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[post_content] => [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The MDS (Mobile-Dextrous-Social) is a robotic platform that is able to communicate verbally and non-verbally. Designed primarily with Human Robot Interaction (HRI) research in mind, it is the brainchild of Prof Cynthia Breazeal, Director of the Personal Robots Group at MIT Media Lab, who has pioneered the field of human-robot interaction. With the ultimate research goal being to develop human to robot interaction to a level akin to the way humans interact with other humans, potential applications for these robots include care of the elderly, healthcare and education.
Xitome Design – a long-standing Kvaser customer – was commissioned by Breazeal to build ‘Nexi’. At the core of this robot is a series of high-density motor controllers designed by Xitome and based on Denali hardware. A dedicated microcontroller and power amplifier is employed for each control channel. With communication between motor control units needed in a way that achieves flexible position control in a decentralised manner, Xitome Design uses a 1Mbit Controller Area Network (CAN) bus to daisy chain the microcontrollers together. This results in just two wires to provide motor control, power and CAN communication to the head.
Kvaser’s PC104+ dual channel CAN card can be found in the computational stack in the base of the robot, where all motor control and position feedback sensing take place. Meanwhile, Kvaser’s CANLib has been incorporated into Xitome Design’s own API to interface to the bus. Of Kvaser’s input, Kailas Narendran, Xitome Design’s co-founder, says: “There were lots of software and hardware implementation questions that we worked on with Kvaser and they were very responsive and helpful.”
Asked why Xitome Design chose CAN above other communications protocols for this application, Narendran says: “It’s a very robust and fast hardware protocol, with built in error detection and re-transmission, so good for noise immunity performance. In addition, the hardware implementation is relatively simple and compact and it’s daisy chained nature helps with cabling issues.” Narendran goes on to explain that fault isolation is achieved through CAN and the MDS’ inherent design. If a channel fails, its communication failures are isolated via the CAN mechanism, whilst other control failures are isolated by the natural separation of control to a dedicated microcontroller.
Whilst high degree of freedom humanoids might seem a niche market just now, human-robot interaction is an emerging research field with huge implications for society as a whole. Xitome Design has had commercial interest in its robots, but for now, the company is concentrating on the research market, in addition to offering its high-density motion control and electromechanical systems expertise wider a field.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row el_class="default" eq_heights="1"][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_raket_product post_id="39561"][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_header_raket header_type="h4" header="Related articles:"][vc_column_text]
Kvaser’s interface cards pilot robots in the nuclear industry
Kvaser’s PCI Canx modules prove their power in heavy machinery simulation[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
[post_title] => A communicating robot with Kvaser’s PC104+ CAN card inside
[post_excerpt] => Kvaser’s PC104+ dual channel CAN card can be found in the computational stack of this high degree of freedom humanoid ...
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[post_content] => [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]As the Commander in a tank or armoured vehicle, the ability to make quick, accurate decisions is vital, but to perform in such a way, an intimate knowledge of the surrounding environment is necessary. It is for this reason that armoured vehicles used for reconnaissance or battle situations these days typically boast a variety of externally mounted cameras – near-infrared, night-vision, thermal-imaging among them – to relay as much outside information as possible to those inside the cabin. For today’s military, the trend is increasingly to gain situational awareness and fire from within the comparative safety of the vehicle, which means there are more remotely operated cameras and weapons stations on every type of military vehicle, and a commensurate increase in the information displayed inside.
Invariably, reconnaissance and target acquisition systems are integrated with the vehicle’s communication network, as Mike Hantson from Nijkerk Computer Solutions, a specialist systems integrator for industrial and defence oriented applications, explains: “You’ll often have several applications running in the vehicle and you need a minimum of communication between them, connecting them together.” Nijkerk makes displays that are integrated in tanks and armoured vehicles by their customers. Hantson says: “The applications designed by our customers (mainly system integrators) exchange information with other external applications and systems within the vehicle, for which they use a communications bus such as CAN or Ethernet.” These might be other vehicle-mounted sensor subsystems, such as ground surveillance radar, chemical or IED detection systems, or vehicle subsystems such as the engine, transmission, turret or stabilised gun systems.
