Case Studies

IoT Remote Monitoring and Control with LabVIEW and Microsoft Azure

Posted in Application Development, Azure, Digital Workplace Solutions, Internet of Things (IoT), LabVIEW, Test & Measurement Automation

Summary

DMC offers an IoT solution for monitoring remote data using National Instruments LabVIEW, CompactRIO, and Microsoft Azure IoT.   

This platform provides a comprehensive IoT solution with data collection, analysis, action, and insight. Data is collected with NI's cRIO platform, offering high-speed data acquisition with a variety of real-world sensors. The cRIO also performs edge analytics, with onboard configurable analysis running on LabVIEW Real-time and FPGA. Action is enabled at the edge, including local alarming and customizable control. Data is available for user consumption with Microsoft's Azure IoT platform. This platform enables notifications, escalation and configurable workflows across the fleet or distributed system.

 

Solution

The combination of NI LabVIEW, cRIO, and Microsoft Azure IoT enables a powerful and scalable solution for monitoring, analyzing, and acting on real-world data.

The NI cRIO platform is used for the IoT system's operational technology, enabling a variety of signals to be acquired, including high and low voltages, vibration, temperature, and proprietary or industry-specific sensors. CompactRIO hardware is also rugged and highly available, and well suited to field measurements and industrial environments. An open and connected LabVIEW programming environment allows multiple stations in the field, working in parallel while staying connected to the larger data system. 

The cRIO-based remote collection system will collect raw data at 10kHz (or higher), and analyze data according to the end user's IP, making decisions according to rules and user configuration. The cRIO also interacts with the local system, enabling a safe state if needed, declaring alarms, or performing control changes to optimize performance. The cRIO's operation is logged and made available by the system's information technology. 

Microsoft Azure IoT is a critical scalable part of the system's information technology. This framework is built to consume raw and summary data from the NI cRIOs, to enable automated workflows according to user rules, and to converge raw and summary data across a fleet of remote systems. Custom web applications then consume this data and provide it to a variety of users, who have the ability of looking at low-level effects and high-level trends. 

 Microsoft Azure user interface
Microsoft Azure user interface

Rugged Physical Deployment

  • Multiple stations in the field
  • Industrial shock and vibration specs
  • Temperature range -40C to +70C 

Data Acquisition

  • 10kHz data acquisition
  • Steady state and transient burst collection
  • Varied signal sources, including reference electrodes, pipe-to-soil, corrosion coupons, ER probes

cRIO + Microsoft Azure IoT
cRIO + Microsoft Azure IoT

Operational Technology

  • Data processing at edge
  • On-site alarm detection and action
  • Remote-configurable high-speed data processing
  • Open connectivity to other smart devices

Information Technology

  • MQTT and JSON to Microsoft Azure IoT hub
  • Microsoft Azure Stream Analytics and Azure Functions, serving data to multiple destinations
  • HTTP file transfer of raw data to Data Storage service
  • Web applications for user consumption and analysis

 cRIO-based Monitoring of Electric Fish Barrier
cRIO-based Monitoring of Electric Fish Barrier

Learn about DMC's approach to business intelligence, read more about DMC’s IoT Solutions, and contact us today to get started on your next project.

Customer Benefits

  • Improved business and engineering insight using real data
  • Edge analysis, action, and alarming
  • Ruggedized field deployments
  • User access to results on a variety of devices
  • Access to high-speed raw and filtered data
  • Data history and trend analysis
  • Configurable business workflows based on distributed data sources 

Technologies

  • National Instruments CompactRIO (cRIO)
  • Cellular Modem
  • MQTT
  • JSON
  • HTTP file transfer
  • Microsoft Azure IoT hub
  • Microsoft Azure Stream Analytics
  • Microsoft Azure Functions
  • Microsoft Power BI (Business Intelligence)