In 2020, Cisco conducted a survey on IoT solution design involving over 2000 companies, finding that more than 60% of companies underestimated the complexity of IoT solutions at the start of projects, and 75% of projects were ultimately deemed failures. Among the reasons cited for failure, the top few were schedule delays, budget overruns, the complexity of integration work, and lack of experience. Similarly, a recent survey by Microsoft revealed similar results, with the complexity of integration work and technical barriers being the biggest challenges. Today, let’s explore the common challenges faced by embedded system developers in the industrial sector.
· Increasing system complexity
· Integrating wireless connectivity
· Ensuring product security
· Meeting diverse application requirements
· Keeping product designs up-to-date
These are the five most common challenges faced by developers, and we will analyze each of these challenges and share the corresponding solutions provided by Digi.
Increasing System Complexity
Traditional embedded system design is very simple and straightforward, typically based on single-core processors/microcontrollers, writing a main program with functionalities implemented in the program’s loop. There are also lightweight RTOS systems that implement simple multitasking functionalities. The processor clock frequency is usually in the tens of megahertz or a couple of hundred megahertz, with basic peripheral interfaces including serial ports, ADC sampling, GPIO, etc.
In the past, traditional embedded system design methods could accomplish tasks well, but today, many applications are gradually increasing their demands for computing power, robust support for rich peripheral interfaces, and high-end human-machine interaction interfaces. To meet these demands, systems have to consider using multi-core systems and employing more powerful RTOS, Linux, or both. An increasing number of protocol stacks or libraries need to be called, such as wireless protocol stacks, cloud connections, security libraries, and other third-party library files. In addition, developers also need to handle increasingly complex drivers, designs matching high-frequency processors, low-power designs, and other aspects.
To address the increasing complexity of systems, Digi offers higher levels of hardware and software integration. Starting with hardware, here is what a typical Digi ConnectCore SOM (System on Module) looks like.
We base our design on the NXP i.MX/ST application processor, adding a Cortex-M0 microcontroller as a coprocessor to achieve advanced operations such as power management, system reliability, and tamper detection. Additionally, we have added a dedicated security chip to provide an extra layer of security. Power management ICs, high-speed memory, and pre-certified dual-band Wi-Fi and BT connectivity are all integrated into the SOM, complete with RF shielding.
When you flip the SOM, you will see Digi’s innovative SMTplus form factor. For simple applications, the slot pads around the outer edge can be used. For more complex applications, the full LGA pins can be used for complete access to all the processor functions.
On the software side, we provide a complete open-source Linux solution based on the Yocto project. We first introduce the latest versions from upstream projects (such as U-boot and the Linux kernel) and integrate the BSP from NXP/ST. Moreover, we have added custom features for the Digi SOM platform and out-of-the-box software extensions to help users accelerate software development. Some examples include Digi’s TrustFence security framework, wireless drivers, secure firmware updates, third-party cloud integrations, and low-power optimizations for ultra-fast wake-up from low-power suspend to RAM mode. We provide pre-compiled SDKs and toolchains, popular IDE plugins, and comprehensive online documentation. Most importantly, we perform comprehensive system validation on the SOM and continuously maintain the software over time to incorporate important updates and security patches, applying the same level of integration on Android.
In addition to highly integrated hardware and software, there is a set of development tools that can further simplify common design tasks. We collaborate with industry leaders like NXP, Azure, and AWS to bring more complete solutions to the market. Our strong customer support team and in-house design services department can respond promptly to customer needs globally, providing assistance at the first opportunity.
Integrating Wireless Connectivity
Adding wireless capabilities to products requires specific RF expertise and equipment, and achieving this functionality is not easy in the rapidly changing landscape of wireless protocols, global regulations, and industry certifications. Users need to continuously invest to keep up with the latest technologies, redesign after components become obsolete, and update certifications. Of course, you can increase this expertise through learning, but it is important to consider the opportunity cost and whether this is where you really want to focus your R&D resources.
Regarding this challenge, Digi helps you in three ways:
First, Digi-ConnectCore SOM fully integrates typical wireless communication protocols such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and adds support for advanced features like fast roaming and Cisco extensions, which are important for many enterprise applications.
Second, the Digi-XBee ecosystem is more flexible, supporting leading IoT standards such as LTE cellular protocols, mesh network protocols, and products for long-range communication in the Sub GHz band. The advantage of XBee is its ease of use and pin compatibility, making it simple to update products or support multiple protocols across a range of products as new technologies emerge.
Finally, Digi’s wireless design services team has complete capabilities from RF hardware and software design to certification and manufacturing support, able to provide you with comprehensive support and services.
Ensuring Product Security
Building secure products is challenging, but keeping them secure is even more difficult. Due to the scale and critical nature of tasks, industrial applications are often prime targets for cyberattacks, and the challenges of maintaining the security of embedded industrial and medical devices are increasing. Many embedded devices are deployed remotely, outside the protection of traditional IT networks and security tools. Over the long lifecycle of a product, hackers have ample time to study the devices and look for vulnerabilities. Moreover, many systems are battery-powered and not always online, making monitoring and updates more challenging.
In response, Digi offers the TrustFence framework with built-in proactive security measures. TrustFence is a device security framework that simplifies the process of protecting connected devices, allowing you to implement functionalities like secure boot, firmware updates, encrypted file systems, or certificate management without needing to be a security expert. At its core, TrustFence is based on the fundamental security features of NXP i.MX/ST, combined with hardware-based secure elements and software extensions in u-boot, the kernel, and user space.
Additionally, we understand that designing secure products is just the first step; to support long lifecycles, TrustFence is scalable and upgradable, and Digi’s security center addresses common vulnerabilities and risks, including continuous monitoring, alerts, and notifications.
Meeting Diverse Application Requirements
Customers are increasingly designing for a wide range of application and performance requirements. We often see some customers wanting to launch a whole series of products simultaneously, sharing development teams, with very limited R&D resources, so they need to achieve performance and cost scalability with minimal expense to develop a range of products that meet different price and performance points.
Digi provides solutions that integrate different main processors and supporting resources in the same package, offering varying performance and cost, maximizing the reduction of hardware redesign. The same development environment ensures the reusability of software developed by customers, allowing applications designed for older SOMs to run on new SOMs with minimal changes. This greatly reduces development costs for customers, shortens development cycles, and allows products to reach the market faster.
Keeping Product Designs Up-to-date
Many embedded systems in the industrial sector are expected to have a lifespan of 10-15 years, during which many changes can occur, such as supply chain changes, demand changes, and the need for upgrades.
Digi’s SOM has a supply commitment of at least 10-15 years, perfectly suited for industrial sectors such as healthcare, telecommunications, and industrial automation, fully matching the long-term supply commitments of major chip manufacturers. The discontinuation and replacement of certain components are completely handled by Digi, relieving customers from additional R&D resource investments, thus ensuring their product’s lifecycle.
For subsequent iterations and upgrades of customer products, Digi provides new generations of SOMs with different cost-performance ratios in the same package and development environment, significantly reducing repetitive work in customer development, saving development costs and time.
Digi ConnectCore features a range of SOM modules and single-board computers based on NXP i.MX and ST that can be scaled. To date, our solutions cover a wide range from single-core A7 to multi-core A7, A35, A53, A55 processors, with extensive multimedia and connectivity options. By leveraging our universal platform and software environment, you can quickly integrate ConnectCore into a full range of industrial products with varying performance, functionality, and price levels.
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