Optical tracking.

High-speed camera for integration into optical tracking system.

Thanks to the FLIR RS8500 superior resolution and measurement accuracy, the Italian system integrator can offer test range customers a solution to identify and track targets with the highest accuracy

Based in Sardinia (I), Nurjana Technologies provides mission-critical engineering services and system integration for the aerospace industries etc. The company has been successful in offering unique electro-optical systems for government test labs and test range applications.

Automatic target identification and tracking
The latest addition to the company’s product portfolio is the NEOS (Nurjana Electro-Optical System), a complete hardware- and software-based system for realtime optical tracking in long-range, high-precision measurement applications. The system was designed to fuse data from multiple sensors, including optical payload, telemetry, radar, and ranging measurement data. The optical payload is customized and composed of a visible-light tracking camera, a radiometric thermal imaging camera, a visible-light measurement camera, and a high-speed camera. Near-realtime data fusion and computer vision are leveraged for detecting and tracking targets in the most demanding scenarios.

“A high-resolution thermal camera was essential for this type of application,” says Davide Piras, System Engineer at Nurjana Technologies. “A thermal camera does not only allow us to see targets in dark or adverse weather conditions, like cloudy weather or rain, but we were also looking for a high-speed, high-resolution thermal imaging solution that enabled us to see smaller objects at very long range.”

Clearest target 
The company was already familiar with Teledyne FLIR thermal imaging cameras and based on the team’s previous experiences on test ranges all over the world, it was a natural decision to involve FLIR in the development of the NEOS product as well. The FLIR RS8500 high-speed MWIR camera proved to be the best solution for the application.

“We looked extensively at different camera types, but the image quality, high-speed features, and many different integration and connection options of the FLIR RS8500 made it the ideal solution to improve target visibility within NEOS,” Piras explains.

Nurjana Technologies demonstrated the NEOS system and FLIR RS8500 at select firing test range facilities and centers of excellence for experimentation in the NATO domain. The demonstrations not only showed the FLIR camera’s impressive clarity and image quality but also its superiority to visual cameras in cloudy conditions.

“Thanks to the FLIR camera, we were able to overcome adverse weather conditions, improve target visibility with a clear identification of the target’s thermal signature, and see the target in almost any weather condition,” says Piras. “We are glad to have the chance to integrate such an extremely powerful camera into our solution.”

Test range applications
Nurjana Technologies also valued the straightforward integration using a GenICam protocol, which makes it easier for integrators and end customers to control the camera system over Linux. The NEOS system with the integrated FLIR camera is customizable and available for a wide range of automatic detection, recognition, identification and tracking applications, including bomb scoring, splash detection, impact point prediction, and accurate missile, projectile and rocket tracking. A downsized version of NEOS is available for civilian applications within the domains of critical infrastructure protection and monitoring.

Since the unit is a radiometric infrared camera and the continuous metric zoom lens provides instantaneous focal length and position information on every frame, the system can also be used to capture target data, including signature and apparent temperature measurements.

@Flir @NurjanaTechnol1 @mepaxIntPR #Camera, #Aerospace

Starter Kit Options for IT/OT Convergence.

Advantech and Lynx Software Technologies have partnered to offer multiple Mission Critical Edge Starter Kit options that enable the convergence of IT (Information Technology) and OT (Operational Technology).

LYNX MOSA.ic™ for Industrial, Lynx’s mission critical edge platform, provides virtual air gapping between the control automation and other workloads. It is available for implementation on select Advantech industrial hardware, which reduces integration time for OT edge processing. These Mission Critical Edge Starter Kits enable the following:

• Implementation of the edge use cases in the OT domain
• Virtual air gapping of IT and OT workloads
• OT operators’ ownership of the system management
• vPLC, Machine Learning and Security running on the same system
• Ability to host cloud workloads in the OT domain without impacting operators

The foundational building block in LYNX MOSA.ic for Industrial is the LynxSecure® Separation Kernel, which provides strong isolation of applications, deterministic real-time performance and management of critical system assets to increase immunity to cybersecurity attacks. Additionally, Lynx has developed unique management technologies that allow Mission Critical Edge systems to be deployed at scale and meet the strict requirements of systems that enable OT & IT convergence.