Kvaser’s PC104+ boards sit inside Nijkerk’s Multifunctional Display Unit (MFDU), an intelligent rugged display unit that has been designed specifically for observation and command and control systems. It can handle composite video and has a graphical processing unit within it that generates overlays with various effects like alpha-blending, rotation/translation and scaling. Programming is done in Linux or Windows.
The boards are integrated in a closed system that needs to meet extremely constrained environmental conditions. Toughest amongst these are vibration and shock, which will be of no surprise for an all-terrain vehicle that may be fired upon. But equally hard are the temperature requirements. The system needs to be able to start-up and operate at temperatures down to -40°C and up to +71°C – this is the temperature outside the box, meaning that the temperature within the box may be closer to +90°C.
Among the key reasons for choosing Kvaser products, says Hantson, was the performance of the boards, the number of available channels and total bandwidth, as well as Kvaser’s support for Linux. He notes: “Kvaser’s Linux libraries were good and very easy to use, and since we recommend that developers use Linux, Kvaser’s approach fits well with our thinking.”
Nijkerk’s MFDU is integrated into a vehicle’s communications network via the CAN interface or an Ethernet port. Noting the option to choose CANbus or Ethernet, Hantson says: “Some customers are switching to Ethernet because most computers today have Ethernet, but there are many military customers using CANbus, and for the vehicles themselves of-course, CANbus is the major communications system.”
Whilst Hantson says that demand for increased data throughput and higher information transfer speeds is relentless, he confirms that high speed CAN has enough headroom for the time being. He notes that much progress has already been made from an operational point of view in speeding information transfer: “In very old systems, reconnaissance teams recorded information in the field and brought it back to staff HQ for analysis. Nowadays, the analyst is put as close to the action as possible, enabling him or her to interpret the various sources of information in virtual real-time.”
Once the information has been analysed on screen, that data then becomes intelligence i.e. it has been filtered and interpreted, and it is sent to HQ. A housekeeping computer might receive that information over the CANbus, and then send it on to the higher hierarchical level. But key is getting data and video from the external cameras and sensors to where it is most needed initially, rendering a fully redundant and totally reliable communications bus like CANbus an absolute necessity.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row el_class="default" eq_heights="1"][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_raket_product post_id="39561"][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_header_raket header_type="h4" header="Related articles:"][vc_column_text]Kvaser’s interface cards pilot robots in the nuclear industry
A communicating robot with Kvaser’s PC104+ CAN card inside[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
[post_title] => CAN interfaces for video displays in tanks and light armoured vehicles
[post_excerpt] => Engineers at Nijkerk Computer Systems needed CAN interfaces for video display terminals that would be integrated into ground-based tanks and light armoured vehicles or airborne applications. Nijkerk chose Kvaser’s PC104+ boards ...
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[post_content] => [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]“Kvaser’s Leafs are a small part of our investment, but their functionality in the test rig is crucial,” said Ger Schreuder, supervisor of DAF’s Engine Test Facilities Group and coordinator of Investment projects, explaining the role Kvaser’s interfaces play in DAF’s new engine development activities.
It is within the Engine Test Facility that engines are developed and tested, not just for DAF, but for Peterbilt and Kenworth, the US truck marques belonging to DAF’s parent company PACCAR, the second largest truck manufacturer in the world. “The prototypes in development have new functionality, new software and hardware because we are working on European Euro 6 engines, and on EPA 10 engines and beyond for the North American market,” notes Schreuder.
DAF Trucks’ Heavy Duty diesel engine test facility is one of the most modern in the world. Several years ago, at a cost of euro50 million, the company unveiled the ‘state-of-the-art’ engine test centre at its Eindhoven headquarters, plus an upgrade to its existing facility. The investment provided 20 new advanced test cells, in addition to the 14 test units DAF had already. Among the new capabilities are cells equipped for endurance testing, whereby engines run for seven days per week, 24 hours per day at temperatures up to 50oC and down to -20oC. The new laboratory can also carry out tests under changing atmospheric conditions, with the ability to simulate altitudes of up to 4,000 metres.
