Today, most equipment and machines in industry are networked within, for example, various building and factory automation connectivity schemes. Some of these networks talk only amongst themselves; others, also via the Internet. The Pyxos platform addresses ‘the next frontier,’ according to maker Echelon.

From the company who brought us LonWorks now comes Pyxos: a low-cost, embedded platform that can bring networking not only to the millions of sensors, actuators, and displays within industrial machinery and equipment, but also to such devices in a wide range of consumer-oriented equipment (such as office equipment in the workplace, and appliances within the home).

A Pyxos network con be wholly contained within a machine, interfaced with a PLC, or built into SCADA systems. LonWorks can then be used to connect Pyxos networks to each other and to other LonWorks-based devices. In addition to feeding data to centralized equipment, Pyxos enables machines themselves to share data with other machines, LonWorks networks, remote service centers, and the Internet.

On the industrial side, Pyxos can be inexpensively build into energy-related equipment, self-healing/diagnosing machines, process controls, logistics-applied devices, preventive maintenance schemes, and fault-tolerant controls.

According to the company, Pyxos will go bar beyond industrial and manufacturing applications, making it for the first time possible to create, for instance…

• Smart carpeting that can track movement or detect when someone has fallen, and also let cleaning crews know where most traffic has been so that only those areas can be cleaned.
• Smart protective gear with biosensors for industrial, military, and emergency personnel
• Smart clothing with strain gauges for athletes

Just how ubiquitous can Pyxos be? The company is talking building it into light switches, motors, and air conditioners, just to name a few possibilities.

According to an article by Control Engineering…

‘Mike Tennefoss, Echelon vice president of marketing, told Control Engineering that the Pyxos network uses two wires for data and power. It allows simple twisted-pair connections within a free topology and data rate of 250 kbit/s, at cost of perhaps $2-3 per device. The chip is 5-mm squared in size, and the network is deterministic, he says. Compared to other device networks for the industrial space, Pyxos offers greater connectivity, and superior installation and maintenance over the network’s lifecycle, Tennefoss says. He says Pyxos is the first self-organizing, embedded control network in which devices automatically configure themselves into functioning networks, offering advantages for non-technical users. The network will support plug-and-play, and it can be configured for “plug, press, and play,” where confirmation is built-in to ensure that the connection being made actually should be made, Tennefoss explains. Pyxos also is compatible with LonWorks networks, allowing Pyxos-based machines or networks to be integrated into larger control networks.’

As additional possibilities for the use of Pyxos, Echelon mentions…

• Identifying occupied areas to firefighters and police
• Tracking visitors
• Detecting equipment theft
• Intelligently routing calls (and paging)
• RFID
• Motion, fire, and smoke sensors
• CO and CO2 monitors
• Directional WiFi
• Sprinkler identification

It seems the most impressive element (beyond cost and size) of Pyxos is self-configuration, as the architecture was designed to be used not by engineers, IT personnel, or even computer users, but by everyone. The company designed Pyxos to be as easy to setup as an iPod, as easy to replace as a lightbulb, and as easy to expand as component home audio systems. Once the user/installer connects/mounts the device (assuming that power is built into the connection), Pyxos configures itself to the designer’s parameters.

The Pyxos Point IC installs at each device with or without a microncontroller. All APIs are open, and development kits are available.

With the ability to be integrated into both wired and wireless devices, Pyxos connects to the Internet using Echelon’s i.LON servers and does not require network management tools.

Too many of us have seen various networking schemes come and go. It seems as though Pyxos might be around not only in industry for awhile, but also in places not yet envisioned.