PC's for industrial use : InDuStRiAl Pc...

Computer industry  is a collective term used to describe the whole range of businesses involved in developing computer software , designing computer hardware  and computer networking  infrastructures, the manufacture of computer  components and the provision of information technology  services.

IBM released the 5531 Industrial Computer in 1984 arguably the first "industrial PC". The IBM 7531, an industrial version of the IBM AT PC was released May 21, 1985 Industrial Computer Source first offered the 6531 Industrial Computer in 1985. This was a proprietary 4U rackmount industrial computer based on a clone IBM PC motherboard.

Industrial PCs are used primarily for process control and/or data acquisition. In some cases, it is simply used as a front-end to another control computer in a distribute processing environment. Software can be custom written for a particular application or an off-the-shelf package such as Wonder Ware, Labtech Notebook or LabView can be used to provide a base level of programming.

An application may simply require the I/O such as the serial port offered by the motherboard. In other cases, expansion cards are installed to provide analog and digital I/O, specific machine interface, expanded communications ports, and so forth, as required by the application. They offer features different from consumer PCs in terms of reliability, compatibility, expansion options and long-term supply.

These are typically characterized by being manufactured in lower volumes than home or office PCs. A common category of this is the 19-inch rackmount form factor. They  typically cost considerably more than comparable office style computers with similar performance. Single-board computers and backplanes are used primarily in these systems. However, the majority of these are manufactured with COTS motherboards.

A subset of the system is the Panel PC where a display, typically an LCD, is incorporated into the same enclosure as the motherboard and other electronics. These are typically panel mounted and often incorporate touch screens for user interaction. They are offered in low cost versions with no environmental sealing, heavier duty models sealed to IP67 standards to be waterproof at the front panel and including models which are explosion proof for installation into hazardous environments.

Virtually all of them share an underlying design philosophy of providing a controlled environment for the installed electronics to survive the rigors of the plant floor. The electronic components themselves may be selected for their ability to withstand higher and lower operating temperatures than typical commercial components.

• Heavier metal construction as compared to the typical office non-rugged computer
• Enclosure form factor that includes provision for mounting into the surrounding environment (19" rack, wall mount, panel mount, etc.)

• Alternative cooling methods such as forced air, liquid, and conduction.
• Expansion card retention and support.
• Enhanced EMI filtering and gasketing.
• Enhanced environmental protection such as dust proof, water spray or immersion proof, etc.
• Sealed MIL-SPEC or Circular-MIL connectors.
• More robust controls and features.
• Higher grade power supply.
• Lower consumption 24 V power supply designed for use with DC UPS.
• Controlled access to the controls through the use of locking doors.
• Controlled access to the I/O through the use of access covers.
• Inclusion of a watchdog timer to reset the system automatically in case of software lock-up.

·         Embedded systems span all aspects of modern life and there are many examples of their use.

·         Telecommunications systems employ numerous embedded systems from telephone switches for the network to mobile phones at the end-user. Computer networking uses dedicated routers and network bridges to route data.

·         Consumer electronics include personal digital assistants (PDAs), mp3 players, mobile phones, videogame consoles, digital cameras, DVD players, GPS receivers, and printers. Many household appliances, such as microwave ovens, washing machines and dishwashers, include embedded systems to provide flexibility, efficiency and features. Advanced HVAC systems use networked thermostats to more accurately and efficiently control temperature that can change by time of day and season. Home automation uses wired- and wireless-networking that can be used to control lights, climate, security, audio/visual, surveillance, etc., all of which use embedded devices for sensing and controlling.

·         Transportation systems from flight to automobiles increasingly use embedded systems. New airplanes contain advanced avionics such as inertial guidance systems and GPS receivers that also have considerable safety requirements. Various electric motors — brushless DC motors, induction motors and DC motors — use electric/electronic motor controllers. Automobiles, electric vehicles, and hybrid vehicles increasingly use embedded systems to maximize efficiency and reduce pollution. Other automotive safety systems include anti-lock braking system (ABS), Electronic Stability Control (ESC/ESP), traction control (TCS) and automatic four-wheel drive.

·         Medical equipment is continuing to advance with more embedded systems for vital signs monitoring, electronic stethoscopes for amplifying sounds, and various medical imaging (PET, SPECT, CT, MRI) for non-invasive internal inspections.

·         Embedded systems are especially suited for use in transportation, fire safety, safety and security, medical applications and life critical systems as these systems can be isolated from hacking and thus be more reliable. For fire safety, the systems can be designed to have greater ability to handle higher temperatures and continue to operate. In dealing with security, the embedded systems can be self-sufficient and be able to deal with cut electrical and communication systems.

·         In addition to commonly described embedded systems based on small computers, a new class of miniature wireless devices called motes are quickly gaining popularity as the field of wireless sensor networking rises. Wireless sensor networking, WSN, makes use of miniaturization made possible by advanced IC design to couple full wireless subsystems to sophisticated sensors, enabling people and companies to measure a myriad of things in the physical world and act on this information through IT monitoring and control systems. These motes are completely self contained, and will typically run off a battery source for many years before the batteries need to be changed or charged.

·         In certain applications, where small size or power efficiency are not primary concerns, the components used may be compatible with those used in general purpose x86 personal computers. Boards such as the VIA EPIA range help to bridge the gap by being PC-compatible but highly integrated, physically smaller or have other attributes making them attractive to embedded engineers. The advantage of this approach is that low-cost commodity components may be used along with the same software development tools used for general software development. Systems built in this way are still regarded as embedded since they are integrated into larger devices and fulfill a single role. Examples of devices that may adopt this approach are ATMs and arcade machines, which contain code specific to the application.

·         However, most ready-made embedded systems boards are not PC-centered and do not use the ISA or PCI busses. When a System-on-a-chip processor is involved, there may be little benefit to having a standarized bus connecting discrete components, and the environment for both hardware and software tools may be very different.

A common array of n configuration for very-high-volume embedded systems is the system on a chip (SoC) which contains a complete system consisting of multiple processors, multipliers, caches and interfaces on a single chip. SoCs can be implemented as an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or using a field-programmable gate array (FPGA).

The information is taken from wikipedia.