With a variety of ECUs being used at any one time, DAF needs a highly flexible test and calibration system and so uses test equipment from a range of vendors. Among DAF’s long-term suppliers are Kvaser and Kvaser’s reseller and partner, ATI Europe. “ATI supplies one of a couple of software calibration systems that we use, plus the ATI Hub. CAN-communication between ECUs, medium speed measurement subsystems and test automation systems are partly handled by Kvaser Leafs,” recounts Schreuder.
Offering welcome validation of Kvaser’s own product development efforts, Schreuder says: “Of all these systems, I find Kvaser’s interfaces the most ruggedised, the cheapest and the easiest to use. With standard USB and sub-D connectors, and a widely-supported interface for measurement software, they provide plug and play functionality for CAN-based data.” Notably, whilst the Leaf’s employed within DAF’s engine test facility are used in laboratory conditions, Schreuder’s colleagues use them for summer and winter trials, where they are potentially subject to many more connection cycles and demanding environmental conditions – so far, no problems have been reported.
What are the guiding forces behind DAF engine development? Schreuder explains: “Legislation is a major factor behind our product development. It is important to have competitive products available to meet new emissions legislation, such as the Euro 6 legislation that comes into force in Europe in December 2013.” He adds: “Aside from that, we are driven by the need to offer additional value to customers and drivers. We look to achieve the lowest operational cost per kilometre and highest fuel efficiency for our end customers, the highest safety performance, plus optimal driver’s comfort.”
The result is a far tougher set of test routines than were the norm in the past. “With many more actuators, sensors, exhaust gas after-treatment and intelligence generally, the number of ECU calibration parameters is exploding. Apart from a very good understanding of the engine, we require ever more sophisticated measurement and analysis tools, modelling capabilities and rapid prototyping. Overriding this is a need to have confidence that what you use works, to collect data that is stable and trouble free,” notes Schreuder.
DAF has produced trucks for over 60 years. We at Kvaser understand such challenging development environments, and though our products play a small role in this application, are committed to ensuring customers like DAF have many more years of success.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row el_class="default" eq_heights="1"][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_raket_product post_id="12511"][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_raket_software post_id="4651"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_header_raket header_type="h4" header="Related articles:"][vc_column_text]Ford Dunton uses Kvaser hardware in engine development.
Finding faults before they happen with the Leaf Light.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/2"][/vc_column][/vc_row]
[post_title] => Leaf CAN interfaces are a small but critical component for DAF Trucks
[post_excerpt] => Kvaser’s Leafs can be found in the test rig of DAF Trucks’ Heavy Duty diesel engine test facility, one of the most modern in the world ...
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[post_content] => [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Mention the word ‘robot’ to many people and most will envisage R2-D2, the infamous droid in the Star Wars movies, or perhaps they’ll mention NASA’s twin robot geologists, Mars Rovers’ Spirit and Opportunity. What few people will be aware of though is just how many robots are diligently employed here on Earth!
Robots play an important role in many industries. In applications such as monitoring and control, particularly in hazardous environments, robots can access places that humans just can’t get to. And there are few more demanding industries for a robot to work in than the nuclear industry, where requirements for reliability, predictability and safety are strict.
One of the companies servicing France’s renowned nuclear industry is SRA SAVAC, which has a dedicated robotics R&D division. A client of Kvaser and ATI France, SRA SAVAC design engineer Benjamin Gratton explains why Kvaser’s CAN interfaces can be found in a system for monitoring the inside of a nuclear power station’s steam generator: “Our division specialises in robots that access particularly restricted spaces, operate underwater or in high radiation environments. We use Kvaser’s cards, their SDK (software development kit) and associated driver libraries to build the software to pilot our robots. Our latest project is a robot for condition monitoring the thousands of vertical tubes within a power plant’s steam generators, commissioned by EDF.”
The steam generators convert water into steam using heat produced in the nuclear reactor core. In the primary side of the generator, tubes containing coolant transfer heat to water in a secondary loop that is transformed to steam by thermal contact, driving the turbines to make electricity. Deposits in the water in the secondary loop gradually build up and could eventually block the steam’s passage around the tubes. So with thousands of tubes in each generator, condition monitoring to ensure their efficacy is an important job.
