2. IoT in the Real World:
Practical Advice for Acquiring and Using Your Data
Session 1442, Tuesday May 22, 2018
DMC, Inc
 Darren Jones
 Project Director
 Peter Rijks
 Senior Application
Developer
4. Established in 1996, DMC serves customers worldwide from offices in
Chicago, Boston, Denver, Houston, New York, Reno, Seattle, and St. Louis.
employees & growing
170+
DMC Overview
5. Areas of Expertise
Manufacturing Automation
& Intelligence
Test & Measurement
Automation
Microsoft Consulting
Services
Custom Software &
Hardware Development
6. Problems to solve!
Typical DAQ / Control Project Iot Project
Industrial & Laboratory I/O Remote locations
Sampling rate Unpredictable environments
Local DAQ and Control Long unattended runtime
Data storage Remote data display
Local Data display Unreliable power sources
Software architecture Cloud / data architecture
9. Tools
cRIO
LabVIEW
Azure, AWS, others
HTTP, MQTT
TDMS, JSON, XML
Challenges
Diagnostics and logging
Status and Data transfer
Settings synchronization
Critical control
Field Deployments
Connectivity
Data architecture
Tools
10. DMC application: Fish Barrier and Pipeline Monitoring
 Monitoring ground voltages, pipeline, fish barrier
performance
 Remote monitoring and alarming
 Long term unattended operation
 Multiple stations in field
11. DMC application: Fish Barrier and Pipeline Monitoring
 Challenge: Broadcast status data
 Solution & Advice:
 Use MQTT + Azure IoT hub
 Be aware of SSL/TLS and Authentication needs
12. MQTT via LabVIEW and Azure
 Azure IoT hub only supports MQTTS
 Authentication with Azure IoT hub
 Username
 Symmetric key or X.509 certificate
 JSON for serialization, native format on Azure
13. DMC application: Fish Barrier and Pipeline Monitoring
 Challenge: Raw data transfer
 Solution & Advice:
 Secure HTTP file transfer
 Azure storage service and authentication
14. Secure HTTP Transfer, LabVIEW to Azure Blob Storage
 Keep cRIO and Azure server in sync
 NTP time server
 Specify Date Header
 Use appropriate hashing for signatures
 HMAC-SHA256
 Specify Authorization Header
15. DMC application: Fish Barrier and Pipeline Monitoring
 Challenge: Diagnostics and Logging
 Solution & Advice:
 Use a logging framework
 Ability to change logging detail levels
 LLAMA (Llama Logs AlMost Anything)
16. DMC application: Fish Barrier and Pipeline Monitoring
 Challenge: Synchronizing Settings
 Solution & Advice:
 Expect Out-of-Sync conditions
 Make this obvious to end user, with tools to handle
17. DMC application: Windmill power routing
 Largest Wind Turbine in the US
 cRIO-based solution
 Challenges: Critical control
 Solution / Advice
 Watchdog device
 External (PLC)
 Internal (FPGA, Safety Module)
Image source: Amarillo Globe-News
18. Tools
Tools cRIO
Azure, AWS, others
HTTP, MQTT
TDMS, JSON, XML
Challenges
Diagnostics and logging
Broadcast status
Data transfers
Field Deployments
Connectivity
Data architecture
19. Field Deployments
 Unpredictable, uncontrolled environments
 Enclosure selection and design
 Antenna selection and mounting
 Temperature control
 Power availability
 Power quality
Images:
bisonprofab.com
Hoffman.nvent.com
20. DMC application: Fish Barrier and Pipeline Monitoring
 Challenge: Field deployment
 Solution & Advice:
 Solar and rain shield
 White paint
 Thermostat, heater, fans
 AC Line Filter, Surge protection outside and inside
 IP67 mounted antennas and external connections
 Test power loss and recovery
21. DMC application: Agricultural Monitoring
 Challenge: Field Deployment
 Custom enclosure needed
 Solution & Advice:
 Use industrial rating if possible
 Understand real environment
 Test and plan for iteration
22. Tools
Tools cRIO
Azure, AWS, others
HTTP, MQTT
TDMS, JSON, XML
Challenges
Unique sensing needs
Diagnostics and logging
Broadcast status
Data transfers
Field Deployments
Connectivity
Data architecture
23. Tools
Tools cRIO
Azure, AWS, others
HTTP, MQTT
TDMS, JSON, XML
Challenges
Unique sensing needs
Diagnostics and logging
Broadcast status
Data transfers
Field Deployments
Connectivity
Data architecture
30. Choosing Connectivity
WiFi Cellular IoT
Cellular
LoRa Zigbee Bluetooth
Bandwidth High High Med Low Med Med
Range Med High High High Low Med
Energy High High Med Low Low Med
Licensed
Spectrum
No Yes Yes No No No
Internet
Access
Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
31. DMC application: Trash Compactor Monitoring
 Monitoring fullness and scheduling
pickups
 Challenges: Choosing a provider
 Solution / Advice
 IoT-specific cellular provider
 Connects to strongest provider in
given area
 Data plans targeted at IoT solutions
34. DMC application: Fish Barrier and Pipeline Monitoring
 Challenge: Selecting a modem
 Solution & Advice:
