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Any industrial enterprise with an eye on increasing productivity while operating cost-effectively is talking about edge technology – hardware and software located near machines and sensors where data is sourced that can compute, in some cases analyze and control, and transmit data to higher level and cloud-based systems. But how much edge do you need?

One of the most significant advances in edge technology is Emerson’s development of the edge controller, edge devices that combine the functionality of advanced PLCs (reliable deterministic control) and edge computers in one, compact form factor. True edge controllers have these characteristic:

• A deterministic real-time operating system (RTOS) for control, which infrequently requires updates.
• A general-purpose operating system (GPOS) for computations, which can be upgraded at will to add features such as new apps or machine learning algorithms, or to provide security updates.
• Hardware virtualization to ensure interdependence of the RTOS and GPOS, so each OS runs, and can even be rebooted independent of the other.
• The ability for the two OS’s to securely interact, so the GPOS can obtain data from the RTOS, and so the GPOS can inform the RTOS of optimal settings.

That’s how to identify an edge controller. But do you need one?

In a recent article in Control Engineering, an Emerson expert discusses the nature of edge controllers and what types of applications and systems benefit enormously from this advance in technology. Check it out here.

How are you currently employing edge technology?