Today, the action of connecting your smartphone to an available WiFi network and browsing social media has become such a common habit that we don't even reflect on the technology involved in making this happen. More or less two decades ago, this reality was very different. At the time, it was necessary to use dial-up modems to connect the computer to an available provider and browse the internet via the telephone network.
Okay, but what do dial-up modems and smartphones have in common with the topic of this article? Well, even separated by 20 years of technology evolution, both resources are considered gateways.
In the next paragraphs, we will explain what it is, what its function is and why you should use a gateway in your IoT applications.
What is and what is the function of a gateway?
Gateway is an English term that means gate or portal, a system or equipment whose basic function is to establish communication between multiple environments. With it, it is possible to connect equipment located on different networks and that communicate using different standards. In short and from a general perspective, it acts as a bridge between two universes, analyzing and processing information according to pre-established definitions and the type of function for which it is intended.
In the industrial environment, they can be used as communication intermediaries between remotes, sensors, actuators, transmitters and other field devices with control and supervision systems in a production plant. production. In this case, the gateway acts as a universal translator for networks or equipment that operate based on different protocols, that is, it allows communication between different environments and architectures. It can, for example, receive data from frequency inverters through CANOpen protocol, convert them into standard Ethernet packets and take this data to a a WEB system in the cloud via MQTT protocol.
A gateway can also be an advanced technology PLC with support for a wide range of communication protocols that acts as a bridge between other controllers of different brands that operate based on different standards.
Why should I use a gateway in my IoT applications?
With the rapid advancement of digitalization in industrial processes, it is increasingly common to see smart factories with applications for collecting and sharing data through connected machines, devices and production systems. In these environments, a multiprotocol programmable controller can be used to act as an IoT gateway, making the connection between the cloud and the PLCs of the control network, sensors or other smart devices. This way, all data that travels between the process and the cloud would pass through the gateway.
Using an IoT gateway can bring numerous benefits to the simplest applications in the industry, such as reducing infrastructure costs, for example. Nowadays, the most advanced sensors on the market generate tens of thousands of data per second, which requires a high transmission capacity on the internet link. To avoid an unnecessary volume of data processing and, consequently, the need to increase investments in bandwidth, an IoT gateway can be used to intermediate the connection between the sensors and the database, sending only the most relevant information to the cloud.
See more about Industry 4.0 and IoT technologies
Access the following articles and webinars and learn more about these two concepts that are increasingly relevant in the industrial market:
