Control Network Newsletter
BASpi-Edge—Control with Cloud Connectivity
Cloud connectivity offers a remote access/monitoring solution for building automation systems, allowing you to maintain and optimize parameters and processes, such as fault detection, diagnostics, and predictive/proactive maintenance, from any location.
Contemporary Controls' BASpi-Edge open controllers provide low cost, easy-to-use, and secure cloud connectivity by leveraging:
- Open IoT protocols, such as MQTT
- Proven security mechanisms, such as Transport Layer Security (TLS)
- Robust and easy to use software as a service cloud (SaaS) solutions, such as Azure IoT Central
This capability makes any attached equipment a cloud-connected asset which provides excellent global asset management and supervision capabilities in multi-site building applications, or multi-branch store or retail chains.
The ability to create a cloud-connected asset is just one feature of the BASpi-Edge. It also features a 24 VAC/VDC power input, resilient pSLC 8 GB micro-SD card, BACnet client/server communication over Ethernet or Wi-Fi, and license-free Sedona function block programming. Features – such as data processing at the edge, web page configuration with quick and easy cloud connectivity to Azure IoT Central (SaaS) cloud solutions – make BASpi-Edge a versatile controller suitable for a wide array of applications.
The BASpi-Edge communicates with the local operational network and supervisory stations using BACnet/IP or BACnet MS/TP. It is powered by Raspberry Pi and is installed on the edge of the IP network behind a firewall to reduce network attack surface. Its built-in I/O and a programmable sequence of operation allow it to control equipment at the site.
Azure IoT Central is a ready-to-use, hosted IoT application platform that allows you to focus on your domain expertise rather than the effort and cost of building an IoT solution from scratch. The Azure IoT Central web user interface lets you monitor device conditions, create rules, and manage devices and their data throughout their life cycle. Furthermore, it enables you to act on device insights by extending IoT intelligence into line-of-business applications.
Microsoft Azure IoT Central is a subset of the Microsoft Azure cloud. This subset service removes all the regional and scaling complexities of deploying a standard IoT solution while offering more than 30 robust and ready-to-use IoT services with easy navigation and configuration that anyone can perform without previous cloud application experience. Simply select your region and start connecting BASpi-Edge devices. You can connect one device, ten devices, a hundred devices, or thousands of devices while regional and scalability backend programming aspects of IoT deployment will be completely taken care of on your behalf. In addition, app templates can be created to provide starter points for common industry scenarios, so you can simply connect your BASpi-Edge controller and utilize these features to connect your automation application to the cloud without the need for an IoT expert. Multiple user accounts with different accessibility levels/personas (solution builder, operator, administrator, etc.) can be created to provide the proper organizational structure for any application.
Two models are available. While both models have six universal inputs, one model has six relay outputs, and the other four plus two 0-10 VDC analog outputs. Visit the BASpi-Edge product page to learn more.