Mr. Taxer, you launched the X90 system on the market in mid-2016. What experiences have you had with this 'ruggedized' version of the X20 family in the almost four years since then?

Stefan Taxer: First and foremost, it became clear that offering only hardware is clearly not enough to gain a lasting foothold in this market. The combination of products and service, such as our on-site support, is exactly what manufacturers of mobile machines expect. This is why, even after the relatively short period of four years, we have a solid customer base and are constantly expanding it.

What surprised you most about the new market?

Taxer: I was impressed that digitalization is already very advanced. This sets the agricultural sector in particular noticeably apart from other industries. For agricultural machinery, IoT applications such as communication between machines and to the cloud are almost a must. For example, the combine harvester coordinates with the tractor-loader combination so that nothing goes wrong when overloading. At the same time, it transmits the yield of the harvested field to the cloud and receives work orders from it. Farmers can thus optimize their operations and continue to work economically in the future. Autonomous and semi-autonomous machine functions play a central role in this.

Does the economic success that you have achieved with the X90 systems in recent years meet your expectations?

Taxer : This is not the first new industry that B&R has entered. Of course, a new entry always requires a certain start-up phase. But yes, we have successfully achieved our initial goals for mobile automation and we are very satisfied. Now we have to keep at it and continue to expand and strengthen our role as a technology partner.

Why are you now adding a 'ruggedized' PC?

Taxer: The industry needs solutions for sophisticated machine concepts for which high computing power is essential. Typical embedded control systems for the automation of machines cannot provide this performance and are therefore no longer sufficient. Our mobile PC has an Intel processor that is scalable from Celeron to Core i7. This makes it suitable for such solutions. In addition to high performance, Intel technology offers the option of using open operating systems such as Linux and Windows. Even if the agricultural sector is currently leading the way in digitalization, other sectors - such as the construction industry - are following suit at a rapid pace. We expect the demand for such a PC to grow steadily over the next few years. We have not yet discovered a comparable product for mobile machines that offers this high level of computing power and modularity in this compact and robust form on the market!

If you have not yet discovered any competing products, is it perhaps because the market does not need this performance after all?

Taxer: The market definitely needs these high-performance computers. B&R was only able to bring this product to market so quickly because we develop our PC technology ourselves. That is something special. Not many companies that manufacture products for mobile machines have this kind of expertise. B&R has been developing PCs for industry for 30 years. It was therefore the logical next step for us to implement this technology for mobile automation.

"We will start series production in April."

Stefan Taxer, Product Manager for Mobile Automation at B&R.

© B&R

Can you really build 1:1 on the computer technology from factory automation or does the market demand other features?

Taxer: The difference actually lies largely in the form factor. Functionally, the PC is designed in exactly the same way as an industrial PC. There are only minor differences. For example, the PC for mobile machines has more CAN interfaces than a standard industrial PC. The biggest challenges with this product were, on the one hand, to pack the powerful processor into a casing that could withstand the harsh environmental conditions and, on the other hand, to drastically extend the ambient temperature range.

What roadmap have you drawn up for the new computers?

Taxer: We are currently in the pilot phase. We are working with several pilot customers who are using our PC and testing it in practice. The feedback has been very good and we will therefore be starting series production in April this year.

Do you have another automation device for mobile automation in the pipeline?

Taxer: Our current product range for mobile automation already covers all areas of automation. In addition to modular controllers with integrated safety technology, we also offer decentralized I/O modules and numerous option boards. These boards can be used to expand the controller, for example for predictive maintenance or with inputs for evaluating strain gauges. Panels with several diagonals and, of course, the new PC for mobile machines are also part of the portfolio. But we want to round off the portfolio more and more and are working on further innovations. Some new products are currently in the development phase and will be presented at the SPS in the fall.

The ruggedized devices

PC as edge controller.

© B&R

The X90 Mobile control and I/O system introduced in 2016 is based on the technology of B&R's X20 family. However, all X90 Mobile modules are developed for the much more critical environmental conditions on mobile machinery. In other words, all X90 modules comply with IP69K and cover a temperature range between -40 and +85 °C and specifically meet the standards of the agricultural and construction machinery world. The system is also GL-certified for use in offshore installations.

The new PC with Intel Core i processor also complies with protection class IP69K. It is scalable over a wide range, from Celeron with 2.2 GHz to Core i7 with 2.8 GHz. This PC offers up to 16 GB RAM and 480 GB flash memory and is equipped with a TPM module. The PC also supports standard operating systems such as Windows 10 IoT Enterprise and Linux.

The computing power of the PC can be used to implement partially or fully autonomous machine functions. The PC can also be used as an edge controller. Large amounts of data are collected from one or more mobile machines, pre-processed and sent to higher-level systems, such as the cloud. B&R offers the common OPC UA over TSN and MQTT protocols for communication between the machines and to the cloud. They enable data packets to be transmitted reliably, even if the network connection is poor or temporarily interrupted.