 Ensure environmental needs are met
 Test connectivity
 Sierra Wireless AirLink modem
39. Tools
Tools cRIO
Azure, AWS, others
HTTP, MQTT
TDMS, JSON, XML
Challenges
Unique sensing needs
Diagnostics and logging
Broadcast status
Data transfers
Field Deployments
Connectivity
Data architecture
44. What’s your challenge?
Status Broadcasts
Cloud
Architecture
Diagnostics and
Logging
Connectivity
Raw Data
Field Deployment
45. IoT in the Real World: Practical Advice for Acquiring and Using Your Data
Darren Jones and Peter Rijks
May 22, 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM
Adding Movement and Modernization to Your UI: LabVIEW Can Do That?
Steven Dusing and Dan Freve
May 23, 3:45 PM - 4:45 PM
OO: LLAMA: Leveraging Object-Oriented Programming
for Designing a Logging Framework
Jesse Batsche and Christian Owen
May 23, 3:45 PM - 4:45 PM
Hinweis der Redaktion
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IoT in the Real World: Practical Advice for Acquiring and Using Your Data - Darren JonesMay 22, 3:30 PM - 4:30 PMThe Internet of Things (IoT) may sound intimidating: get your application off the ground while still staying grounded. At this session, explore platforms and technologies for getting the most out of your IoT systems. Learn about connectivity, secure file transfer, Azure and other cloud platforms for data storage and publication, and field deployment considerations.
IoT in the Real World: Practical Advice for Acquiring and Using Your Data - Darren JonesMay 22, 3:30 PM - 4:30 PMThe Internet of Things (IoT) may sound intimidating: get your application off the ground while still staying grounded. At this session, explore platforms and technologies for getting the most out of your IoT systems. Learn about connectivity, secure file transfer, Azure and other cloud platforms for data storage and publication, and field deployment considerations.
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IoT in the Real World: Practical Advice for Acquiring and Using Your Data - Darren JonesMay 22, 3:30 PM - 4:30 PMThe Internet of Things (IoT) may sound intimidating: get your application off the ground while still staying grounded. At this session, explore platforms and technologies for getting the most out of your IoT systems. Learn about connectivity, secure file transfer, Azure and other cloud platforms for data storage and publication, and field deployment considerations.
Theme:
IoT brings a lot of great technology to our hands.
Our goal here today is to bring this down to earth a bit, and discuss real problems and real practical considerations that may not be part of your normal Test & Measurement project.
On the bottom you’ll see a real location where these tools were put into place.
NOT going to go into a lot of depth with these–
looking to share a variety of practical considerations based on our experience
for those who have done some more typical T&M applications, and may be embarking on another level of connectivity.
MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION & INTELLIGENCE
Our Manufacturing Automation offerings make your production
systems more efficient, flexible, and reliable using the latest
technologies. As premier automation integrators our manufacturing
intelligence solutions provide you the information you need to make
more effective business decisions.
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TEST & MEASUREMENT AUTOMATION
Our Test & Measurement Automation Services help automate
laboratory testing using the latest technologies. We deliver world
class solutions to leaders in research, development, production,
quality, and certification testing. We develop efficient, accurate,
robust test systems, and the tools to leverage test data for effective
results analysis.
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CUSTOM SOFTWARE & HARDWARE DEVELOPMENT
We can help with your product or application development needs.
Our services include product conception, custom electronic hardware
development, application development for web, desktop, embedded,
and mobile, and the development of developer tools (SDK, Drivers,
API, etc.).
