A range of different field buses and interfaces for industrial communications are available for developers, including serial-based field buses. These include PROFIBUS and IO-Link as well as real-time Ethernet field buses such as EtherCAT, SERCOS-III, PROFINET, EtherNet/IP, Ethernet POWERLINK and IEEE1588. Encoder interfaces such as EnDat, BISS and HIPERFACE DSL can also be implemented. Featuring additional analog components such as analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), digital-to-analog converters (DACs) and pulse-width modulators (PWMs), they provide interfaces to control systems, co-ordinate converters and output stages.
Rudy Van Parijs, Vice President Technical Development at EBV Elektronik, comments: "The Caribou board provides developers with a special evaluation platform for industrial applications in the areas of programmable logic controllers (PLCs), control systems, sensors, motors with integrated controllers, and industrial bus interfaces. Applications also include 3-phase solar inverters and pitch controllers within the field of renewable energies, and test & measurement equipment."
About Altera
Altera Corporation (NASDAQ: ALTR) is the pioneer of programmable logic solutions, enabling system and semiconductor companies to rapidly and cost effectively innovate, differentiate, and win in their markets. Altera offers FPGAs, CPLDs, and ASICs in combination with software tools, intellectual property, and customer support to provide highvalue programmable solutions to over 12,000 customers worldwide. Altera was founded in 1983 and has annual revenues in 2009 of US$1.20 billion. Altera is headquartered in San Jose, California, and employs approximately 2,600 people in 19 countries.
About Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments semiconductor innovations help 80,000 customers unlock the possibilities of the world as it could be - smarter, safer, greener, healthier and more fun. Our commitment to building a better future is ingrained in everything we do - from the responsible manufacturing of our semiconductors, to caring for our employees, to giving back inside our communities. This is just the beginning of our story. Learn more at www.ti.com.