Over the next five years, everything that has anything to do with information, control, or measurement is going to be Internet/Ethernet connected. Electronic devices of all kinds will collaborate to perform tasks with minimal human intervention. Imagine your office printer ordering repair parts, or the vending machine placing a re-stocking order with the warehouse.

We stand on the threshold of a new era of the electronic age; one characterized by widespread proliferation of invisible intelligent interconnected embedded systems. By some estimates, there will be billions of such intelligent nodes — contained in everything from microwave ovens, to automobiles, to printers, to elevators, to set-top entertainment systems, to virtually everything that runs on electricity! This wave of device connectivity will open up a world of new opportunities. During the first decade of this new millennium, the proliferation of interconnected smart devices — operating on open networks, and without human intervention — may have a greater impact on people's lives than any previous computer innovation.

The process of network enabling all devices on Internet and Ethernet is already well underway. Current examples of this new wave of networked devices include building control systems, office imaging equipment, IP telephones, point-of-sale terminals, security systems, industrial controls, medical devices, and even fitness equipment.

Obstacles to Device Connectivity

In order to realize the full potential of universal device connectivity, three important milestones must be achieved, in the areas of cost, complexity, and scalability:

• Cost — Full, embedded Internet/Ethernet connectivity must be achievable at a cost of $10 to $15 per node. Today, using standard components, the price is in the $50 to $100 range. Taking advantage of new technology products, such as several of today's emerging system-on-silicon devices, the price will be in the $15 to $30 range within the next few years. There isn't a great leap between this and the required $10 to $15 cost point, so it's only a matter of a few years to reach this price point.

• Complexity — Embedded Internet/Ethernet connectivity is still difficult to engineer — despite the various sales claims. Since the vast majority of the companies who design and use embedded devices are not networking specialists, components (both hardware and software) must be as plug-and-play as possible. For embedded Internet/Ethernet to permeate the device world, connectivity must be as simple as plugging into a wall jack — without any hardware or software configuration or installation procedures.

• Scalability — To achieve truly universal use status, embedded Internet/Ethernet connectivity must support a wide range of system performance and power consumption needs. It must be equally at home in large power hungry machines and portable battery-powered devices.

Convergence of Demand and Technology

This dawning era of device connectivity is largely due to three converging trends: (1) the need for and value of sharing information in real time; (2) the ubiquity of the Internet and its incredible ability to interconnect virtually everyone and everything on the planet; and (3) the reduced size and lower cost of powerful computing and networking hardware and software.

Let's look at these converging trends more closely. Universal and near-instantaneous access to data means better and faster decision-making. We now can see the possibility of completing the control loop for the business enterprise and, ultimately, the home. By combining rapid data acquisition with the ability to control device actions — either autonomously or remotely — we will see dramatic improvements in device functionality and improvements in productivity.

• Easier product installation and upgrades.
  
• Automatic product monitoring — automatic notification when something is wrong.
  
• Data transfers to computer programs on distributed hosts for automating process steps.
  
• Diagnostics/repair to help identify and solve problems with a device or its mission.

The growth of “Internet for people” has lead to global standardization on networking standards. There are many benefits from the adoption of TCP/IP and Ethernet standards: cost efficiencies, universal “plug and work,” scalability, and data portability.

Open networking lets you preserve your investments of the past. With proprietary standards, you often throw almost everything away when you upgrade to a next generation technology. But with standards-based open networking, there are fewer costs and risks associated with such changes. Wiring, hubs, and protocols are standard. Better yet, the know-how needed to develop, install, and support your networked embedded systems is already in place.

As open networking starts to hit massive volumes, there will be thousands of software companies creating tools and packages to help you take advantage of the new capabilities that arise. This, in turn, will further spur competitiveness and accelerate the pace of innovation.

Much progress has been, and continues to be, made towards breaking down the barriers of complexity, cost, and scalability. What formerly required entire systems, then multiple boards, and then multiple chips, is now possible with “system-on-chip” (SoC) components and integrated networking software. These highly integrated chips include a 32-bit processor, 10/100 Ethernet MAC, system controllers (memory, DMA, interrupts, timers, etc.), cache, I/O, run time operating system, device driver software, communications protocol software, all integrated into a functional embedded system. With the addition of physical interface (PHY) and memory (RAM and ROM), OEMs can achieve a complete connectivity solution.

What's Next?

As the cost of networked SoC components drops, embedded connectivity will begin to be as universal as embedded microcontrollers are now. The wave is beginning with a multitude of business and industrial applications where the value of the connection outweighs the cost. As volume grows and costs continue to drop we will see a very high rate of innovation and a flood of new applications and products, just as we are now seeing in the 'Internet for people' arena.

Universal embedded connectivity will give rise to the development of hierarchical systems of products and processes that consist of shared central resources plus distributed data collection and process control nodes — all communicating in real-time. The backbone of all this will be based on Ethernet (locally) and Internet (globally), because they provide the only infrastructure that is low-cost, high performance, and has the proven ability get the job done.

Conclusion

Any device manufacturer that isn't at least thinking about how to use the Internet is missing out on the next major wave of product opportunities. This major evolutionary step in embedded systems technology is now well underway: virtually all newly-designed “smart” systems and devices are endowed with connectivity. Intelligent embedded systems are no longer islands unto themselves; they are interconnected — and the effects of this transformation are going to be dramatic.

Up to now attaching to an Ethernet network, much less the Internet, has been a daunting and expensive task that relatively few high-tech companies have undertaken. A new generation of SoC products changes the rules of the game by making Internet and Ethernet connectivity both easy to implement and low cost. SoCs provide not only the hardware needed for networking, but also are supported by ready-to-use system software, including operating system, device drivers, and networking applications — all in one complete product offering.

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About the Author

Pete Peterson is President and CEO of NETsilicon, Inc., (Nasdaq: NSIL) a leading provider of integrated system-on-silicon and software solutions that connect electronic devices to the Internet and Ethernet networks. Using NETsilicon's integrated solutions based on the NET+Works(tm) architecture, manufacturers can easily and affordably build network connectivity into their products, accelerating time to market, lowering costs, and freeing their engineers from the difficult task of integrating multi-vendor components. The Company recently announced a new generation of products using embedded Linux to address growing customer demand for this robust operating system. NETsilicon's solutions are used in a broad range of industries including imaging, industrial automation, telecommunications, building controls, security, and point of sale. NETsilicon embedded networking solutions are paving the way for the device-centric networks of tomorrow. www.netsilicon.com

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