Mr. Massow, what has changed with the switch to the Raspberry Pi 3 board?
Massow: The new emPC-A/RPI3 we are presenting is now based on the current single-board computer Raspberry Pi 3 Model B. The upgrade differs from the previous system only in the Raspberry Pi board used. Other components, such as the base board with power supply unit, real-time clock and industrial interfaces are unchanged. This makes it particularly easy to switch from the predecessor to the new system.

More interesting than the changes to the CPU architecture for many applications, however, is the newly added wireless connection with WLAN 2.4 GHz b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.1 Low Energy. This makes it easy to integrate into existing WLAN networks or provide a WLAN access point. All types of wireless sensors and other mobile devices, such as tablet PCs and cell phones, can be easily networked with an emPC-A/RPI3 via Bluetooth.

Where do you see the typical areas of application?
Massow: Whenever a low-cost device is required and the environmental conditions are not too extreme. Our emPC-A/RPI is already being used successfully by many customers: as a control system for the mounting rail in the control cabinet, as a gateway for Industry 4.0 applications or as a display system in combination with an external HDMI screen.

With the recently added wireless interfaces, completely new areas of application are now possible. A network connection can be realized via WLAN, even if no network cable is available at the place of use or no wired solution can generally be implemented, for example in an autonomous industrial truck for data synchronization.

The metal housing of the emView-7/RPI3 panel PC measures 203 mm × 121 mm × 55 mm. The computing unit with mounting option is located on the rear.

© Janz Tec

Our customers have often already realized prototypes based on Raspberry Pi - without a housing, with a 5V USB plug-in power supply and with plug-in boards from the Maker environment for the IO connection. For these users, the use of the emPC-A/RPI3 is a significant professionalization and enables the use in industrial environments in the first place. Decisive for this is the robust housing, the integrated power supply unit with 24 V input for 9 to 36 V for reliable supply and the industrial-grade interfaces - one CAN bus, one RS232 as a serial console, one RS232/RS485 and four digital inputs and outputs each.

Of course, a system based on the Raspberry Pi has some limitations. At 0 to 45 °C, the temperature range for reliable operation is limited compared to other industrial PCs and the long-term availability often required in industry cannot be guaranteed. Numerous high-quality alternative systems from Janz Tec can be used for this purpose.

Janz Tec will also be presenting new panel PCs at embedded world 2017. What are they all about?
Massow: We developed the emView-7/RPI3 panel PC due to the high demand for the combination of emPC-A/RPI and an integrated display with touch operation. It combines the performance and connectivity of the emPC-A/RPI3 with the official Raspberry Pi 7-inch display. This has the great advantage that the driver support for the display and the multi-touch operation have already been realized by the Raspberry Pi developers and therefore no special software adaptations are necessary. The panel PC therefore offers a quick and cost-effective introduction to the realization of industrial HMI applications.

The areas of application for the emView-7/RPI3 are at least as diverse as those of the industrial Raspberry Pi computer. However, the integrated 7-inch display with multi-touch support opens up additional areas of application - whether mounted in the control cabinet on a mounting rail or on a mounting arm with a VESA bracket. The panel PC enables the display and operation of an application via touchscreen in a very compact design. This allows machine data to be displayed directly on a machine. Operators can make entries at the touch of a finger without having to connect a mouse, keyboard or monitor.

What are the major advantages of Raspberry Pi-based systems?
Massow: The biggest advantage is that there are hardly any entry barriers to developing your own software. Depending on the level of knowledge and preferences of the software developer, they can use various programming languages, from simple graphical programming languages such as Scratch, Perl and Python to the sophisticated high-level languages C, C++, Java and many more. Many instructions and software libraries from the Maker environment that are freely available on the Internet are already so mature thanks to the large community of Raspberry Pi users that they can be used in an industrial environment without any problems.