Allowing for easy deployment of wireless nodes for industrial, commercial and medical applications, Rabbit, a Digi International brand, has unveiled the BL4S100 and BL4S200, single board computers (SBCs).
Oftentimes, the ability to control the machines comes with the cumbersome burden of maintaining the wires and switches associated with them. When it comes to embedded designing, engineers often have a tough time trying to acquire data from these wire machines. The BL4S100 series claims to have found a solution to these problems, as it provides both ZigBee and Ethernet connectivity.
Design engineers can now install ZigBee nodes at various control points and connect those nodes wirelessly to the BL4S100 board. Apart gathering the data from the ZigBee nodes, the BL4S100 SBC can also uplink it to a server via Ethernet.
“With Rabbit SBCs, embedded developers start with a virtually complete piece of hardware and only have to add software and an enclosure to create a product," said Larry Kraft, senior vice president of global sales and marketing, Digi International ( News - Alert). "Now embedded developers have the fastest, easiest path to a wireless control product or wireless gateway. They can literally get to market in a few months.”
The BL4S200 is well suited for applications that need considerable digital and analog I/O. These applications include data logging, instrument reading, and controlling motors, relays and solenoids. Engineers can now add wireless connectivity and control to a completely new range of devices such as vision systems, wireless industrial control systems, printing systems, automatic meter reading devices, industrial ventilation systems and HVAC systems.
Providing the basic hardware and software tools, BL4S100 and BL4S200 development kits are currently available. BL4S100 kits can be purchased for $199, while BL4S200 kits cost $299.
In November, the company released the MiniCore series of easy to use ultra compact, low profile, low-cost networking modules. These modules offer 32 GPIO and a Rabbit 5000 microprocessor, making them the most cost effective network connectivity solution available for both networking and control in such a small form factor.
Raju Shanbhag is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Raju's articles, please visit his columnist page.
Edited by Michelle Robart
|