About Wireless Interfaces

Rugged wireless interfaces for industrial applications

Today's applications often require support of a large variety of wireless communications standards. For instance, a modern train often carries electronics that support half a dozen different standards: GSM-R for communication within the railway company, regular GSM (repeaters) for the passengers' mobile phones, GPS for fleet tracking, plus wireless LAN for onboard internet access points, UMTS and Flash-OFDM for the actual internet connection and both UMTS and WLAN for connection of the train's reservation and passenger information systems to the railway company's central servers.

Such a multitude of actively supported standards calls for particularly flexible system design. Thus, in addition to GSM, GPS and WLAN interface boards based on the CompactPCI® standard, MEN offers many peripheral boards and stand-alone devices like box computers and panel PCs with PCI Express® Mini Card slots. These are an easy way to future-proof a system and can be used to add interfaces based on a variety of wireless communications standards like GSM/GPRS/EDGE, WLAN (Wi-Fi), WiMAX, Bluetooth, UMTS/HSDPA or LTE. Additional SIM card slots enable operation within standard mobile phone networks. To guarantee excellent performance in demanding environments, rugged SMA connectors are usually used to enable the connection of two redundant external antennas. All MEN boards and devices with standard or optional wireless functions are resistant to humidity, shock and vibration, and prepared for operating temperatures from -40° up to +70°C, in most cases even up to +85°C permanently. Stand-alone devices and custom systems are designed to meet the strict requirements of EN 50155.

Typical Applications

The level of convenience offered by modern trains coupled with the challenges of communication during high-speed travel makes for an ideal field for all kinds of wireless applications. The passenger information systems in modern subways and buses call for very similar technology. As do many other mobile applications: Wireless communication can be essential in coordinating a fleet of, e.g., harvesting machines.

Railways example: Internet Access Systems

Railways example: Passenger Information Systems in Transportation

Railways example: Wireless Service System

Commercial Vehicles and Ships example: Passenger Information System for Buses

Commercial Vehicles and Ships example: Intelligent Farming