Many networks across a variety of verticals including government, military, financial services, power plants, and industrial manufacturing have been so-called “air-gapped.” This means they are physically and logically isolated from other networks where communication between these networks is not physically or logically possible.

The combination of Advantech hardware and Lynx software allows users to have IT/OT collaboration and network separation. In the starter kit, hardware partitioning is provided by Lynx Separation Kernel (LSK). Additional features ideal for customers include the following:  •Nodes based on LynxSecure Separation Kernel Hypervisor  •Support for multiple guest OS (VMs)  •Virtual KVM support  •Explicit allocation of storage and other dedicated resources  •Precise definition of inter-VM connectivity and communication

“One of the primary concerns expressed to us by OT operators has been how to deploy edge technologies in the OT domain,” said Pavan Singh, vice president of product management, Lynx Software Technologies. “By leveraging virtual air gapping, OT operators can focus on the business benefits of new data and machine learning technologies without worrying about the impact on their operations.”

Advantech hardware devices targeted for both Level 1 operational hierarchy for direct control and Level 2 supervisory control include the MIC-770 modular industrial PC and the UNO-137 embedded automation computer. Depending on the level of consolidation needed, both devices combine with LYNX MOSA.ic for Industrial for an ideal OT/IT solution.

“We’re happy to be able to support the LYNX MOSA.ic for Industrial solution with our MIC-770 and UNO-137 industrial computing devices,” said Jon Towslee, Sr. Director, iFactory, Advantech Industrial IoT Group. “We’re always trying to offer more ways for customers to be able to securely and easily deploy solutions at the edge. Our goal is to continue working with innovative solution partners to make data connectivity easier and more efficient to adopt when utilizing our industrial, intelligent devices.”

Advantech’s MIC-770 series of PCs provide high-performance computing, multiple I/O interfaces, and flexible expandability with the integration of i-Modules and iDoor. They can be widely deployed to support various industrial IoT applications. The MIC-770 series can be equipped with a wide range of processors to provide custom entry-level and high-end solutions. With the provision of multiple I/O for connecting devices, MIC-770 systems can serve as a data gateway and industrial controller.

UNO-137 is an industrial-grade integrated IoT edge gateway ideal for industrial automation. Its new modular design includes a base unit and an optional extension kit, which supports Advantech’s iDoor technology to integrate additional industrial Fieldbus, I/O, and wireless communication.

@Advantech_USA @AdvantechEurope @LynxSoftware @NeeshamPR #PAuto #MissionCritical

Mission critical!

A new book has been published that highlights the increasing industry importance of and growing career opportunities in mission-critical operations fields.

The term “mission critical” applies to any activity, system or equipment—generally within the 16 critical infrastructure sectors—whose failure could result in serious consequences, such as loss of life, harm to the environment or significant financial loss through production impact or plant damage.

Mission-Critical Operations Primer by Steve Mustard, an independent automation consultant and a globally recognized expert in critical infrastructure operations, defines the essential components and concepts of mission-critical operations, and explores the influence and role of:

• Standards and regulations
• System and network technologies
• Operational activities and processes
• Safety and physical security considerations
• Risk management methodologies
• Emergency response preparation and execution

“In writing this book, I wanted to provide a comprehensive overview of all key aspects of mission-critical operations and provide some guidance for those looking to start a career in mission-critical organizations as an operator or technician,” says Mustard, who serves as a subject-matter expert of ISA and its affiliate association, the Automation Federation. “Mission-critical specialists are needed to address the many risks and challenges in such areas as network design, control system security, control room operations and alarm management.”

