EtherCAT connectivity added to industrial computer architecture

EtherCAT is a real-time Industrial Ethernet technology developed by Beckhoff Automation. The EtherCAT protocol, which is disclosed in the IEC standard IEC61158, is suitable for hard and soft real-time requirements in automation technology, in test and measurement and many other applications.

The focus when developing of EtherCAT was on short cycle times (not greater than 100µs), low jitter for accurate synchronisation (not greater than 1µs) and low hardware costs.

With the EtherCAT interface, MICA can capture  directly from industrial production networks via two M8 connectors, then pre-process it and transmit it to higher-level systems and cloud applications via various standard protocols such as OPC-UA and MQTT. 

MICA's modular Open Source Software Architecture makes it suitable for developing edge and cloud applications in production. Creating the EtherCAT functionality as an internal MICA function module enables MICA to deliver benefits such as protection class IP67, connectors suitable for industrial use, and compliance with major industry standards.