SRA SAVAC’s system is comprised of three parts: a computer at the base, which acts as the master controller; a second stage where the robot’s power supply is located; and the robot itself. Kvaser’s interfaces sit within the master computer, controlling the slave to which it is attached via approximately a 100 metre wire. The CAN protocol is used to pilot the robot, which moves around on magnetic wheels. Once inside the steam generator, the robot deploys the 4mm thick imaging probe mounted on top of it to take images and video for later analysis.
CAN is used in these applications because of its reliability. Says Gratton: “CAN has a well-developed ecosystem and is supported by many digital signal processors with built-in CAN controllers nowadays, making embedded system developments such as ours much simpler.” He adds: “If new projects need communication between a computer and embedded intelligence, then we use Kvaser’s interfaces. The Kvaser libraries used to develop our systems are very comprehensive and well documented. In fact, we have had no need to ask for support yet, as everything has worked straight out of the box.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_raket_product list_style="grid" post_id="4630"][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_raket_associate post_id="4669"][/vc_column][/vc_row]
[post_title] => Kvaser’s interface cards pilot robots in the nuclear industry
[post_excerpt] => Kvaser’s CAN interfaces can be found in a robot that monitors the inside of a nuclear power station’s steam generator.
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[post_content] => [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Kvaser hardware and ATI software wins all-round approval for calibration at Ford Dunton Technical Research Centre.
Ford Motor Company’s research centre at Dunton is the largest automotive design and engineering facility in the UK and a long-term customer of Accurate Technologies Inc. (ATI) and Kvaser. Home to several thousand engineers, designers and support staff, Ford Dunton uses an impressive array of ATI and Kvaser products for calibration and diagnostics during the design and development of Ford’s small and medium sized cars and commercial vehicle range.
According to Trevor Griffiths, Calibration Tools Specialist for Ford Dunton’s Powertrain Control Systems Engineering division, engineers there use Kvaser CAN interfaces, combined with ATI software, to perform calibration throughout the engine development process – from prototype to production.
Griffiths was first introduced to Kvaser products by ATI UK’s Business Manager Umesh Patel several years ago. Needing to calibrate electronic control modules from different manufacturers that all used the common protocol CAN CCP, Griffiths initially required a rugged CAN interface that could cope with the daily demands of in-the-field testing at Dunton, and would also be compatible with the ATI Vision software.
Griffiths took delivery of numerous Kvaser USBcan Rugged interfaces, which were duly put to use in various test situations, including Dunton’s dyno cells and test track. As he explains: “When developing strategies for engine control, it is necessary to make calibration changes dynamically – so we are looking for real-time feedback.”
Since that first delivery, ATI and Kvaser have gained a solid reputation among Ford Dunton’s design and calibration engineers, and Ford Dunton subsequently became one of the first customers to use Kvaser’s Leaf Light. Now the most common Kvaser interface product used at Ford Dunton, Griffiths says: “Leaf Light is highly favoured by the engineering and development teams due its versatility and physical attributes. The tool is light, compact, powered from the USB and represents a cost-effective CAN interface.”
Whilst the specification of the Leaf Light is lower than some other Kvaser interface products (it isn’t qualified for operation in extreme temperatures), Griffiths notes that if the temperature goes below zero, he recommends that engineers carry it in their pocket!
Meanwhile, Ford Dunton has used ATI VISION calibration and data acquisition software since 1998, since adding CANLab, ATI’s excellent multi-bus network analysis and development tool. Other software and hardware interfaces from the ATI/Kvaser stable in use at Dunton include ATI CANverter and Kvaser CANKing, Memorator, LapCan and Leaf LIN.
Concludes Griffiths: “Our investment in Kvaser products has proven to be a wise decision. Ford will continue to monitor the development of ATI and Kvaser products with great enthusiasm, and we have high expectations of future products.”
Image from left to right: Umesh Patel (ATI UK), Klas Sehlstedt (Kvaser) and Trevor Griffiths (Ford Dunton)[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row el_class="default" eq_heights="1"][vc_column width="1/3"][vc_raket_product post_id="39543"][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/3"][vc_raket_product post_id="39546"][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/3"][vc_raket_software post_id="39770"][/vc_column][/vc_row]
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[post_excerpt] => Needing to calibrate electronic control modules from different manufacturers that all used the common protocol CAN CCP, Ford Dunton needed a rugged CAN interface that could cope with the daily demands of in-the-field testing.
