When the Raspberry Pi Foundation launched the first development board, the Raspberry Pi B, in 2012, the primary goal was to provide students with cost-effective hardware for their own projects. This idea was such a success that more than 40 million Raspberry Pi boards have been sold to date.
The growing popularity of development boards, the active community and the variety of open-source applications have led engineers to consider single-board computers for industrial applications. At the same time, the transition to a smart factory (Industry 4.0) accelerated the integration of digital technology into production processes. It quickly became clear that conventional programmable logic controllers (PLCs) no longer met flexibility and cost efficiency requirements. In addition, the shortage of skilled workers in the PLC programming field is making it more difficult to obtain the appropriate solutions.
“A key success factor for development boards in the smart factory is many engineers’ familiarity with this technology”, explains Sven Pannewitz, Product Manager — Passive Components, Development Boards & Vehicle Accessories at reichelt elektronik. “They regularly used various boards during their studies and therefore know the relevant resources and communities to support them with any problems. This expertise is used in industrial digitalisation projects, especially if the company’s budget and know-how are limited. Therefore, development boards offer an affordable and flexible alternative that is supported by a wide range of open-source solutions.”
Use of development boards in industry
A 2022 survey by reichelt elektronik of 500 German industrial companies showed that 74% already use development boards in their operations. These boards are mainly used for prototype development, edge data processing and various industrial applications. The trend is continuing and there are always new products on the market. The Raspberry Pi remains a pioneer, followed by brands such as ODROID and BeagleBone Black.
Smaller, lower-performance boards, on the other hand, are hardly used in industry because they often do not offer enough storage or network connectivity. They are unable to meet the high levels of stability and operational safety required in industrial environments. For example, production downtime in the automotive industry can result in costs of up to €200,000 per hour, which makes use of high-performance hardware absolutely essential. Boards such as the Arduino UNO are therefore only suitable for very specific, simple projects.
The three most common boards—Raspberry Pi, ODROID and BeagleBone Black—have different origins and sales structures. While the Raspberry Pi was developed by the British charity Raspberry Pi Foundation and is distributed through Raspberry Pi Holdings, ODROID is from the South Korean company Hardkernel. On the other hand, BeagleBone Black is an open-source hardware product with freely accessible blueprints developed by engineers at Texas Instruments, but it does not officially count as a product of the company. Although the three boards now have similar technical specifications, their history and sales structure are very different. When choosing a board, these points should therefore be taken into account and, for example, it should be determined in advance whether the use of open-source hardware is possible for the planned project.
Requirements for development boards in industry
Industrial manufacturing environments place high demands on hardware. Typical interference factors such as dust, moisture, high temperatures, vibration and strong electromagnetic interference (EMI) can significantly affect development boards originally designed for use in labs. The following adjustments must be made so that they are suitable for industry:
- Robust metal enclosure for DIN rail mounting with earthing as EMC shielding
- Industrial screw-on connectors
- Large industrial-grade fans
- EMC-safe power supply with back-up battery in case of power failure
- No expansion boards directly on the GPIO connector
- Wired network connection — if Wi-Fi is required, only with external aerial
Most industrial expansions are available for the Raspberry Pi, including a number of HATs and shields specifically designed for factory environments. Although the offering for ODROID and BeagleBone Black is smaller, there are also options, such as the industrial version of the BeagleBone Black.
Comparison of board classes
Development boards can generally be divided into two classes: Boards that have been explicitly approved by the manufacturer for industrial use, and those without official approval. Choosing a board therefore depends on a detailed examination of the respective requirements and test results. A board not being approved does not automatically mean it should be excluded as an option, as they can often be adjusted to meet industrial requirements.
Earlier models, such as the Raspberry Pi 2B or Zero, have architectural limitations because they combine audio, video, storage and network access on the same data bus. This is not an optimal design for industrial applications because it slows down data throughput. This problem has been fixed in the Raspberry Pi 5 through a separate PCI bus which can also control SSDs and hard drives. On the other hand, the BeagleBone Black separates data buses from version C and offers an architecture that can compete with the Raspberry Pi 4 in terms of performance and connectivity.
Originally designed for gaming applications, the ODROID M2 focuses on entertainment features. Nevertheless, it can be suitable for specialised projects such as human-machine interfaces (HMI) or AI-based multimedia systems.
