HomeGrid Forum advances G.hn for industrial applications

Beaverton, US: HomeGrid Forum is accelerating the development of G.hn for use in industrial settings, which will prove critical for the future success of businesses worldwide. Facilitating fast communication, G.hn is bridging the gap between legacy systems and newer technology to transform operations with reliable, fast connectivity. It comes as pioneering telecommunication technology and industrial automation member, Teleconnect, launches its G.hn system on module (SOM) solution to enable Gigabit-class data transfer for intelligent networks within industrial environments.

As the era of the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) arrives, the industrial communications market is predicted to grow to US$23.5 billion by 2025, as companies increasingly turn to technology to deliver significant business improvements. By leveraging data through Internet of Things (IoT) devices and incorporating machine-to-machine communication and automation, industries can achieve an uptake in productivity and efficiency. All of this requires scalable, interoperable, reliable communication and connectivity. A key focus for the HomeGrid Forum is industrial automation and G.hn technology is perfectly suited to meet the needs of 4IR.

Although machines, components, and devices have become increasingly wireless, communication on wired legacy systems still retains a large core of communications within industrial settings. With few alternatives to address the ongoing changes within the industrial sector, operators and system controllers must incorporate G.hn into their networks to provide next-generation applications with the reliable, high bandwidth connectivity required.

“Offering a strong backbone, with the ability for bidirectional data traffic, G.hn is the key to unlocking the potential of future industrial applications – most critically because it can be simply integrated into the legacy systems commonly in use in industrial environments,” said Livia Rosu, HomeGrid Forum Marketing Work Group Chair. “The technology’s highly interoperable nature and scalability enables communication between all applications within the network and gives operators the possibility of adding more devices in the future. HomeGrid Forum’s industrial IoT vision comes with end-to-end IP connectivity and agile control to empower the 4IR.”

Within the industrial sector, low latency and reliable communication are imperative in preventing chaos due to downtime or degradation of service. G.hn acts as essential infrastructure with its robust nature allowing for mission critical communication and network self-healing capability. Its interoperability and scalability are also vital for being able to handle the large number of devices found in an industrial network, which sees vast amounts of information being gathered and exchanged for machine-to-machine communication, IoT-powered robots, automation and various other purposes.

Until recently, IoT devices have been primarily consumer-focused, providing smarter connectivity inside homes and buildings. However, the industry is rapidly capitalizing on its deployments and expertise to address industrial IoT, such as the networking of factory machinery and industrial-grade sensors.

Able to work through four forms of media: powerline (PLC), coaxial cable (COAX), telephone cable (TP) and plastic optical fiber (POF), G.hn allows for fast installation and works seamlessly through existing wiring to provide low latency connectivity upon which industrial applications rely. G.hn is well-suited for environmental sensors, video surveillance and safety panels for employee welfare, thanks to its real-time two-way traffic handling and high bandwidth.

Teleconnect developed its GHN.SOM product with different mounting options and different data connectors options for PLC, COAX and TP, to offer a high degree of flexibility for customers by allowing for the easy incorporation of G.hn into any industrial environment. Since it is possible to enable the use of three different transmission media, this module is ideal for an extended range of applications. Utilizing a G.hn Wave2 Chipset from MaxLinear, customers can define the physical layer on the input slide of the GHN.SOM to provide a transparent bridge for data transmission through G.hn.

“By working with HomeGrid Forum we have managed to create a module that allows for rapid implementation of G.hn technology, which will revolutionise the future of industries worldwide,” said Alexandre Schäfer, Head of Sales and Marketing at Teleconnect. “With all the flexibility that G.hn provides, the future possibilities of this technology are endless when it comes to industrial automation, machine-to-machine communication or anywhere that robust fast communication is required.”