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[post_content] => [vc_row][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_column_text]The number of Controller Area Network (CAN) nodes is growing exponentially. Tens to hundreds of sensor nodes are linked on the CAN network of every modern car nowadays, and the same can be said for trucks, buses and machinery. But imagine a CAN network encompassing some 60,000 nodes or more over a distance of several thousand acres? Some of the largest CAN networks today can be found in power generation, most notably in solar fields. Here, CAN is being used as a means of communication between thousands of ground-mounted mirrors used to concentrate sunlight and the solar field’s control centre.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_single_image image="42918"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]An example is one of BrightSource Energy’s Israeli based pilot solar fields. Brightsource is a Kvaser customer that uses CAN to control and monitor its ‘heliostats’ – a term used to describe the mirror, its support structure, pylon and tracking system. Each heliostat has a 2 axis controller that allows the mirrors to be tilted up and down and from side to side to track the sun. Their reflected solar energy is focused onto a massive boiler where water is heated to more than 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit to create super-heated steam, which drives turbines in the conventional way.
With each CAN bus capable of controlling approximately 100 heliostats, the average solar field can have as many as a few hundred CAN networks running simultaneously. These are linked using ‘gateways’ that connect one or two Ethernet ports to a set of between four and eight CAN buses.
Israel-based LogiCAN, a Kvaser Techical Associate, provided CAN engineering design and support to BrightSource for their project, designing a pc-based gateway that provided two-way communication between the control centre and each heliostat. Four of Kvaser’s CAN PCI boards were used for the implementation. “These proved faultless and were very easy to accommodate, thanks to Kvaser’s easy to use driver software,” said Ran Weiss, engineering manager of LogiCAN.
Since the pilot project, LogiCAN has remained the Gateway keeper and embedded developer for projects CAN-related for BrightSource. Its most recent project has been to develop a new CANopen based protocol for the next generation of BrightSource’s heliostats and an embedded gateway, which LogiCAN has also designed.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row el_class="default" eq_heights="1"][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_separator_raket][vc_header_raket header_type="h3" advanced_params="1" header_size="h4" preheader="Recommended Products"][vc_column_text]Kvaser's CAN PCI Boards [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_separator_raket][vc_header_raket header_type="h3" advanced_params="1" header_size="h4" preheader="Recommended Associates"][vc_raket_qsr post_id="39730"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator_raket][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_header_raket header_type="h3" advanced_params="1" header_size="h2" preheader="Related Articles:"][vc_column_text]Solar boat challenger uses Kvaser interfaces for telemetry
A communicating robot with Kvaser’s PC104+ CAN card inside[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
[post_title] => Kvaser’s CAN interfaces at the heart of solar field communications
[post_excerpt] => imagine a CAN network encompassing some 60,000 nodes or more over a distance of several thousand acres? Israel-based BrightSource Energy uses CAN to control and monitor its solar fields, with Kvaser CAN PCI boards 'inside'.
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[post_modified] => 2023-10-03 09:11:32
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[post_content] => [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Clouds of dust, high temperatures and wet surroundings make for less than ideal conditions for electrical equipment. However, sometimes these conditions are exactly where electronic control systems are needed most. The drilling and mining industry is one of the toughest environments for people and machinery on Earth, and one emerging industry trend is to introduce automated machinery to maximise efficiency and minimise the safety risk to personnel. In recent years, Atlas Copco has been ahead of its competitors in these developments, having begun adapting its loading machines with control systems that are automation compatible.
Software specialist Fredrik Grahn is part of a team of engineers that develops control systems for drill rigs, loaders and trucks at Atlas Copco’s R&D facility in Örebro, Sweden. Grahn and his colleagues began using Memorator in 2001 when they were troubleshooting a prototype 10-tonne underground loader that had been converted from a purely hydraulic operating system to an electronic one. With electronic joysticks, engine controller and transmission controller, as well as electronic control valves all linked via a Controller Area Network (CAN) architecture, comprehensive system testing under real-world conditions was considered imperative. At that time, Atlas Copco’s loaders and trucks were produced in Portland, Oregon and, as Grahn explained: “Our electrical engineer was in Oregon; I was performing integration testing on the machine in a mine in Canada; and the applications staff were in Örebro!”
