An industrial edge controller is a type of an industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) technology. Providing reliable industrial control and enabling IIoT-capable data communications, the smart digital device can collect, store, and analyse huge amounts of processed data and offer actionable insights leading to improved decision-making. A good example of how this technology can be used to achieve performance improvements is in pipeline operations.

Data accuracy

Many pipeline automation in operation today such as programmable logic controllers (PLC), remote terminal units (RTU) and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) technologies were installed as far back as the 1950s and 1960s. The older pipelines have been updated incrementally, but they were not equipped with condition monitoring equipment to identify leaks. Also, there is still a great deal of legacy hardware installed and significant amounts of valuable data is often trapped in remote locations. Moreover, even if the data could be obtained, its accuracy can be questioned. 

When updating or redesigning their pipeline automation, end users would ideally like to preserve the robustness of their existing systems, while also taking full advantage of the latest opportunities for digital transformation. Also, they would like to future-proof their systems as much as possible. Edge controllers are the answer to many of these challenges.

While robustly packaged edge controllers are physically similar to traditional PLCs and RTUs, they remain ahead as they incorporate a real-time operating system (RTOS) for deterministic direct control. Furthermore, they are equipped with a general-purpose operating system (OS) such as Linux. The RTOS and general-purpose OS are fully independent of each other in terms of the hardware and software, but with the use of industry standard OPC UA communications, they can be configured to interact with each other efficiently and securely.

An edge controller’s RTOS can easily perform the traditional control logic functions. As such, it can be used as a replacement for a PLC, reserving its more advanced capabilities for future implementation. The real benefits of digital transformation, however, can be realised only when the integrated general-purpose OS is employed.

The edge controller’s general-purpose OS can collect, store and analyse huge amounts of processed data. Advanced algorithms and logic can be executed, with the results transmitted securely to the RTOS element of the controller as required, to implement responsive low-latency control. Alternatively, the general-purpose OS can securely communicate data to supervisory systems for further evaluation. The general-purpose OS includes features that many conventional components lack, including a firewall for security. It is also equipped with ‘IT-aware’ communication protocols such as MQTT, which are an ideal solution for the low-bandwidth telemetry connections typically available to pipeline operations.

Ideal solution

Among the most common pipe operational challenges today include leak detection and corrosion monitoring. Operators need to be informed as quickly as possible when issues arise, but also need to avoid the expense of deploying personnel unnecessarily if there isn’t a major problem. Edge controllers can address these issues by providing the information necessary to enable good alarm management.

Some of the latest leak detection and corrosion monitoring systems can provide extensive data. However, this can only be acted upon responsively if the data is communicated to the operations and maintenance teams. Edge controllers can act as the gateway for this information, connecting to these sensing systems via traditional I/O wiring, or with more advanced serial or network communications. In addition, they perform data logging to identify slow-moving changes trending towards an eventual problem, and carry out other preprocessing, including filtering, to minimise false alarms.

In short, the all-in-one nature of edge controllers enables end users to enhance basic control schemes with closely integrated on-board visualisation options. The detailed operational and diagnostic information that is made available this way can be of significant benefit to operators and maintenance personnel.

Applying edge controllers to new or existing pipeline automation systems bring key benefits to many applications. Edge controllers can enhance PLC and RTU solutions by adding integrated monitoring, data processing and visualisation features to the basic control functionality. In addition, edge controllers can be seamlessly added to existing automation systems to add IIoT capabilities without having to disrupt operations.

Edge controllers are an ideal solution for bringing IIoT advantages into an operation, while preserving existing investments. By using edge control devices and IIoT concepts, end users, including pipeline operators, have the opportunity to solve many of their key challenges, improve their operations and be more confident about their digital transformation efforts .