Bernd Hantsche has been with Rutronik since 2005 and specialized in the highly dynamic market segment of wireless technology. Since 2015, the electrical/automation engineering graduate (FH Aachen) has been responsible for the Embedded & Wireless division as Director Product Marketing and is familiar with the wireless trends for industry and end users.

The Industrial Internet of Things is generating more and more data that needs to be managed. This data complexity needs to be mastered. What role does edge computing play in this?

Hantsche: In general, the growth in data generated is much higher than the growth in data transfer rates and transmission capacities. This results in an overload of the transmission paths. This means that appropriate compression of the transmission volume close to the point of data collection is essential in order to cope with the further digitization and networking of things in the long term. Without edge computing, we would quickly have even greater infrastructure and transmission capacity problems than those already being criticized today.

At the edge, sensor data is pre-selected, software applications are processed or even AI calculations are carried out. What should users take to heart with regard to the edge software landscape? Which technologies should/must be taken into account?

Hantsche : There is no general answer to this question; it's about finding the best solution for the individual case. If, for example, only a small amount of data needs to be pre-processed, possibly battery-powered and without significantly increasing the volume of the sensor hardware, the choice falls on system-on-chip or, for smaller quantities, a system-in-package or system-on-module. For these examples of AI applications, pattern matching or ML algorithms, we recommend, based on our experience, that you take a look at the software offered by 'Edge Impulse', for example, which is compatible with the majority of our hardware. Our aim is to provide tried-and-tested software solutions for the hardware in order to create an innovative overall product for the user.

The demands on the hardware grow with the tasks. What should users look out for when choosing the right edge computing hardware?

Hantsche: The choice of suitable edge computing hardware is decisively influenced by the type of data involved, such as video, audio, sensor values, files and databases, as well as by the mass of data, i.e. the number and rate of the volumes involved. This is why we at Rutronik cover the entire range with our product portfolio - from low-power controller chips to multi-core high-performance microprocessors - in order to find the right hardware for each application. Our FAEs and product specialists provide support with the pre-selection for the respective customer projects and put together complete system solutions. However, a performance buffer for future software updates should always be planned for.