Phytools announces the publication of its first Revolution Pi White Paper, presenting the seven-year history and technical details of this revolutionary open-source industrial PC (IPC) in an easily-digestible medium. Built on the open, customisable, and commercial-off-the-shelf premise of Raspberry Pi, RevPi ruggedises the versatile microcomputer for use in industrial applications.
IIoT-enabled IPCs like RevPi are ideal for automation, data connectivity, motion control, robotics support, machine visualisation, and many more applications. From 2016 to the present, RevPi has cemented its place in the market by incorporating features such as:
- Modular form factors
- Operating system (OS) determinism
- A wide variety of input/output (I/O) modules
- Communications gateway functionality
- DIN-rail mounting capability
- And extensive support for third-party software, such as CODESYS soft PLC
The latest revision-RevPi Connect 4-was released in August 2023, equipped with a Broadcom BCM2711 processor and support for WLAN and Bluetooth communications. This most recent lineup addition also comes with a battery-buffered real-time clock and easier I/O expansion with a plug-and-play GUI.
Introducing open source to the industrial sector
Although the idea of open-source is commonplace today due to the myriad advantages it provides to end users, it was a rather exotic concept in 2016, especially in the industrial sector. Based on the Raspberry Pi Compute Module, the RevPi IPC is composed of open hardware and software, meeting the EN61131-2 standard.
Because of its modular structure, Revolution Pi can be supplemented by digital or analogue I/O modules, and its DIN rail-mountable housing ensures easy installation anywhere. RevPi Base modules operate at typical industrial voltages ranging from 10.7 to 28.8 VDC, suitable for use onboard vehicles or in machines and manufacturing facilities, and gateway modules operate from 20.4 to 28.8 VDC.
RevPi base modules come equipped with USB, Ethernet, and HDMI connections. The two USB 2.0 sockets are each capable of supplying 500mA at 5V, alleviating the need for an external USB power supply when connecting parallel devices. The onboard RJ45 Ethernet connection is industrially hardened with suppressor circuits, and a micro-HDMI socket is included for connecting a monitor with sound output.
Differentiated by determinism
The RevPi delineates itself from Raspberry Pi with a portion of its operating system dedicated to deterministic control. Most PLCs in industrial settings leverage a real-time OS (RTOS) to ensure deterministic program execution through a dedicated routine, a rigorous treatment which is used to provide the robust and predictable performance necessary to avoid equipment failures and human harm.
A general-purpose PC OS is more versatile than that of a PLC because of its shareable-and usually more powerful-computing resources, which empower multi-tasking, customisation, and processor-intensive operations. However, this flexibility presents a greater risk of OS disruption if one or more tasks becomes corrupted or overloads the processor, potentially leading to delays, instability, or a complete crash.
Revolution Pi uses a split OS, providing the determinism of an RTOS, along with the versatility of a standard OS. As a result, RevPi can be developed into an industrially viable small control system, a large scale IIoT platform, or elements of both simultaneously. Its scheduler-which controls the execution of tasks by the operating system-can be configured extensively to avoid networking or software resource delays, ensuring the best performance for real-time control and other critical or time-sensitive tasks.
Phytools is your one-stop shop
Innovative advances in the IT space have opened the door to a breadth of more capable solutions, such as those offered by industrialised Raspberry Pi devices. But with so many options, selecting the right hardware and software combinations can be daunting, and end users may require assistance ordering components and configuring systems.
The extreme flexibility of the RevPi platform provides nearly endless application possibilities, but it can also lead to questions for newcomers. For this and other reasons, Phytools lends its expertise to help users brainstorm system requirements, and then work together to determine the ideal configurations and deployments to meet application needs.
Phytools partners with users, assisting them through the entire journey of system design, prototyping, commissioning, inventory management, and basic support, no matter the application. Download the full White Paper to learn more about Revolution Pi and the services Phytools provides to fulfill user requirements.
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