AUSTIN, TX and TROISDORF, GERMANY – March 26, 2012 – National Instruments (NI) Corporation’s longstanding Alliance Partner S.E.A. Datentechnik GmbH has launched a first-of-its-kind monitoring and control platform for embedded applications programmable with NI LabVIEW™ system design software. The BMX platform has been designed to meet the increasing needs of various industries for a cost-effective, compact and powerful solution to master local control, measurement and condition monitoring functions on a real-time operating system basis.
The BMX measurement and control platform supports design engineers through all phases of development, from prototyping and testing to full operation in complex and demanding high-volume applications. Development cycles using the BMX platform are estimated to take only 20 percent of the time associated with conventional technology, a fact which significantly speeds up time to market.
The BMX platform is based on the innovative NI Single-Board RIO technology, which is one of the reasons for its small form factor and high power. Programming of the built-in real-time processor and field programmable gate array (FPGA), as well as programming of the complete application is easy and fast thanks to LabVIEW. S.E.A. also makes high-level LabVIEW API and driver functions available to access the modules hardware and I/O capabilities.
The unit comes with a basic software framework to acquire, process and store measurement and control data. A core power-PC CPU running on a real-time operating system and the embedded FPGA for fast, deterministic control and monitoring functionality are the key elements performing these tasks. To allow full remote access the module is equipped with a separate communication controller and a GSM/3G modem or WLAN/WiFi module. At the same time, embedded VPN functions ensure secure access for authorized personnel. As a result, not only can stored data or new control parameters be remotely and securely transferred, but the operator is even able to comfortably upload data and exchange the complete LabVIEW application. A high-performance GPS receiver is available to provide precise geo-position information as well as time stamp data accurate to microseconds.
These features, and the fact that the BMX platform is available with a variety of ports (RS485, RS232, CAN, LIN, K-Line) and interfaces (digital and analogue I/O, USB), make the unit extremely versatile. It is ideally suited for challenging and distributed measurement and control tasks in industries, such as automotive, transportation,energy and utilities, as well as for environmental applications. For example, the unit can log, acquire, filter and store vehicle data or performance in fleet operation; it can help monitor wind turbine efficiency or detect early failure of networks and grids to optimize operation; or, it can be used in weather and climate stations to communicate with environmental sensors to acquire and store real-time data. Engineers in industrial machine building and plant construction looking for a universal measurement and control unit, especially for any condition monitoring tasks, will benefit from the capabilities and features the BMX platform has to offer.
The new BMX measurement and control platform has been designed as an embedded or stand-alone control unit for OEM applications, but accessories such as enclosures (IP65 and IP67 compliant) as well as antennas and cabling can be provided as needed. Another auxiliary tool offered by S.E.A. is the RDX Remote Data Exchange Software, which allows automation of the data exchange between the BMX units and central control center without having to program special transfer functions.
For more information about S.E.A. products please visit www.sea-gmbh.com.
