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16 pages, 9026 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Development of a Handheld Optical Fusion Splicer with a Wing Sleeve Optical Connector

by Byung-chul Park and Sukhyun Seo

Electronics 2023, 12(22), 4629; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics12224629 - 12 Nov 2023

Viewed by 1167

Abstract

FTTH (Fibre to the Home) uses a fusion splice field-assembled optical connector. The fusion splice field-assembled optical connector is connected and assembled using a generic fibre fusion splicer. However, general purpose fusion splicers make the device difficult to operate in the installation field [...] Read more.

FTTH (Fibre to the Home) uses a fusion splice field-assembled optical connector. The fusion splice field-assembled optical connector is connected and assembled using a generic fibre fusion splicer. However, general purpose fusion splicers make the device difficult to operate in the installation field because the fusion splicer is too large and heavy to handle. As a result, the fibre optic splice often breaks during the optical connector assembly process. This makes it difficult to apply fusion-spliced optical connectors in the FTTH field. To solve this problem, this paper proposes a fusion splicer for FTTH that can perform fusion splicing using a wing-type sleeve optical connector. The proposed fusion splicer, with a connection module with a lifting/lowering function, is implemented to connect and protect the wing-type sleeve field-assembled optical connector. In addition, by eliminating the tube heater used as a connection protection method in the existing fusion splicer, the power module is reduced. The developed fusion splicer was evaluated for assembly reliability through splice loss measurements and a comparison of assembling time with the existing fusion splicer. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digitization of Mechatronic Systems Using Modern Information and Communication Technologies)

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27 pages, 5182 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Output Feedback Control of Sine-Gordon Chain over the Limited Capacity Digital Communication Channel

by Boris Andrievsky, Yury Orlov and Alexander L. Fradkov

Electronics 2023, 12(10), 2269; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics12102269 - 17 May 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1035

Abstract

With the digitalization of mechatronic systems in the conditions of a shortage of available bandwidth of digital communication channels, the problem of ensuring the transfer of information between various components of the system can arise. This problem can be especially challenging in the [...] Read more.

With the digitalization of mechatronic systems in the conditions of a shortage of available bandwidth of digital communication channels, the problem of ensuring the transfer of information between various components of the system can arise. This problem can be especially challenging in the observation and control of spatially distributed objects due to the complexity of their dynamics, wide frequency band, and other factors. In such cases, a useful approach is to employ smart sensors, in which the measurement results are encoded for transmission over a digital communication channel. Specifically, the article is focused on the transmission of measurement data for the control of energy for a spatially-distributed sine-Gordon chain. The procedures for binary coding of measurements by first- and full-order coder-decoder pairs are proposed and numerically investigated, for each of which the use of stationary and adaptive coding procedures is studied. The procedures for estimating the state of the circuit when measuring outputs are studied, and for each of them, the accuracy of not only estimating the state but also controlling the system by output with the help of an observer is considered. The results of comparative modeling are presented, demonstrating the dependence of the accuracy of estimation and control on the data transfer rate. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digitization of Mechatronic Systems Using Modern Information and Communication Technologies)

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18 pages, 467 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Practical Use of Secret Sharing for Enhancing Privacy in Clouds

by Peter Čuřík, Roderik Ploszek and Pavol Zajac

Electronics 2022, 11(17), 2758; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics11172758 - 1 Sep 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 4535

Abstract

The topic of this contribution is the practical use of secret sharing schemes in securing private data. In the first part, we focus on the security model and the overview of the available solutions. In the second part, we describe our solution for [...] Read more.

The topic of this contribution is the practical use of secret sharing schemes in securing private data. In the first part, we focus on the security model and the overview of the available solutions. In the second part, we describe our solution for storing sensitive data in commercial cloud storage systems, an application called Datachest. The application uploads the data in encrypted form. Cryptographic keys are divided into shares. Each cloud receives one share. This solution improves the security of users’ sensitive data in the cloud. In the final part, we explore the ramifications of secret sharing on the security and management of IoT devices, especially home appliances. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digitization of Mechatronic Systems Using Modern Information and Communication Technologies)

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20 pages, 5531 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Low-Cost Education Kit for Teaching Basic Skills for Industry 4.0 Using Deep-Learning in Quality Control Tasks

by Martin Pajpach, Oto Haffner, Erik Kučera and Peter Drahoš

Electronics 2022, 11(2), 230; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics11020230 - 12 Jan 2022

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3561

Abstract

The main purposes of this paper are to offer a low-cost solution that can be used in engineering education and to address the challenges that Industry 4.0 brings with it. In recent years, there has been a great shortage of engineering experts, and [...] Read more.

The main purposes of this paper are to offer a low-cost solution that can be used in engineering education and to address the challenges that Industry 4.0 brings with it. In recent years, there has been a great shortage of engineering experts, and therefore it is necessary to educate the next generation of experts, but the hardware and software tools needed for education are often expensive and access to them is sometimes difficult, but most importantly, they change and evolve rapidly. Therefore, the use of cheaper hardware and free software helps to create a reliable and suitable environment for the education of engineering experts. Based on the overview of related works dealing with low-cost teaching solutions, we present in this paper our own low-cost Education Kit, for which the price can be as low as approximately EUR 108 per kit, for teaching the basic skills of deep learning in quality-control tasks in inspection lines. The solution is based on Arduino, TensorFlow and Keras, a smartphone camera, and is assembled using LEGO kit. The results of the work serve as inspiration for educators and educational institutions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digitization of Mechatronic Systems Using Modern Information and Communication Technologies)

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17 pages, 14323 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Asset Administration Shell Design Methodology Using Embedded OPC Unified Architecture Server

by Rudolf Pribiš, Lukáš Beňo and Peter Drahoš

Electronics 2021, 10(20), 2520; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics10202520 - 15 Oct 2021

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 4647

Abstract

This article captures the current trends in the development of communication interoperability and common data modelling for the integration of devices into Industry 4.0 networks. The use of open standards such as the Open Platform Communications Unified Architecture (OPC UA) or the Asset [...] Read more.