In a timely stroke of luck, the team were introduced to the capabilities of Kvaser’s CAN to USB Memorator datalogger for recording CAN bus information in the field. They quickly realised that it would be an ideal tool for gathering and sharing system-level data if a malfunction on the prototype occurred. The Memorator sits in a protective casing under the cabin seat, connected to the machine’s CAN bus using two sealed cables. All CAN messages are logged, with the operator simply noting the time at which he believes something merits further investigation. At the end of the datalogging session, the Memorator is removed and the HEX files downloaded to a laptop, to be sent via email for analysis back at the lab.
However, prior to the ‘black box’ capability afforded by the FIFO feature, Atlas Copco’s engineers would sometimes go to the Memorator and find its memory card full. Whilst the 2G memory capacity provided a generous two full days worth of data, there wasn’t a way of knowing when the Memorator had stopped recording and therefore, whether crucial data had been logged. It also required removing from its protective enclosure and existing data deleted before a new data logging session was begun. In contrast, the FIFO (first in, first out) feature means that the Memorator continually rewrites over the oldest information. Atlas Copco’s engineers now know that they will always have the last two days results at their fingertips. Notably, whilst Kvaser can provide larger memory for Memorator, more data would take longer for Atlas Copco’s engineers to analyse.
It was not long before other R&D departments at Atlas Copco recognised the benefit of using a CAN datalogger. Nowadays, the hydraulic engineering department also makes use of Memorator, using it to log hydraulic oil transmission temperatures or monitor brake system pressures, for example. Meanwhile, Memorator is proving useful for ongoing maintenance and service purposes. Grahn notes that with multiple sensor readings potentially available on the CAN bus, the data can be used to build a picture of the general health of a machine. Ultimately, more accurate ‘lifing’ of mechanical components leads to lower maintenance costs, added reliability and potentially higher profit margins over a machine’s life cycle for the end customer. For the mining industry - a physically and economically challenged environment - these are vital attributes indeed.
(With thanks to Atlas Copco for the Scooptram_ST14 image)[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row el_class="default" eq_heights="1"][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_raket_product post_id="39541"][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_header_raket header_type="h4" header="Related articles:"][vc_column_text]Endurance motorsport team use Kvaser datalogger to collect race data
Kvaser’s PCI Canx modules prove their power in heavy machinery simulation[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
[post_title] => Memorator provides ‘black box’ capability in the mining industry
[post_excerpt] => Atlas Copco uses Kvaser's Memorator to help troubleshoot a prototype 10-tonne underground loader for the drilling and mining industry, one of the toughest environments for people and machinery on Earth.
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[post_content] => [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Kvaser’s PCICanx boards are playing an important role within the world’s most powerful particle accelerator, CERN’s Large Hadron Collider. ATLAS, the largest experiment running within the LHC, is using several 100 of Kvaser’s PCICanx CAN to PCI boards to collect data from the detectors where sub-atomic collisions will take place.
The LHC aims to recreate conditions as they occurred immediately after the Big Bang. It is hoped that the various experiments, including ATLAS, will further our understanding of a wide range of theoretical physical phenomena, including the search for the Higgs boson, extra dimensions and particles that make up dark matter.
The PCICanx boards provide a key link in the chain between the detector and the 100 or so PCs that control and supervise it, located within the ATLAS electronics rooms. Each of the PCs is equipped with up to three Kvaser cards that in total control over 5000 CAN nodes on more than 300 CAN buses!
In this case, the CANbus nodes in question were designed and developed by ATLAS in collaboration with the National Institute for Nuclear Physics and High Energy Physics, NIKHEF, in Amsterdam and the Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute. Referred to by the researchers as Embedded Local Monitoring Boards (ELMBs), Kvaser worked with ATLAS staff to optimise the PCICanx boards to suit the ELMBs needs.
