CASE STUDY SNAPSHOT
Customer : System Integrator in the field of design, installation and commissioning of plants and systemsSize : < 50
Project vertical : Environment, Industrial
Challenge : To develop a rapid proof of concept for Early Warning System for disaster management
Solution : Leverage COTS modules, RAPIDSEA library and Flint IDE to develop the PoC
Services Availed : Turnkey Product Engineering, Flint IDE, RAPIDSEA, Application Development
Tools and Technologies :
- MCU : COTS ARM MCU
- Frameworks : RAPIDSEA, .NET
- Programming Language : C, C#
- Compiler : GCC
- Tools : Flint
INTRODUCTION
One of our customers introduced a System Integrator for a quick PoC for a technical validation process for contract qualification. The product was to be used as an environmental Early Warning System in remote rural areas and a quick demo had to be done to qualify for the government tender process. Embien, with its rapid prototyping expertise, supported the customer in achieving the pre-technical qualification.
CHALLENGE
The customer had to demonstrate a proof of concept (PoC) model of the early warning system in 3 weeks’ time. Further it must have multiple redundant connectivity with support for both local alerts and regional alerts. Three such systems along with a master system had to be demonstrated.
SOLUTION
Embien's rapid prototyping specialists quickly started working on the Early warning System PoC Development project and started making a high-level system architecture. Since it had to be used in remote hilly regions with limited connectivity, satellite communication feature was made as a standard feature. On top of that, Ethernet connectivity was provided to support any other means easily.
Early Warning System - Proof of Concept
As a part of annunciation system, an audio mic input was provided with an amplifier for local announcements. Pre-recorded audio messages are stored locally for play back. The same unit can take audio input from satellite modem and play remote audio. A siren was also made available that can be controlled both locally and remotely to sound in case of emergency.
A limited LCD interface with navigation keypads was given to locally manage the unit including playing back recorded audio, controlling mic and managing the siren. It was also made possible to send messages to the central station.
Three such Early warning System units were made quickly with COTS modules. We leveraged Flint and RAPDISEA library modules to quickly create the Proof of concept. All of these are packed in a readymade IP56 enclosure and neatly presented.
The central station was a simple .NET application that acted as a server. Basic HTTP protocol was used to transfer messages. An intuitive UI was developed to select the target unit to address to or broadcast mode. Post selection, the operator can choose to send messages, select the pre-recorded message to play or transmit via satellite communication.
BENEFITS
With our rapid prototyping capability, Embien was able to support the customer in this Early warning System PoC Development in a limited time along with the following USPs.
- Quick prototyping with ready to use COTS modules
- Multiple communication channels including satellite connectivity
- Leveraged pre-recorded audio to play a longer message triggered by a shorter signal
- Local control interface provided for immediate alerts and announcements
And three such units were made to enable an end use-case like demo.
CONCLUSION
The System integrator was able to develop an early warning system proof of concept in a short period of 3 weeks and demonstrate for the pre-qualification process. This is one of many such instances where our turnkey product engineering team can help customer with rapid prototyping.