example C Code for Reading ADC Inputs on i.MX28 Based Embedded Systems

Let’s take a quick look at what it takes to read from the ADC inputs of a i.MX28 based embedded system using example C code provided by Technologic Systems. Now, while this can be generically applied to many i.MX28 based embedded systems, we’ll be working with a TS-7680. Right, let’s get started!

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Getting Started with Node.js on an Embedded Single Board Computer Running Linux

The purpose of this guide is to assist in installing node.js on a Single Board Computer running Linux, and creating a simple, lightweight web server application which serves up a “Hello, world!” page. Once it is complete you can add further functionality to extend it on your own. Home

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Demonstrating the TS-SILO Power Reserve Solution

Eliza Nelson, our Field Applications Engineer, takes some time during the Embedded Systems Conference (ESC) inMinneapolis to show us a demo on the new TS-SILO super capacitor, power reserve solution. In the video, a TS-7680 equipped with onboard TS-SILO gets it’s power feed mercilessly taken away in an ever lasting loop every minute or so. Thanks to the TS-SILO, it has time to gracefully shutdown each time. Power is restored, the TS-SILO gets fully charged again in under a minute, and power is ripped away again. Enjoy the video!

New! Linux v4.9 Download. The Linux v4.9 kernel with long term support until 2023 is now available for download. Refer to the manual for details.

Practical Guide to Getting Started with the TS-7680

Introduction

This guide will walk you through the basic steps of getting your TS-7680 up and running. It’s mostly an extrapolation from the official TS-7680 Manual, but provides a more practical and casual approach in setting up common connections, networking, and environments to begin development.

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Who’s (Not) Afraid of the Dark?

The Dark Side

Weather is inevitable, downtime shouldn’t be. Per Information Week, in 2015 IT downtime alone costs $26.5 Billion in lost revenue. This does not take into account the loss of customer confidence, productivity, and supply chain interruptions that are a result of these outages. In a constantly wired world, service level agreements (SLAs) with online availability requirements of >99.9% is today’s de-facto standard. It is simply a fact of the new business model that downtime is no longer acceptable. Industry has done what it can to protect itself from these outages as much as possible, and a few of those options are laid out below. But the result is the same, enterprise level businesses can no longer operate without disaster recovery plan with as many contingencies in place as possible to ensure minimal rebound and recovery time should an outage occur. With embedded electronics permeating further into our everyday lives, partially in thanks to the Internet of Things (IOT), there are more and more devices that we need to worry about recovering once the lights come back on. So what can you do to fend off the darkness?

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Reliable, Highly Engineered In-Vehicle Data Logging and Tracking TS-7670 and TS-7680

Highly Engineered Technologic Systems Products: Home

Engineered to withstand the toughest of environments, the TS-7670 or TS-7680 single board computers (SBCs) have no moving parts or fans and can reliably operate in temperatures from -40 °C to 85 °C and high-vibration environments.

The TS-7670 or TS-7680 boot to a preloaded Linux OS from either on-board flash or microSD card, both featuring data reliability insurances. The TS-7670 and TS-7680 use eMMC SLC flash technology for highly reliable data storage, and the microSD cards use our DoubleStore technology for a RAID-like solution.

Furthermore, on the TS-7680 only, an onboard backup power source, called TS-SILO, provides twenty to sixty seconds of reserve power to allow for a graceful shutdown in case of a sudden power outage or brownout.

Because of the inherent challenges with a mobile solution the challenge is collecting and sharing data reliably. This necessitates addressing file system and data corruption, transfer of the data, and operation at extreme temperatures.

File System and Data Integrity.

The challenges include additional power supply considerations for a vehicle that is always starting and stopping. When power is unexpectedly cut off from the embedded data logger, there is a high likelihood of filesystem and data corruption.

Data Transfer

Another consideration, is how to transfer the data once you’ve captured it via CAN or GPS. Thankfully, cellular network providers have done a great job at providing an always-available, nationwide service accessible from nearly anywhere. It would make sense to tap into this network using a cellular modem. Then, perhaps when the vehicle returns to a base station, WiFi or Bluetooth connections can be used to share auxiliary, non-real time data.

Operating at Extreme Temperature Ranges

Lastly, you’ll want to consider operating temperature ranges, as the inside a vehicle can easily reach 130 °F to 170 °F (54 °C to 76 °C) and on the opposite, reach “Ice Road Truckers” cold to -50 °F (-45 °C). It’s important to keep these considerations of power, temperature, and connectivity in mind in order to keep all this data safe and sound. The TS-7670 and TS-7680 single board computers are embedded systems which aim to provide reliable, low power, industrial-grade vehicle asset tracking solutions and solve these challenges.

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