The RevPi Flat is the latest member of the Revolution Pi family from KUNBUS. At first glance, its untypical design stands out, which is clearly different from the well-known RevPi Core and RevPi Connect modules and is more reminiscent of the RevPi Compact. This design was deliberately chosen so that the module can be easily installed in distribution cabinets, as they are usually used in building automation. This is also where its future field of application lies.
The change in the energy sector is associated with thousands of new possibilities and business models, in the implementation of which the RevPi Flat can play a key role, e.g. as an edge device for the energy management of small power plants, such as solar and biogas plants, or simply for the control and regulation of charging stations for electric cars.
Since security against manipulation plays a decisive role in the energy industry, a TPM, a Trusted Platform Module, has been integrated. With its help, it is possible to securely authenticate the device or the software in communication with external networks and to protect it in the best possible way against attacks of any kind. For the same reason, the usual micro USB socket is missing, so that no software image can be installed by simply inserting a manipulated USB stick.
Although the RevPi Flat, like the RevPi Connect 5, is not modular, it still has a large number of useful interfaces. For example, the device is the first RevPi ever to be equipped with WLAN via an RP-SMA connector. Another SMA socket serves as an interface for the ISM band with 868 MHz. It is therefore possible to use Wireless M-Bus, provided you have the corresponding protocol. In addition to two RS485 interfaces for the cost-effective integration of smart meters, solar inverters, etc., and two USB interfaces, the unit also has four Ethernet ports, three of which function as switches. There are thus two separate Ethernet ports, each with its own MAC address, so that the RevPi Flat can be integrated into two separate networks simultaneously. Last but not least, the module is equipped with an analogue input, an analogue output and a digital output with which external devices can be switched on and off. There are six LEDs for status indication. With the exception of the power symbol LED, which indicates whether the power supply is connected, all other LEDs can be freely assigned.
At the heart of the RevPi Flat is the well-known Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3+, which is also used in the other RevPi modules, provides quad-core performance with 1 GB RAM and has 16 GB eMMC flash memory. A Raspbian operating system specially adapted and improved by KUNBUS with real-time patch and Modbus support is used. Thanks to the open platform concept with, among other things, complete root rights, it is possible to implement all projects with maximum design freedom.
The REVPI FLAT is no longer available. As a replacement, you will find the successor article REVPI FLAT S in the Reichelt online shop.
Read more about this innovative hardware platform for intelligent energy management solutions in our magazine article about the “KUNBUS RevPi Flat S”.
Images: KUNBUS Revolution Pi