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MICROSOFT CONSULTING SERVICES
DMC has been a certified Microsoft Gold Partner since 2005. Gold is
an elite status that represents the highest level of expertise with
Microsoft technologies. We excel at helping clients understand
software capabilities, put structure around business processes, and
extend & integrate software solutions using Microsoft-centric
technologies (SharePoint, Office 365, Azure, CRM, .NET, etc.).
MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION & INTELLIGENCE
Our Manufacturing Automation offerings make your production
systems more efficient, flexible, and reliable using the latest
technologies. As premier automation integrators our manufacturing
intelligence solutions provide you the information you need to make
more effective business decisions.
Â
Â
TEST & MEASUREMENT AUTOMATION
Our Test & Measurement Automation Services help automate
laboratory testing using the latest technologies. We deliver world
class solutions to leaders in research, development, production,
quality, and certification testing. We develop efficient, accurate,
robust test systems, and the tools to leverage test data for effective
results analysis.
Â
Â
CUSTOM SOFTWARE & HARDWARE DEVELOPMENT
We can help with your product or application development needs.
Our services include product conception, custom electronic hardware
development, application development for web, desktop, embedded,
and mobile, and the development of developer tools (SDK, Drivers,
API, etc.).
Â
Â
MICROSOFT CONSULTING SERVICES
DMC has been a certified Microsoft Gold Partner since 2005. Gold is
an elite status that represents the highest level of expertise with
Microsoft technologies. We excel at helping clients understand
software capabilities, put structure around business processes, and
extend & integrate software solutions using Microsoft-centric
technologies (SharePoint, Office 365, Azure, CRM, .NET, etc.).
So, let’s talk about problems. As Engineers, Programmers, and Scientists, the problems are the typically where the fun starts.
On the left: more typical DAQ and control projects
Click
On the right: a few new types of problems that you may not be automatically thinking about, though might need to tackle to deliver your solution
Wind, Solar. Control and monitoring.
Production and operational asset optimization, including predictive maintenance
Infrastructure development and monitoring
Agriculture.. crop health monitoring, equipment performance maintenance, chemical metering controls, etc
Unattended long term data acquisition
So, what has DMC done? Why are we up here talking about practical considerations?
Modern physical world has modern physical problems.
Here are a few problems that came our way in the few couple years. Where we’ve encountered a variety of applications and challenges along the way.
(
DMC has had multiple project request for tracking animals…. Mice, frogs, cows, bats…
)
So, in talking about IoT, it is useful to have a rough framework to visualize the big picture. Here is graphic you may have seen.
On the left, the “things” of the world are represented. In the Industrial Internet of Things, this includes things like heavy equipment, production equipment, test assets, etc.
In the middle we have “Operational Technology”, which is where most people in this room typically operate. This encompasses sensors and actuators, to acquire data from and control the things, to solve our engineering and business challenges.
So this is where the story typically ends, right? You have things, you have DAQ and Control. but you need more--- more systems, more visibility, more INSIGHT.
When you still haven’t found what you’re looking for… it’s time to embrace “The Edge”. , and move into connectivity and cloud services.
This is where we move on to Information Technology on the right. Which covers both On premise and Cloud IT.
So in this presentation, we’ll focus on some practical considerations on either side of the Edge. We’ll leverage some of the project stories regarding field deployments, connectivity, and cloud services.
Here is a short list of challenges we’ve encountered, which we’ll be digging in
Please note, this is not meant to be an end-all be-all instruction set. It is meant as a guide for some of the unique challenges to IoT and IIoT
And of course, the Edge will be back to help us navigate.
Primary problem is invasive fish in the Midwest, specifically, keeping them out of the great lakes.
USACE installed Electric Fish Barriers in rivers in the Midwest to prevent the spread of invasive fish.
In this case, there is an electric current imparted in the river, the fish swim in, don’t like it, swim back out.
Derivative problem is, where does this current go, and what problems might it cause. In this vicinity there is a bridge, a pipeline, a few neighborhoods.
It’s important to monitor the area for effects on surrounding infrastructure, see how the barrier is performing.
Sensors already in field
Challenge: non-typical sensing applications– very noisy low voltage signals, questionable power source, in-line fuses,
Solution:
range of c-series modules
Testing in lab and in field
Interim report to share with stakeholders
Buy-in on data
Power regulator (?)
Challenge: detect defibrillator
Project: medical device containers
Solution:
Another unique IoT project we had was a box to detect the presence of various electronics.
