IIoT workshop helps engineers to better understand Industry 4.0

RS Components (RS) is offering exclusive access to a workshop entitled ‘Edge Computing and Data Collection for Industrial IoT’. The workshop is delivered by IIoT platform vendor Zerynth via RS’ DesignSpark community webpage.

The workshop has been designed to teach system integrators, programmers and maintenance staff how to connect both new and legacy industrial machines, apparatus and sensors to IIoT infrastructure, so that production data can be extracted for Industry 4.0 applications. The workshop includes 16 video lectures that can be viewed at the participant’s own pace.

Each workshop participant can request up to three free 30-minute one-to-one video calls with a Zerynth engineer to discuss specific questions and requirements.

In order to qualify for the workshop, participants are required to buy a Zerynth KIT-EWS-01-F016 microcontroller development system from RS, which will be used for the practical elements of the course. This development kit centres on Zerynth’s 4ZeroBox data acquisition unit, which provides a machine-to-cloud interface for legacy and modern industrial equipment. The kit also includes AC and temperature sensors, a reed switch, and an RS485-to-USB interface for PC-based peripheral simulation.

4ZeroBox is an industrial IoT device for data acquisition, monitoring, and control of industrial machines. It can run in PLC mode, retrofitting mode for legacy machines, or hybrid mode, and it supports industrial sensor channels, communication protocols, and relays.

The 4ZeroBox, powered by the ZM1 IoT module, features Wifi, BLE, Ethernet, integrated secure element for hardware encryption, and Zerynth OS, powerful Python-enabled OS for IoT applications. It has been designed to improve the visibility on production processes, enables predictive maintenance of machines, and allows power management monitoring.

Workshop content includes: the Industry 4.0 paradigm; basics of IoT architecture; microcontroller peripherals and basic IoT workflow; features and benefits of 4ZeroBox; digital and analogue data acquisition from industrial machines; edge computing benefits and applications; fundamentals of an IoT cloud service; best practice in applying over-the-air firmware updates; creating realtime data monitoring dashboards; and the system architecture and code components of a complete end-to-end IIoT application.