In charge of the ATLAS Detector Control System (DCS) project is CERN’s Dr. Helfried Burckhart: “The DCS needs to monitor some 200,000 slowly changing (in the order of one measurement per second) parameters, such as voltage, current, temperature and pressure. In addition, we are measuring operational parameters of complex equipment, switching installations etc.” Hence the ELMB I/O modules, which include a multiplexed 64 channel ADC, gather both analog and digital inputs and feature digital output as well. Each ELMB interfaces with one of the four outgoing ports of Kvaser’s interface cards, using CANopen as the high-level communication protocol.
From a data gathering perspective, the CAN network was an automatic choice. As Dr Burckhart explains: “It is robust, has good industrial support (including at the chip level), is inexpensive, and provided adequate functionality for us.”
Partnering for the long-term
For many people, the first they would have heard of the scientific endeavour now underway at CERN was when the LHC was fired up on 10th September this year. However, the LHC project has taken many years to come to fruition, and CERN chose Kvaser’s PCI to CAN hardware for the ATLAS experiment as early as 2002, after assessing Kvaser’s solution against its competitors.
Asked why Kvaser’s boards were chosen, Dr Burckhart said: “Kvaser’s initial form factor already fit well with our requirements. And following our suggestions they made a new version of their board, which exactly matched our needs. An additional plus was that they had CAN interface cards in USB and PCMCIA form factors which support the same application software. Kvaser was also very responsive when initial software fixes were needed.”
Among the physical requirements determining CERN’s choice of a CAN interface board was that each port would need an independent buffer and be independently controlled (so resetting one port wouldn’t affect another). From a software perspective, it was necessary to support Windows 2000, XP and, ideally, Linux drivers, and that a simple and intuitive API was needed.
Kvaser’s PCICanx family comply with PCI 2.3 and support CAN 2.0 A and 2.0 B. Available in versions supporting one, two and four controllers, they are simple to install – literally plug and play. When the PCICanx were specified, only Kvaser could accommodate four ports per board, providing CERN with a highly cost-effective solution.
(With thanks to CERN for the image of the ATLAS experiment)[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row el_class="default" eq_heights="1"][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_raket_product post_id="4576" list_style="grid"][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_header_raket header_type="h4" header_size="h1" header_align="left" header="Related articles:"][vc_column_text]Kvaser’s PCI Canx modules prove their power in heavy machinery simulation
A communicating robot with Kvaser’s PC104+ CAN card inside[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
[post_title] => Kvaser hardware takes the complexity out of data gathering for CERN
[post_excerpt] => Kvaser’s PCICanx boards are playing an important role within the world’s most powerful particle accelerator, CERN’s Large Hadron Collider. The ATLAS experiment uses several 100 of Kvaser’s PCICanx CAN to PCI boards to collect data from the detectors where sub-atomic collisions take place.
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[post_modified] => 2022-09-29 05:16:50
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[post_content] => [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Students from Chalmers University of Technology have used Kvaser’s Memorator to gather data for a research project that highlights how relatively simple chassis changes can result in significantly more fuel-efficient automotive designs.
The BSc final year project, which was initiated by BSR Svenska AB, set out to monitor what impact easily implemented changes to a typical automotive chassis could have on fuel consumption. BSR commissioned the project with a view to applying as many changes as are practical in an ethanol converted car, as well as incorporated into a conversion kit for a conventional car.
Kvaser partner and qualified reseller Accurate Technologies Inc. (ATI) loaned the students a Memorator USB CAN bus interface and CAN bus data logger, plus provided set-up advice. The project made use of ATI’s CANLab 3.0 software to record and evaluate the information gathered.
Explained Kristoffer Wilhelmsson, one of the six-strong research team from the University’s Department of Applied Mechanics: “Using a test chassis loaned by Saab’s Development Centre, we experimented by removing the power assisted steering, changing the tyres to Michelin Energy Saver versions, raising tyre pressure and adjusting the wheel alignment to minimise rolling resistance. The combined changes led to a reduction in fuel consumption of 13% compared to the standard design, exceeding our goal of lowering fuel consumption by 10% - an impressive result from some relatively low-impact changes.”
The students needed to verify theoretical improvements in fuel consumption by measuring metrics such as speed and the amount of fuel injected over time after each chassis adjustment. They decided to run two different tests. In one, rolling resistance was measured by monitoring the distance it took for the car to come to a standstill after reaching 30km/hr and being placed into neutral. In another experiment, the impact of the different changes was investigated by driving the test vehicle at 70km/hr in opposing directions, to compensate for extraneous environmental factors such as road camber and wind resistance.
