How FPGAs are Revolutionizing Sensor-to-Cloud Integration in Manufacturing

Summary

In today’s fast-paced manufacturing landscape, staying competitive requires embracing industrial automation at every turn. Manufacturers are recognizing the immense benefits that automation offers, from increased efficiency and consistency to reduced operational costs and enhanced safety. In fact, a recent Deloitte study indicated that 86% of surveyed manufacturing executives believe smart factory solutions will be the primary drivers of competitiveness over the next five years.
 
To keep pace with industry competition, manufacturers are embedding high volumes of IoT-enabled sensors across their factory floors to effectively harness the power of automation and advanced data. This data contains valuable insights into processes, performance, and potential vulnerabilities and, if compromised, could lead to disruptions, theft, and safety hazards. The global manufacturing sector is the most targeted industry by cybercriminals, and in 2023, the average cost of an industrial data breach exceeded $4.7 million. As a result, this surge in sensor deployment is driving demand for advanced connectivity, particularly to facilitate secure, real-time data transmissions to the cloud. 
 
Cyber resilience has never been more paramount as industrial automation accelerates. In turn, manufacturers are leveraging Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) to better enable efficient and secure sensor-to-cloud connectivity on the factory floor. From driving data security and optimizing data processing to enabling flexibility and programmability, FPGAs can empower manufacturers to meet the needs of this rapidly evolving landscape.

Benefits of FPGAs on the factory floor

With increased demand for efficient, secure and adaptable sensor-to-cloud connectivity, FPGAs stand out as a critical tool. There are four key capabilities of FPGAs that make them prime solutions for sensor-to-cloud connectivity:

Inherent flexibility and programmability
One of the most essential elements of FPGAs is that they are a “crypto agile” solution that can be customized and reprogrammed. Due to the unique and highly specialized nature of these devices, FPGAs can be easily created for almost any type of computing function. In manufacturing, this means developers can create engines or co-processors that are specifically designed for their sensor-to-cloud connectivity needs.
 
Even further, the FPGA can be reprogrammed or updated after the system is deployed. For an industry like manufacturing that has rapidly changing requirements but elongated product lifecycles, this means that developers can update and upgrade existing machines to support new standards and meet new technical demands without having to replace the entire product.
 
Efficient data processing
With increased sensor-to-cloud connectivity, there is more data that needs to be collected, processed, and sent to the cloud seamlessly and efficiently. FPGAs contain parallel processing capabilities that aggregate sensor and camera data and quickly analyze high volumes of information. In comparison, CPUs can only process one batch of data at a time while FPGAs can consolidate and process multiple functions simultaneously.
 
Parallel processing also allows FPGAs to monitor multiple communications busses at the same time. This empowers developers to work across various connection types, bring more data into the pipeline quickly and securely, and transfer it across devices. For example, in automotive manufacturing, FPGAs can combine or multiplex the signals from multiple high-resolution cameras near where the cameras are located, and then have those signals separated again when they arrive at the system on a chip (SoC).

Enhanced security
While the increased number of sensors on the factory floor provides manufacturers with more data than ever before, it also expands the attack surface, creates more points of entry for opportunistic threat actors to exploit, and creates a wide range of new vulnerabilities. As a result, the manufacturing sector is a top target for cyberattacks.
 
FPGA products that are designed for Hardware Root of Trust (HRoT) and Zero Trust security can deliver enhanced protection for connected devices to protect an organization’s total attack surface. Additionally, the FPGAs that contain HRoT and Zero Trust capabilities can establish unique device identities that are tested and verified prior to allowing data exchanges between sensors and the cloud. This ensures that a system’s core functions, and critical components are protected at all times.

Improved safety measures
The data collected by factory floor sensors is also critical to improving AI-driven predictive maintenance algorithms, helping manufacturers anticipate potential failures before they occur. This use case is particularly crucial in ensuring the safety of human-machine interfaces (HMI), where any malfunction could have dire consequences.
 
By leveraging FPGAs’ low latency and high bandwidth capabilities, manufacturers can quickly analyze vast amounts of sensor data in real-time, identify patterns indicative of impending issues in HMI or other AI-driven systems, and prevent any failures before they arise.

Building a well-connected factory floor

As manufacturers strive to optimize efficiency with automation, the importance of sensor-to-cloud connectivity cannot be overstated. With more sensors on factory floors than ever before, companies are presented with insightful and valuable data that can help enable swift decision-making and optimize operational efficiency. However, with this surge in sensor deployment comes the pressing need for robust and secure connectivity solutions that ensure seamless and safe data transmission to the cloud. FPGAs are rising to the challenge by providing unparalleled adaptability, seamless data processing and stronger security.
 
Amid our accelerating era of digital transformation, manufacturers must recognize the pivotal role of FPGAs in enabling efficient sensor-to-cloud connectivity. Embracing this technology and integrating them into their automation strategies can unlock new levels of efficiency and flexibility, propelling manufacturing into a prosperous future defined by connectivity and innovation.