The BASpi Edge
Contemporary Controls has announced the release of its BASpi Edge, which overcomes the complexity of connecting edge devices to the network while still maintaining network security, according to its maker.
"Our customers often mentioned how stressful it was to connect edge devices on the network securely," said product specialist Zach Netsov. "We designed the BASpi-Edge because we wanted to make the process easier without jeopardizing security."
The BASpi-Edge is a 12-point freely programmable BACnet IP client/server with a resident connector to the Azure IoT Central cloud. Built on the popular Raspberry Pi, the BASpi-Edge has features not found in conventional controllers—an HDMI port for remote displays, a USB port for a touchscreen, Ethernet and Wi-Fi connectivity, etc. Other built-in features include email alarms, a scheduler, weather monitoring, and easy to build graphical dashboards, according to Contemporary Controls.
The BASpi-Edge is a flexible small-system supervisor, human-to-machine interface, or cloud-connected application specific controller. It utilizes the powerful 1.2 GHz 64-bit CPU in the Raspberry Pi with 1 GB of RAM memory for fast operation, its Ethernet and Wi-Fi adapters for versatile network connectivity, as well as its HDMI port as an HMI interface for touchscreen or display options.
Two models are available in the BASpi-Edge series, housed in compact DIN rail mounted enclosure and powered from a 24 VAC/VDC source. While both models have six universal inputs, one model has six relay outputs, and the other four plus two 0-10 VDC analog outputs. An USB port with an optional EIA-485 dongle connects to BACnet MS/TP devices.
The BASpi-Edge is webpage configured and Sedona function block programmed using a free Sedona application editor. A total of 48 virtual points connects BACnet points to wire sheet logic while 48 web components connect wire sheet logic to webpages.
The BASpi-Edge can securely (TLS) connect via MQTT to the Azure IoT Central (SaaS) cloud effectively, making any attached equipment a cloud connected asset. Trending can then be accomplished in the cloud. Cloud connectivity provides global asset management and centralized supervision capabilities for multi-site applications. The user can upload any point data to the cloud where it can be analyzed and accessed from anywhere, and graphical dashboards allow users to monitor their automation applications, according to Contemporary Controls.
