Factory Automation System
Factory automation systems monitor the production flow in a manufacturing or industrial environment. These automated systems receive continuous data from the production line sensors (charged coupling device cameras) and filter this data before processing it through the customer's proprietary image-recognition algorithms. The image recognition module allows the automation system to identify various states in the production flow, such as there being no product or defective product on the line. This information is then forwarded to the host system, which utilizes it to speed up or slow down the production line, or initiate the rejection of a particular part on the production line.
Figure 1 shows a typical factory automation system. Altera's devices are combined with intellectual property (IP) cores, helping to reduce development costs, increase design flexibility, and shorten development times for factory automation applications. The designer can easily implement the 32-bit Nios® embedded processor in Cyclone™ devices, providing him or her with the flexibility to implement application-specific peripherals and achieve needed core performance. Cost and performance can be traded off so as to achieve a low-end, low-cost slave system or a higher-end, higher-performance system with the core optimized for speed and needed peripherals.
Figure 1. Typical Factory Automation System 
Notes
- FIR = finite impulse response
- UART = universal asynchronous receiver/transmitter
Cyclone devices can be used to perform a number of different tasks in a typical factory automation system. The 32-bit Nios embedded processor can operate as the component controller, freeing the host controller for system tasks. Depending on the system requirements, various interfacing control systems can be implemented, such as an Ethernet media access controller (MAC) controller, a control area network (CAN) controller or a Profibus controller. Altera offers IP to implement the10/100 Ethernet media access control (MAC) and controller area network further speeding up design time. The buffer functions can be implemented in Cyclone's M4K M-RAM blocks and the FIR filter and UART functions can be implemented in Cyclone devices using Altera IP cores to develop a complete factory automation solution. Designers can use Altera IP cores combined with Nios to speed up their design allowing them to concentrate on other parts of their system design. Furthermore, the integration of various discrete devices in to a single Cyclone device reduces discrete components on boards, reduces design costs and time, leading to significant cost savings.
With a highly efficient device architecture, Cyclone devices meet the performance and price-level requirements of cost-sensitive industrial applications. The Cyclone device family and Altera's suite of complementary products and solutions provide industrial designers with unparalleled functionality and extremely affordable pricing.
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