Programming Language – Operating System
Develco’s software developers are experts in all branches of software development for embedded devices ranging from low-level assembler code and smaller real-time operating systems to the flexible embedded Linux operating system.
In devices for e.g. wireless communication 32-bit MCUs are most frequently used today, where a smaller operating system is implemented. With different strategies operating systems allow scheduling tasks or modules in an application. The degree of how critical it is, if a deadline for a task is not met, provides levels between a hard real-time operating system and a soft real-time operating system. Driver code is written with the purpose that peripheral devices such as AD converters and UART can be used. The operating system, drivers, and the application are most often programmed in the programming language ‘c’.
With embedded Linux you get a flexible operating system that can be tailored exactly to the software you need. Depending on which hardware to support, there is a library of countless existing device drivers to pick from. In some cases there are Board Support Packages with certain drivers supporting already existing hardware. An application for Linux can also be written in the programming language ‘c’. Here, scripting languages such as Python or BASH can be used for e.g. start of drivers, applications or monitoring whether a given application executes as it is supposed to do.
Interfaces
Some products are suitable to be connected directly to a wired Internet connection, where data can be sent to a Cloud solution formatted based on the requirements from the Cloud system in question.
Many products are not suitable for communicating data directly with a backend system in the above-mentioned way, and in some cases there is a requirement for communication between the products. The wireless protocols such as WiFi, BLE, ZigBee, Z-Wave and Wireless M-Bus each have their advantages – and the software developers at Develco use their many years of experience to find the right solution for your upcoming product/system.
If you want to certify your product for a wireless communication technology, it is fully specified how to format the data, but in some cases it may be necessary to specify a proprietary protocol. Common to the mentioned wireless protocols is that they are relatively short-range protocols, and here a gateway within the range of the sensor units will be needed to collect data and send data on to a Cloud system for processing and presentation. Often there are multiple technologies and protocols in play in one system.
Regulation
Develco has experience with classic regulation methods such as PID which is used to a great extent in the industry. A typical example is Field-Oriented Control (FOC) for motor control, which often uses 2 cascade coupled PID controllers to regulate power and rotor speed. The cascade coupling makes it possible to control the power for the motor very fast which provides a high utilization of the motor and a stable basis for the speed control.
For some motors Develco uses regulation which uses observers/kalman filters for instance to sensor less FOC, where the physical sensor can be replaced by an observer. This regulation reduces the product price because the sensor can be saved and replaced by a “SW sensor” (observer).
Develco also has experience with modern regulation such as state feedback control, which allows for optimal regulation.