Tech Briefs Magazine - October 2021 - 43

capable of hosting HTML5 displays with
a built-in web server are an effective
approach that requires no licensing.
* MQTT over TLS: The MQTT protocol,
using standard transport layer security
WWW
192.168.51.9
IIoT
platforms
WEBSERVER
Plant-floor
PLC
WWW
CLOUD
computing
REFINED
DATA
PRODUCTION
RUN TIME
SYSTEM
HEALTH
TOTAL
BOTTLE
COUNT
HOURLY
CONSUMPTION
RATE
API
REST API
Node-RED
RAW
DATA
Salesforce®
Microsoft
Dynamics®
PI System®
Corporate Databases,
IT Systems, and Data Analysis Software
MySQL®
MATLAB®
Simulink®
QuickBooks®
Modbus EtherNet/IP ASCII
PLC DATABASE
(TLS), has emerged as a standard way
to establish two-way communications
securely from PLCs to the cloud over
low-bandwidth connections. Users can
access the data with software clients, or
they can integrate it with cloud computing
solutions and software like
Microsoft Azure and IBM Watson IoT.
* REST API: The preceding three ap -
proaches need users to manage and
configure source data at the PLC.
However, the newest PLCs offer a representation
state transfer (REST) ap pli -
cation programming interface (API),
by which external software clients can
initiate communications and dynamically
request whatever data is needed
after satisfying all cybersecurity provisions.
Today's
OT-based PLC technology
now includes IT-capable software features,
enabling users to easily access
field data without complex layers of
intermediate hardware and software. ITtype
security is built in such as firewalled
connections, username/password credentials,
IP whitelisting, and secure
communication protocols. These platforms
are ushering in a new era of connectivity,
providing convenient options
for end users to create IoT solutions.
This article was written by Damon Purvis,
Figure 3. AutomationDirect BRX Series PLCs can use multiple protocols to efficiently and securely
transmit field data to enterprise computing resources. (Courtesy of AutomationDirect)
Air Traffic Simulation Tool
This evaluation tool for low-altitude air traffic operations can be used by the unmanned
aerial vehicle (UAV) industry.
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California
nmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are
envisioned to operate much closer to
each other in low-altitude airspace than in
the conventional high-altitude air traffic
system and therefore impose challenges
not only to the vehicle design but also to
the development of a safe yet efficient lowaltitude
air traffic system. NASA Ames
developed an air traffic simulation tool
known as Flexible engine for Fast time
evaluation of Flight environments (Fe3).
The simulation tool provides the capability
of statistically analyzing high-density,
high-fidelity, and low-altitude traffic
systems without conducting infeasible
and cost-prohibitive flight tests that
involve a large volume of aerial vehicles.
Fe3 includes comprehensive models for
high-volume traffic operations such as
six-degrees-of-freedom unmanned vehicle
dynamics and control models, navigation
communication and sensor models,
wind models, and conflict resolution
U
Tech Briefs, October 2021
Cov
models using cloud computing and
Graphic Process Unit (GPU) technologies
to achieve a high level of computational
performance.
With such performance, Fe3 can perform
thousands of Monte Carlo simulations
for high-volume aircraft operations
in minutes so that researchers can readily
conduct uncertainty studies and ob -
tain statistical results. This simulation
tool also provides a flexible input structure,
allowing researchers to study a
wide range of parameters in large-scale
aerial operations.
Fe3's core simulation engine is composed
of two main functions: trajectory
generation and collision avoidance. Fe3 is
highly parallelized using the Com pute
Unified Device Architecture (CUDA) programming
language on GPUs. It is
deployed on the Amazon Web Service
(AWS) cloud for scalability needs such that
the number of GPU instances can be
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ToC
dynamically deployed based on simulation
needs. The technology can perform uncertainty
analysis on large volumes of aircraft
operations within minutes, all neatly
wrapped in a Web-based application.
With this capability, stakeholders can
study the impacts of critical components
(such as wind, surveillance, communication,
collision, avoidance, traffic rules,
energy consumption, etc.) in the low-altitude,
high-density traffic system; gain
insights and help define requirements,
policies, and protocols for a safe and efficient
traffic system; and assess operational
risks and optimize flight schedules.
NASA is actively seeking licensees to commercialize
this technology. Please contact
NASA's Licensing Concierge at Agency-PatentLicensing@mail.nasa.gov
or call us at 202358-7432
to initiate licensing discussions.
Follow this link for more information:
https://technology.nasa.gov/patent/TOP2290.
43
PLC
Product Manager at AutomationDirect.
com. For more information, visit http://info.
hotims.com/79418-123.
HTML5
MQTT(S)
FTP
HTTP(S)
PSI

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Tech Briefs Magazine - October 2021

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