Alexander Matt is a trained electrical engineer and has been with Schubert System Elektronik GmbH since the end of 2016. He initially gained his experience in Edge Computing & Co. as a Field Application Engineer before starting as Product Manager for Prime Cube, the brand for industrial computer products, at the beginning of 2020.

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?

Matt: As networking grows, the demands on IIoT-connected machines and systems are increasing. The world of data is becoming larger and more complex, making the use of edge computing technology indispensable. It is no coincidence that it is currently one of the most talked-about trends in automation. A continuous and reliable flow of information and data is crucial for efficient production in particular.

The edge separates the production level (OT) of the plant or machine from the IT level of the company. Edge computing enables the targeted pre-processing and analysis of data generated by machines and systems in real time. Only relevant and thus reduced data packets are transferred to the cloud; this reduces the cost of data transfer and the risk of data loss outside the company. In addition, in-house expertise can be better protected as critical data remains within the company. The process-oriented analysis and processing of the data also simplifies its further use for functions and services on site. For example, to use the sensor data in a virtual sensor, implement condition monitoring or quality assurance.

At the edge, sensor data is preselected, software applications are processed or even AI calculations are carried out. What should users bear in mind with regard to the edge software landscape? Which technologies should/must be considered?

Matt: When selecting an edge computing solution, you should essentially pay attention to four points: Openness, flexibility, transparency and scalability.

With our solution, we rely on the Docker container engine and a service-oriented architecture. This offers the user the greatest possible openness to implement their own applications in a container - regardless of the software infrastructure available to the developer. At the same time, there is a wide range of open source container solutions available as well as third-party solutions that can be integrated easily and with little customization effort. This opens up a wide range of applications and a high degree of flexibility to be able to react quickly and precisely to requirements. The ability to implement many applications with one edge device and therefore few hardware components also allows efficiency to be increased and resources to be conserved.

Schubert System Elektronik has over 50 years of development experience in the field of industrial computer systems.

© Schubert System Electronics

Users gain transparency thanks to the easily controllable data flow, which allows them to analyze the data paths with their end customers and only have to disclose the data that the system operator agrees to.

Finally, the scalability of hardware and software is also crucial in order to be able to optimally align resources with the application. Another important point that is often forgotten is simple integration into existing IT infrastructures. Flexibility is required here in order to be able to adapt to different IT policies of the system operators.

The hardware requirements grow with the tasks. What should users look out for when selecting the right edge computing hardware?

Matt: When selecting hardware, it is important to know the requirements in terms of processor performance, the desired connectivity, IT security and the general demands on the availability and quality of the systems as precisely as possible.

Prime Cube's multiservice platform is basically independent of the hardware used, but is optimized for our hardware platforms.

The performance requirements increase with the functions that are to be solved on the edge computer. Here it is important to adapt the hardware optimally to the scope of performance so that not too many performance reserves are built up (cost-intensive), but also not too few (availability, stability during runtime).

When it comes to IT security, it depends on which security level is to be achieved, which in turn has an impact on the hardware. With our multiservice platform and a standard box IPC, we have already achieved a sufficient security level. The LINUX OS comes with basic security features, e.g. read-only file system, firewall etc. and offers sufficient protection in a secure IT environment.

If, in rare cases, you want to achieve higher standards here, you need to pay attention to the hardware, for example a TPM chip or hard-soldered RAM.

The quality of the hardware is also of central importance. Here it is important to rely on systems with industrial components that enable high 24/7 availability and stability. Such systems can withstand adverse conditions and are ideally suited for industrial use.

Finally, good scalability of processor performance on a standardized platform and configuration options are important in order to easily and optimally adapt the hardware to the application.