Artila Matrix-750: Serial Ethernet IoT Gateway with individual radio modules

The industrial Box-PC Matrix-750 from Artila can be used as a serial Ethernet radio gateway for your individual IoT application, as radio modules can be used as mPCIe cards.

Gateways, the mediators between sensors, actuators and networks, play a crucial role in industrial networks. The industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) relies on the greatest possible variety and flexibility of communication channels. The compact industrial Box PC Matrix-750 from Artila has two Ethernet interfaces (RJ45) and also offers the option of using Mini PCIe cards as individual radio communication modules. This allows the Serial Ethernet Wireless Gateway to be quickly and easily expanded for wireless communication. Two isolated digital inputs and two relay outputs together with the serial interface are used for data exchange on site. A special feature is the support of the Linux Real Time Patch for real-time applications.

The Matrix-750 industrial box PC is ideally suited for remote management of modules such as sensors and actuators in factory automation, building and vehicle networking or logistics applications. The hand-sized device in a robust metal housing scores with low energy consumption and flexible communication paths into the network (wired and additionally wireless with optional module). The Mini PCIe slot can be used to equip the gateway with the desired communication interface; the Micro SIM slot is integrated. Upon request, the distributor Acceed can supply readily configured devices according to customer specifications. The two independent fixed LAN interfaces 10/100 Mbit belong to the standard. In addition to the serial interface, which can be configured to either RS-232 or RS-485, the Matrix-750 has two isolated digital inputs and relay outputs each, which can be used for monitoring tasks and alarm signals, as well as a USB OTG port for direct connection to OTG-compatible devices (USB On-the-Go).

The heart of the controller is the Cortex-A7 CPU (up to 800 MHz). The RAM available is 512 MB DDR3 memory, supplemented by 16 MB DataFlash as a backup file system for quick and easy updates and problem-free system recovery. A MicroSD slot supports SDHC cards up to 128 GB.

The basic equipment includes the Linux kernel 4.14.x with boot loader and pre-installed file system as well as a bundle of software utilities such as web server, PHP server, Python, Perl, MySQL and SQLite. Node-RED is also supported; Snippets can be downloaded free of charge from the distributor Acceed.

The robust housing with the dimensions 108 × 78 × 35 mm is completely made of metal for industrial use, has two side mounting lugs and is also prepared for DIN rail mounting. The supply voltage is variable in the range from 9 to 48 V DC. Suitable power supplies are also available from Acceed. The current consumption of the Matrix-750 is very low with only 250 mA (at 12 V). Operation is permitted in the extended temperature range from 0 to +70 °C.

Box PCs of the Matrix series at Acceed