Driving fleets in the cloud

Powerful new processing software is enabling bus operators to provide a greatly improved service

Words | Zeljko Loncaric, Congatec, Germany

Public transport operators want to monitor and manage their fleets in real time to optimize service quality, reduce costs and improve security. To achieve this it is necessary to get all relevant information – including video surveillance– from the vehicles into the cloud in real time. Stable connectivity and high bandwidth are required, as well as a computing platform that is reliable and can be tailored.

Most modern cities and urban areas provide at least 3G with up to 7.2Mbps or even Long Term Evolution (LTE) with up to 3.9Gbs mobile bandwidth. This is sufficient to stream even high-bandwidth data from multiple surveillance cameras to the cloud. The major challenge lies in tailoring the fleet application’s setup and providing a powerful edge-computing platform that can host all required services so that operators can freely choose from a wide range of services, as well as variable configurations within these.

Datik, a Spanish provider of cloud-based public transport solutions, chose a modular approach for its fleet services design as well as the underlying hardware platform that handles all the computation and communication in its buses. Operators can pick the services they need. For punctuality tracking, arrival times can be displayed on the driver console and accessed via the management cloud, and also on screens in the vehicles and at bus stops. An additional app for iOS and Android can round off the service offerings for conductors and passengers, with flexible display and video camera configurations for up to four infrared cameras possible as well.

To address all these needs with only one low-power and rugged edge-computing platform design, Datik was looking for a RISC-based (reduced instruction set computer) architecture capable of the easiest engine switching. The company found it in computer-on-modules (COMs) based on the Qseven form factor.

COMs are standardized computing cores for customized systems. The benefits are not only a reduced bill but also massive time and cost savings compared with full custom designs. They come with an application-ready board support package and often with a printed circuit board and interface layout samples for the custom carrier board that only need to be adapted to the application. This enables OEMs to take advantage of the customization capabilities of a full custom design paired with the fast time to market and cost efficiency of COTS solutions.

Scalability and longevity

The modularity of COMs brings high scalability and longevity to a solution because they can easily be exchanged, regardless of the module and processor vendors. This makes COMs more attractive to designers of RISC- or ARM-based (advanced RISC machine) platforms than proprietary modules or processor-specific evaluation platforms. COMs also reduce effort through the life of the system, as connected devices need constant updates.

To power its platform, Datik chose Conga-QMX6 Qseven modules with NXP i.MX6 processors. The ARM Cortex 9-based processor family offers broad scalability with single-, dual- and quad-core options. The processors further provide high computing capabilities combined with a powerful graphics solution for multiple displays, and integrate a hardware-based video decoding/ encoding engine, important for video

surveillance. Moreover, the i.MX6 processor family is qualified for automotive applications.

User-friendly processors

To be able to run all tasks on one Qseven module, Datik chose the quad-core option with 4x 1.0GHz performance. The processors are supported by several operating systems, including Android and the Yocto Project, which makes developers independent from the processor architecture. This support also paves the way for using modules with other processor technologies. Qseven’s options include Intel Atom, Celeron and Pentium processors as well as AMD embedded G-Series APUs. Vendors can offer products in various performance shapes simply by swapping off-the-shelf modules.

The fanless system has the quad-core Datik Computing Brain (DCB) running embedded Linux from Yocto. The passenger infotainment displays are connected via HDMI and the driver console with touchscreen uses VGA. An audio I/O connector is dedicated to passenger information, driver announcements and communication with the control center. Two vehicle connectors offer relevant vehicle interfaces including three CANbus and one K-line for vehicle diagnosis, two RS232/RS485 for peripherals such as displays and printers, an odometer as well as 12 digital inputs and four digital outputs with diagnosis. Dedicated interfaces connect the GPS, wi-fi and 3G antennas. In addition, the system provides three USB ports as well as 1Gb Ethernet for validators and further connectivity. The OS, applications and system data such as the navigation software are stored on 4Gb solid-state drives (SSDs) and the video streams from the surveillance cameras can be stored on a second 250Gb SSD.

Datik chose Congatec because it is well known in the business and has a great local distribution partner in Spain with Matrix. “Congatec and Matrix are highly professional,” says Datik CTO Iñigo Etxabe. “The availability and consultancy of both companies is excellent and their end-of-life and upgrade management is very convenient. They make it very easy for customers to test and validate new solutions and we have always had comfortable lead times to manage any transition.”

Datik’s cloud-based fleet management solution iPanel, with the DCB edge-computing platform based on Qseven COMs from Congatec, is on the road in France, Spain and Latin America, with more regions to come. It is built to withstand high temperatures and humidity, specified for operation in environments from 0-60°C (32-140°F), and is protected against shock and vibration. n

Main: Congatec’s modular

computing cores are used to build customized real-time fleet monitoring systems

Left: Datik’s DCB solution is

used by fleet operators in Spain, France, Poland, Mexico, Chile and Peru

Below: Datik chose a Conga-

QMX6 Qseven computer-onmodule for the DCB

www.congatec.com info@congatec.com Phone: +49 (991) 2700-0

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