We designed a method of reading electromagnetic energy in the immediate area. This required a fair amount of experiementation in our labs, working closely with the end customer to ensure the full scope of possible devices were considered.
***the only time you know if it didn’t happen is when you need it most***
Get clever about the sensing
Use EME
>>frame the need more, in terms of Fish Barrier.
1 sentence summary, “this is the problem, this is the solution”
Sensors already in field
Project: Fish barrier / pipeline monitoring,
Challenge: non-typical sensing applications– very noisy low voltage signals, questionable power source, in-line fuses,
Solution:
range of c-series modules
Testing in lab and in field
Interim report to share with stakeholders
Buy-in on data
Power regulator (?)
Challenge: detect defibrillator
Project: medical device containers
Solution:
Another unique IoT project we had was a box to detect the presence of various electronics.
We designed a method of reading electromagnetic energy in the immediate area. This required a fair amount of experiementation in our labs, working closely with the end customer to ensure the full scope of possible devices were considered.
Note: Azure uses different types of authentication for different services
Azure IoT hub only supports MQTT over a secure channel
Unlike many IoT projects, as a LabVIEW programmer you will likely have an interest in high speed data.
The status broadcasts
10kHz
LabVIEW has a toolkit for HTTP transfers. This works great. However, it only works great with cloud services if you can sort out the appropriate rules about what
Date Header– if out of sync, you will not get a message that says, “hey, everything is great but your device is out of sync”…. You will just get a message that says the authentication failed.
*Bottom line. Do your homework and expect a fair amount of trial and error. Or, reach out to someone who’s already done it (like us.)
There is a fair amount of code out there that does this in other languages, Python, etc. Though not in LabVIEW
Also--- cloud platforms that do not have official libraries would be interfaced in the same manner.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/rest/api/storageservices/authentication-for-the-azure-storage-services
*Another option: NI Cloud Toolkit for Azure.
? Has anyone used this yet?
LabVIEW has a toolkit for HTTP transfers. This works great. However, it only works great with cloud services if you can sort out the appropriate rules about what
Date Header– if out of sync, you will not get a message that says, “hey, everything is great but your device is out of sync”…. You will just get a message that says the authentication failed.
*Bottom line. Do your homework and expect a fair amount of trial and error. Or, reach out to someone who’s already done it (like us.)
Also--- many other cloud platforms do not have official libraries would be interfaced in the same manner.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/rest/api/storageservices/authentication-for-the-azure-storage-services
Why to use it.
*Another option: NI Cloud Toolkit for Azure.
? Has anyone used this yet?
Probably makes some of this easier
Solution: LLAMA
Consistent tool
Easy for developers
Easy to collect and view logged data
Ability to change log levels remotely. ***More verbose logging is available as needed.***
Ability to change logging detail levels programmatically or remotely
Example: if a status message fails, there could be a variety of reasons--- connectivity to the modem, to the internet, the data plan, the storage service..
A trace level of logging could help diagnose where the issue might be. This log can be generated and then sent to the server. If attention is needed then a person can get involved, addressing the data plan or ISP, or other action.
MQTT communication might have lot's of retries or other events that could be logged.
Example 2:
For the daq sequence, we go through several states, switching DOs for instance off, measuring shunt resistor voltage to verify continuity in the circuit, measurement retry events if instant off unsuccessful, etc. Having verbose logging for the full DAQ sequence could be useful, but would likely fill up logs if left on all the time
Example 3:
Remote debug in general. We would also put our general state machine actions and events at a different log level in case we had to remotely monitor or debug our program logic in more detail
On the Fish Barrier project, these are sent on demand by request via the remote web server
Chance of lightning strike on pipeline
Power fluctuations
UL Advanced Wind Turbine Test Facility at West Texas A&M University
Largest wind turbine in the United States. It’s a monster. height of the hub is 426.5 feet above the ground. The height of the tip of one of its three blades at its tallest is 653.5 feet above the West Texas plains. The diameter of the rotor is 446.2 feet.
Challenge is critical control
Watchdog device
FPGA
External
C-series safety-rated cards as an option
http://www.amarillo.com/news/20180509/wts-wind-turbine-is-largest-in-us
So, in talking about IoT, it is useful to have a rough framework to visualize the big picture.
