Hey. I'm currently working on a mobile battery-driven system used to increase safety in tunnels. At the moment, the system uses an ESP32 to control a fan and brake (digital output) and read some sensors (digital input, I2C, and SPI).
The ESP32 is connected to a PC over USB. The system works well most of the time, but there are problems:
Such problems should not occur. That is why we are searching for a way to either improve the current system or replace it with something different (switching to another microcontroller or using a PLC). Here are some requirements for the system:
Any advice and help is greatly appreciated.
The ESP32 is connected to a PC over USB. The system works well most of the time, but there are problems:
- The ESP stops working sometimes and isn't resetting even though a watchdog timer is implemented.
- The USB connection is unreliable at times (no connection to the device, cannot read data, etc.)
Such problems should not occur. That is why we are searching for a way to either improve the current system or replace it with something different (switching to another microcontroller or using a PLC). Here are some requirements for the system:
- Can read and write digital and analog input/output
- I2C and SPI support would be great
- Works in a production environment under harsh conditions (temperature, device shaking while moving, etc.)
- The system needs to either communicate to an industrial PC over USB or Ethernet or to be able to send and receive data directly over Websockets or some other protocol (it has an internet connection and is programmable)
- Remote maintenance is also a big plus.
Any advice and help is greatly appreciated.