Standards for Industry 4.0
Industry 4.0 merges modern information and communication technologies with industrial processes, devices, and products. This means that the processes, devices, and products need to either integrate ICT technology or have access to ICT systems. Today, many industrial devices and machines are already operated and controlled via IT-based embedded systems. However, up to 85 percent are still missing a communication interface with the cyber-virtual cloud systems that convert the individual bits and bytes into the big data value-add promised to the users of Industry 4.0.
Gateway standardization required At the device, machine, and plant level, OEM application developers therefore often call for the migration from embedded IT systems to embedded ICT systems. This requires an embedded computing platform that is also able to master Industry 4.0 communications tasks. At present, there are no embedded boards that offer standardized integration of industrial-grade wireless interfaces. OEMs that have opted for COM standards because of their specific interface requirements now benefit from a major advantage of the modular design: SIM card slots or a Mini-PCIe slot for suitable SIM expansion cards that are relatively simple to integrate into carrier boards. Important connectivity standards such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, ZigBee, SIM, RFID, and NFC can be integrated directly or via Mini-PCIe expansion cards on the carrier board.
COM Express for Industry 4.0 The COM Express standard is particularly well suited for Industry 4.0 applications because it is not only optimized for industrial use, but it is also suited for many other
••• Figure 2 This concept platform represents a 5th generation Intel Core processor-based COM Express Compact module and carrier board. 49