Mustard points to the 2015 cyberattack on Ukraine's power grid, which left 225,000 people without electricity for up to six hours, in the depth of winter. Because of failures in network design, security monitoring and incident response, the grid operator was forced to resort to manual operations for months after the event, incurring significant additional costs. More recently, in November 2017, a cyberattack targeted a critical infrastructure organization in the Middle East, resulting in a plant shutdown.

“There’s an acute shortage of suitably qualified and experienced individuals to work in mission-critical systems design and operation,” he reports. “If we are to keep our businesses and our critical infrastructure safe, we will need a new generation of specialists who understand the importance of the phrase ‘failure is not an option.’”

*Mission Critical Operations Primer - Steve Mustard
Publisher: International Society of Automation
ISBN: 978-1-945541-71-1
Format: Paperback

 #PAuto #ISAuto

Mission critical at eBay!

Infrastructure investment to avoid $2,000 per second impact for downtime

When one of the largest companies in the e-commerce industry, looks to increase the stability of its data center, a critical component to its business strategy, a central “must-have” is continuous power. To that end, eBay chose a mission critical system that includes Quad PAC Redundancy Control Systems from GE Intelligent Platforms.

eBay reports that its transactions total approximately $60 billion per year in goods, which translates to almost $2,000 per second.

The company started a strategic infrastructure project called Topaz in 2010 that would increase the stability of eBay’s data centers as well as enable further growth. Topaz, located near Salt Lake City, Utah, was the first data center that the company built from scratch and was also the beginning of a project to reduce eBay’s use of co-located data centers and simultaneously reduce company-owned facilities. In addition, management was interested in an eBay-only facility that would maximize efficiencies by tailoring capacity and availability to needs specific to its core business.

“Our data centers make up more than 50% of our global power usage,” said Dean Nelson, eBay Senior Director of Global Foundational Services. “I pay that power bill, so economic and ecological efficiency was a must.”

eBay worked with RTKL, a global design firm that provides services to deliver a comprehensive and customized design of mission critical projects. The Topaz facility was a “green field” development focused on the design principles of reliability, maintainability, sustainability and efficiency. As a result of the design and construction efforts and the subsequent power usage savings, the Topaz facility achieved a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold rating in 2010.

In order to provide the high availability (Tier IV design) that eBay wanted, and minimize the requirements of redundant switchgear and generator plant, a ring bus with six breaker transfer switchgear was specified at Topaz. The Tier IV design not only required that distribution equipment be fault tolerant, but the controls need to be as well. Generator control switchgear from Russelectric was commissioned. The Russelectric team pre-tested, qualified and implemented the GE Quad PAC redundant control system on the project.

The Quad PAC solution features “Smart Redundancy,” an algorithm that continually calculates the relative system availability in real time and delivers predictive analysis on key process input variables. A quad redundancy control system has a Master Controller and three synchronized backup controllers. It leverages Ethernet-based I/O devices that can seamlessly arbitrate its control from one of the four controllers in the system. If the Master Controller, or any of the system components fail, the system identifies the best backup controller to take over and provides the system with the most capability to withstand the next sequence of multiple or cascaded system failures.

“Within the physical infrastructure, our backups need to have backup,” said eBay’s Nelson. “We have to be prepared for multiple failures at any different point. This system offers three complete levels of backup which provides us with the near-zero downtime we need for our mission critical data centers.”

The Quad PAC controlled switchgear was designed with a voting scheme where triple inputs are sent to the PLC system. The best of the three dictates the state of the device. This helps reduce wiring issues, loose connections over time and the impact of human error which accounts for approximately 60% of all failures in a data center.

“The Quad PAC is a great solution for data centers, hospitals and other facilities where critical processes are automated,” said Bernie Anger, Vice President of GE Intelligent Platforms Control & Communications Systems. “It uses a unique and revolutionary ‘predictive intelligence’ that provides security and peace of mind for organizations that just can’t afford to go down.”