Added Wilhelmsson: “There was a lot of data to gather, but data acquisition was very simple. We easily configured the CAN controller and set up trigger conditions, for example, triggering at 30km/hr and the point at which the car came to a standstill. Uploading data to the laptop via usb was very convenient too.”
The chassis study was part of a large research project undertaken by BSR that also explored the engine and aerodynamics. Noted Wilhelmsson: “We found that the most effective chassis changes were tyre related - simply raising tyre pressure from 2.2 to 3 bar was enough to realise significant gains in fuel consumption. Regarding future developments, there is an opportunity to extend the study to explore the impact of such chassis adjustments on different vehicles.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row el_class="default" eq_heights="1"][vc_column width="1/3"][vc_raket_product post_id="39567"][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/3"][vc_raket_software post_id="39764"][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/3"][vc_header_raket header_type="h4" header="Related articles:"][vc_column_text]Memorator Pro records battery data from electric go-karts
CAN datalogger supports aerodynamics research[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
[post_title] => Memorator plays a part in ‘green’ automotive research
[post_excerpt] => Students from Chalmers University of Technology have used Kvaser’s Memorator to gather data for a research project that highlights how relatively simple chassis changes can result in significantly more fuel-efficient automotive designs.
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[post_content] => [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The MDS (Mobile-Dextrous-Social) is a robotic platform that is able to communicate verbally and non-verbally. Designed primarily with Human Robot Interaction (HRI) research in mind, it is the brainchild of Prof Cynthia Breazeal, Director of the Personal Robots Group at MIT Media Lab, who has pioneered the field of human-robot interaction. With the ultimate research goal being to develop human to robot interaction to a level akin to the way humans interact with other humans, potential applications for these robots include care of the elderly, healthcare and education.
Xitome Design – a long-standing Kvaser customer – was commissioned by Breazeal to build ‘Nexi’. At the core of this robot is a series of high-density motor controllers designed by Xitome and based on Denali hardware. A dedicated microcontroller and power amplifier is employed for each control channel. With communication between motor control units needed in a way that achieves flexible position control in a decentralised manner, Xitome Design uses a 1Mbit Controller Area Network (CAN) bus to daisy chain the microcontrollers together. This results in just two wires to provide motor control, power and CAN communication to the head.
Kvaser’s PC104+ dual channel CAN card can be found in the computational stack in the base of the robot, where all motor control and position feedback sensing take place. Meanwhile, Kvaser’s CANLib has been incorporated into Xitome Design’s own API to interface to the bus. Of Kvaser’s input, Kailas Narendran, Xitome Design’s co-founder, says: “There were lots of software and hardware implementation questions that we worked on with Kvaser and they were very responsive and helpful.”
Asked why Xitome Design chose CAN above other communications protocols for this application, Narendran says: “It’s a very robust and fast hardware protocol, with built in error detection and re-transmission, so good for noise immunity performance. In addition, the hardware implementation is relatively simple and compact and it’s daisy chained nature helps with cabling issues.” Narendran goes on to explain that fault isolation is achieved through CAN and the MDS’ inherent design. If a channel fails, its communication failures are isolated via the CAN mechanism, whilst other control failures are isolated by the natural separation of control to a dedicated microcontroller.
Whilst high degree of freedom humanoids might seem a niche market just now, human-robot interaction is an emerging research field with huge implications for society as a whole. Xitome Design has had commercial interest in its robots, but for now, the company is concentrating on the research market, in addition to offering its high-density motion control and electromechanical systems expertise wider a field.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row el_class="default" eq_heights="1"][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_raket_product post_id="39561"][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_header_raket header_type="h4" header="Related articles:"][vc_column_text]
Kvaser’s interface cards pilot robots in the nuclear industry
Kvaser’s PCI Canx modules prove their power in heavy machinery simulation[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
[post_title] => A communicating robot with Kvaser’s PC104+ CAN card inside
[post_excerpt] => Kvaser’s PC104+ dual channel CAN card can be found in the computational stack of this high degree of freedom humanoid ...
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