Here is graphic you may have seen
On the left, the “things” of the world are represented. In the Industrial Internet of Things, this includes things like heavy equipment, production equipment, test assets, etc.
In the middle we have “Operational Technology”, which is where most people in this room typically operate. This encompasses sensors and actuators, to acquire data from and control the things, according to our big challenges.
So this is where the story typically ends, right? You have something in the physical world, you collect data. You’ve got local data and local control, but you need more access, broader analytics and visibility. You need INSIGHT on your data.
This is where we move on to Information Technology on the right. Which covers both On premise and Cloud IT.
This is called “The Edge”. When you still haven’t found what you’re looking for… it’s time to embrace the edge, and move into connectivity and cloud services.
So in this presentation, we’ll focus on some practical considerations on either end of this graphic. We’ll leverage some of the project stories regarding field deployments, connectivity, and cloud services.
Please note, thisis not meant to be an end-all be-all instruction set, though
Solar / rain shield
Sensors already in field
Project: Fish barrier / pipeline monitoring,
Challenge: non-typical sensing applications– very noisy low voltage signals, questionable power source, in-line fuses,
Solution:
range of c-series modules
Testing in lab and in field
Interim report to share with stakeholders
Buy-in on data
Power regulator (?)
Challenge: detect defibrillator
Project: medical device containers
Solution:
Another unique IoT project we had was a box to detect the presence of various electronics.
We designed a method of reading electromagnetic energy in the immediate area. This required a fair amount of experiementation in our labs, working closely with the end customer to ensure the full scope of possible devices were considered.
Application: monitor soil levels, weather conditions, take pictures at certain intervals.
Customer wanted a cool-looking custom enclosure, non-nema
Though, this was unknowingly subject to higher water pressures, as it was exposed to a
Water pressure from irrigation system can be high
Looked great but leaked, required rework
Challenge is water. It leaked, which is why it failed. Irrigation systems can be high pressure. In addition to rain.
Now that we have this data collected...
The challenge is, how do we get this data from lots of devices in different locations?
You might need a cloud service.. .but which one, and how to get started?
Pete will talk through cloud service options and considerations…
Beyond the Edge. The two big challenges are how to get your data from your device and then what to do with it.
Going from data to insight.
When it comes to getting data from your devices to your users
When it c
When it c
When it comes to getting your device online, there are many options available for how to connect it. These options fall into several categories. For example, some of these options will not give you a direct internet connection, but instead connect you to a gateway device that is connected to the internet.
These are just some of the connectivity types available. LTE-M (LTE Cat-M1) allows for cheaper hardware, less power consumption, lower service costs, longer range.
When it c
Carrier/protocol/country support
Module vs external
VPN capabilities
Environmental factors
We’ve used Siemens, u-blox and others
When it c
Fish Barrier: we used a combo of streaming and file uploads
One challenge you may encounter is that you want two-way communication between your device and the cloud. You want your device not only to send data, but also to receive configuration changes or commands. However, often communication can only be initiated from the device side. This may be because the device is only occasionally connected, but often this is because there is either a firewall in front of the device that prevents inbound connections, or because the device may use a dynamic IP address.
One challenge you may encounter is that you want two-way communication between your device and the cloud. You want your device not only to send data, but also to receive configuration changes or commands. However, often communication can only be initiated from the device side. This may be because the device is only occasionally connected, but often this is because there is either a firewall in front of the device that prevents inbound connections, or because the device may use a dynamic IP address.
Beyond the Edge. The two big challenges are how to get your data from your device and then what to do with it.
Going from data to insight.
What is the cloud? Connectivity, storage, apps, analytics, automated control, reporting,
There are a number of IoT platforms available. Some platforms are targeted at specific industries or technologies, while others are general purpose platforms. AWS and Azure are the industry leaders and mostly feature-equivalent. As a Microsoft partner, we have had success with the Azure platform.
Get an end-to-end test working early and with real hardware. On a recent project, we had communication working from a simulated device, only to discover much later in the project that the real device behaved slightly differently than the simulated device, forcing us to rework part of our stack to get things working.
So bringing this back to our modern physical world.
Test & Measurement is moving well beyond the typical laboratory or stand-alone factory application.
Hopefully you gained some insight into challenges unique to IoT / IIoT applications.
So we encourage you to embrace these challenges…
do some research
try it out
And if you STILL haven’t found what you’re looking for,
reach out to us, and other solution partners to help navigate these IoT challenges.
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