March 2021

HMS NETWORKS HAS announced what it claims is the first commercially available industrial 5G wireless router optimised for private industrial networks. The router supports Ericsson’s industrial 5G networks and allows users to get started with 5G. HMS is also offering a starter kit for testing and evaluating 5G in industrial settings. TheWireless Router 5G will allow early adopters of 5G to try the new technology. It is said to be the first commercially available industrial 5G router optimised for private networks that has passed the CE conformance test. The router has been tested with Ericsson’s Industry Connect 5G system in standalone operation using the n78 band. It supports both 4G and 5G cellular technologies, and could be used for industrial machines or automated guided vehicles. The starter kit includes the 5G router and two IO-Link sensors capable of sending data across the 5G network. This data can be accessed using the Modbus TCP and MQTT protocols, as well as the JSON format. There is also a Web-based demo that shows the sensor data in the 5G network via a standard browser. “We take pride in always being at the forefront of technology, and this first commercially available industrial 5G router is further proof of that,”says HMS Labs development manager, Dr Jens Jakobsen.“The wireless router 5G and the 5G starter kit with IO-Link sensors will allow users to easily get started with 5G in an industrial environment and make use of a technology that will undoubtedly be very beneficial for the industry.” Initially, the router is available only for use with Ericsson’s Industry Connect system. Qualification is under way to use it with other infrastructure providers and telecoms operators. https://hms-networks.com TECHNOLOGY n n ‘World’s first industrial 5G router’ allows users to test the technology HMS claims that its 5G router is the first to be commercially available and to pass a CE conformance test p maxon Group and Fourier Intelligence have entered into a global strategic partnership which will matchmaxon's precision drive technologies with Fourier’s expertise in exoskeletons and robotic rehabilitation to develop newmedical systems. Fourier already uses maxon BLDCmotors in its ExoMotus X2 exoskeleton, andmaxon will now supply customised drive systems to Fourier engineers developing robotic technologies for rehabilitation applications. www.maxongroup.com www.fftai.com p Digi-Key Electronics has become an authorised distributor for the low-cost Raspberry Pi computers and will carry the full line of Raspberry Pi products including high- performance computers and development boards.“We have continued to see a huge acceleration in the use of Raspberry Pi products across a wide range of industrial applications, so we are very excited to add Digi-Key as an authorised distributor focused on serving the industrial market for us globally," says Raspberry Pi’s chief commercial officer, Mike Buffham. www.digikey.com p AnalogDevices has introduced a condition-basedmonitoring development platformdesigned to accelerate the development of condition-monitoring hardware, software and algorithms.The CN0549 platform’s open-source software interfaces simplify connections to embedded systems and tools such as Matlab and Python. It uses real- time vibration data processing to accelerate the development of machine-learning algorithms for predictivemaintenance. www.analog.com