Network technology and security concepts
“For projects with network requirements, special attention must be paid to the boards’ features”, advises Sven Pannewitz. “Some models come without network interfaces, while others offer comprehensive connectivity options, including Bluetooth”. Currently, only the Raspberry Pi 5 offers true gigabit speed for data transfers. Other Gigabit Ethernet boards are often only designed for limited connectivity tasks. Although they can be connected as a gigabit switch, they are not able to achieve the desired data throughput due to their internal architecture.
When using development boards in industrial networks, it is recommended to set up a separate network that is disconnected from the main network by a demilitarised zone (DMZ). A DMZ consists of two firewalls that regulate the data traffic between the networks and ensure a secure separation. Firewall rules determine which connections are allowed, protecting the production environment from unauthorised access.
Practical example
A “marriage facility” is operated in an automotive plant — a central manufacturing station where the vehicle chassis, wheels and body are connected. This connection process is carried out using screws that are screwed in with automated torque screwdrivers. These screwdrivers are fitted with sensors and Wi-Fi modules to wirelessly transmit the data from the screw connection process together with the vehicle identification number to a gateway. The gateway performs the task of converting the received data into a uniform format and then storing it in an SQL database that runs on an HP Tandem cluster. This data must be archived for a period of 10 years, with access reserved exclusively for the manufacturer and the licensing authorities in the event of any subsequent problems with the vehicle.
A central component of the system is the gateway, which standardises the different data formats of the 40 torque screwdrivers from different manufacturers. Since no manufacturer supplies screwdrivers for all applications of the marriage facility and each manufacturer uses its own data formats, the gateway is necessary to process and integrate the data in a meaningful way. The problem is that the gateway’s annual maintenance and licensing costs are around €250,000, and are constantly increasing.
With this in mind, the project team decided to look for a more cost-effective alternative. After detailed examination, four industrial Raspberry Pis were selected. A system of four Raspberry Pis was designed to take over the gateway’s work. Two of the Raspberry Pis are in productive use, while the other two are hot standby systems. The hardware was installed in two air-conditioned industrial control cabinets. The power supply is provided by eight hot-plug units, two per Raspberry Pi.
The hardware was programmed and installed by the local IT department. System maintenance was also carried out by local personnel. This enabled the company to save costs both during commissioning and ongoing operation. The system had no issues for a total of three and a half years in three-shift operation.
Cost-benefit analysis
The calculation shows that the high operating costs of the old system were significantly reduced by the switch to Raspberry Pi. Investment costs in hardware and personnel were amortised within a few weeks.
Simplified project costing of the previously used screwdriver gateway
| Operating costs | |
|---|---|
| Software licences for 40 screwdrivers | €163,215.00 |
| 31 person-days on-site incl. travel expenses | €98,632.00 |
| Total annual costs | €261,847.00 |
Simplified project costing for the currently used system with Raspberry Pi
| One-off project costs when switching systems | |
|---|---|
| Hardware costs incl. installation | €4,978.00 |
| 20 person-days of internal programming | €6,089.00 |
| One-off costs | €11,067.00 |
| Current operating costs | |
|---|---|
| 12 person-days per year | €3,653.40 |
Despite some critics having doubts about the project at its launch, the following three and a half years of problem-free operation convinced them otherwise.
Summary
The example application illustrates the significant savings potential that can be achieved by using development boards in smart factories. As a result, more and more IT managers are expected to deploy complex and business-critical applications on development boards in the future.
Nevertheless, manufacturers must continue to develop a support structure that meets the specific requirements of industrial customers. While forums and communities provide valuable inspiration and help, they cannot provide the support they need in an emergency due to their limited response time and availability. However, industrial customers are willing to invest in reliable support, which is an opportunity for manufacturers to expand their business through professional support services.
In addition, manufacturers must adapt their hardware so that it meets the industry standards for assembly and installation.
In conclusion, development board manufacturers can tap into many new business areas to facilitate the deployment of boards in industrial companies. At the same time, industrial customers benefit from more advanced models and improved services — a fruitful collaboration with great potential for both sides.
Images: Raspberry Pi Foundation, Adobe Stock
