Texas Instruments demonstrates its commitment to the Industrial market by embedding EtherCAT® technology on its ARM®-based processors
/ contains 1x video / In conjunction with Hannover Fair, the world's largest industrial trade show, Texas Instruments demonstrates its commitment to the industrial market and announces it is the first semiconductor company to license Ethernet for Control Automation Technology (EtherCAT®)for its ARM® -based embedded processors.
This new, ground-breaking industrial Ethernet technology will be featured in
TI’s upcoming Sitara™ ARM microprocessors (MPUs) planned for the beginning of
the fourth quarter of 2011 and in further processor platforms beginning in 2012.
Benefits of EtherCAT technology
- Increases efficiency: EtherCAT technology is based on the principle of
fast processing on the fly. EtherCAT messages are passed from node to node
and processed while they are passed, which improves speed and efficiency in
industrial systems. Overall industrial application performance is also
improved with shorter reaction times, enabling increased operational
efficiency.
- Ease of use: EtherCAT uses the standard IEEE 802.3 frames and physical
layer. No external switches or hubs are necessary because the EtherCAT slave
controllers forward the frames automatically. Most devices embed two RJ-45
ports, which are commonly utilized data ports for Ethernet connections.
Auto-configuration of the EtherCAT technology is supported. No manual
address setting is required and no network tuning is needed.
- Lowers costs: With the use of standard cabling and no external hubs or
switches needed, this lowers the EtherCAT technology costs. There are also
lower configuration costs with the auto-configuration support.
Benefits of TI embedded ARM-based solutions:
- Integration: System-on-chip solution based on TIs most advanced silicon
technology, integrating the EtherCAT slave controller. This on-chip
integration allows the user to be tightly coupled to the application
processor which provides high throughput, low latency access, board space
savings and lower total costs.
- Flexibility: The programmable real-time unit (PRU) allows for flexible
implementation that can more easily adapt as industrial standards evolve
over time.
“The EtherCAT Protocol technology sets new standards for real-time
performance and flexibility which is critical for TI embedded ARM devices geared
toward the industrial market. As a leading Industrial Communication protocol the
growing popularity of EtherCAT in industrial drive and I/O applications, is
based on its robustness and simplicity allowing master and slave controllers to
communicate with each other without a host computer in high-noise industrial
environments,” said Matthias Poppel, Director for Embedded
Processing at TI, EMEA. “The TI approach to EtherCAT with the programmable
real-time unit (PRU) on TI’s ARM®-based processors allows for flexible
implementation that can more easily adapt as industrial standards evolve over
time. Real-time control and –communication become available on a single chip”
“A market leading microcontroller company integrates an EtherCAT
interface in several product lines: this turns EtherCAT into a mainstream
technology also beyond the automation world! We are thrilled about this
milestone development which will open entirely new markets for EtherCAT. I am
convinced that this will help EtherCAT to establish a strong position in a wide
range of embedded applications and further accelerate the adoption of EtherCAT
in the automation market.”, said Martin Rostan, EtherCAT Technology Group
Executive Director.
About EtherCAT® Technology Group
The EtherCAT Technology
Group (ETG) is the forum in which key user companies from various industries and
leading automation suppliers join forces to support, promote and advance the
EtherCAT technology. Learn more at www.ethercat.org.
201105290727.5.2011EmbeddedTexas Instruments