This article captures the current trends in the development of communication interoperability and common data modelling for the integration of devices into Industry 4.0 networks. The use of open standards such as the Open Platform Communications Unified Architecture (OPC UA) or the Asset Administration Shell (AAS) concept is the only way to achieve global communication and semantic interoperability. This article presents an original methodology of AAS implementation into an embedded system, dramatically reducing system requirements. The proposed workflow of the I4.0 component creation includes a procedure for the implementation of the AAS in the OPC UA information model. This methodology was verified by creating an intelligent sensor as a specific I4.0 cyber-physical system based on the 32 bit Arm Cortex Microcontroller. The outcome is the AAS as an “Embedded Industry 4.0 Component” hosted by a minimalist hardware; this is the very first design and implementation of a device with such parameters. Compared to recent studies (which implement certain types of AAS devices), the system requirements of the proposed embedded AAS are in the order of hundreds lower. The presented novel methodology enables developers and industrial manufacturers to implement relatively simple devices (e.g., smart sensors or actuators) as I4.0 Components. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digitization of Mechatronic Systems Using Modern Information and Communication Technologies)

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20 pages, 5425 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Edge Container for Speech Recognition

by Lukáš Beňo, Rudolf Pribiš and Peter Drahoš

Electronics 2021, 10(19), 2420; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics10192420 - 4 Oct 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3310

Abstract

Containerization has been mainly used in pure software solutions, but it is gradually finding its way into the industrial systems. This paper introduces the edge container with artificial intelligence for speech recognition, which performs the voice control function of the actuator as a [...] Read more.

Containerization has been mainly used in pure software solutions, but it is gradually finding its way into the industrial systems. This paper introduces the edge container with artificial intelligence for speech recognition, which performs the voice control function of the actuator as a part of the Human Machine Interface (HMI). This work proposes a procedure for creating voice-controlled applications with modern hardware and software resources. The created architecture integrates well-known digital technologies such as containerization, cloud, edge computing and a commercial voice processing tool. This methodology and architecture enable the actual speech recognition and the voice control on the edge device in the local network, rather than in the cloud, like the majority of recent solutions. The Linux containers are designed to run without any additional configuration and setup by the end user. A simple adaptation of voice commands via configuration file may be considered as an additional contribution of the work. The architecture was verified by experiments with running containers on different devices, such as PC, Tinker Board 2, Raspberry Pi 3 and 4. The proposed solution and the practical experiment show how a voice-controlled system can be created, easily managed and distributed to many devices around the world in a few seconds. All this can be achieved by simple downloading and running two types of ready-made containers without any complex installations. The result of this work is a proven stable (network-independent) solution with data protection and low latency. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digitization of Mechatronic Systems Using Modern Information and Communication Technologies)

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Review

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22 pages, 512 KiB

Open AccessReview

IoT Security Challenges: Cloud and Blockchain, Postquantum Cryptography, and Evolutionary Techniques

by Stefan Balogh, Ondrej Gallo, Roderik Ploszek, Peter Špaček and Pavol Zajac

Electronics 2021, 10(21), 2647; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics10212647 - 29 Oct 2021

Cited by 44 | Viewed by 7155

Abstract

Internet of Things connects the physical and cybernetic world. As such, security issues of IoT devices are especially damaging and need to be addressed. In this treatise, we overview current security issues of IoT with the perspective of future threats. We identify three [...] Read more.

Internet of Things connects the physical and cybernetic world. As such, security issues of IoT devices are especially damaging and need to be addressed. In this treatise, we overview current security issues of IoT with the perspective of future threats. We identify three main trends that need to be specifically addressed: security issues of the integration of IoT with cloud and blockchains, the rapid changes in cryptography due to quantum computing, and finally the rise of artificial intelligence and evolution methods in the scope of security of IoT. We give an overview of the identified threats and propose solutions for securing the IoT in the future. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digitization of Mechatronic Systems Using Modern Information and Communication Technologies)

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24 pages, 2001 KiB

Open AccessReview

Challenges in Application of Petri Nets in Manufacturing Systems

by Iwona Grobelna and Andrei Karatkevich

Electronics 2021, 10(18), 2305; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics10182305 - 19 Sep 2021

Cited by 34 | Viewed by 6843

Abstract

Petri nets are a useful mathematical formalism for specification of manufacturing systems, supported by various analysis and verification methods. The progress made in automating control systems and the widespread use of Industry 4.0 pose a number of challenges to their application, starting from [...] Read more.

Petri nets are a useful mathematical formalism for specification of manufacturing systems, supported by various analysis and verification methods. The progress made in automating control systems and the widespread use of Industry 4.0 pose a number of challenges to their application, starting from the education at university level and ending with modelling of real case studies. The paper aims to present and analyse the most relevant challenges and opportunities related to the use of Petri nets as a modelling technique of manufacturing systems. The review of the literature is primarily based on the years 2019–2020 to reflect the current state of the art. The newest approaches to deadlock prevention and recovering, but also other important analysis problems and difficulties in modelling real industrial processes are discussed. Trends for the future are also identified. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digitization of Mechatronic Systems Using Modern Information and Communication Technologies)

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