Abstract—Despite the popularity of wireless networks, wired serial ones continue to provide the most robust and reliable communication, especially in harsh environments. These networks provide effective communication in industrial and building automation applications, in which noise, electrostatic discharge and voltage faults are very critical to the life of the system. A common example of the above-mentioned networks is the RS485, in which communication between nodes happen in a Master-Slave model. This paper proposes a flexible platform based on RS485 networks, which support multidrop communication links. This platform with a simple bus wiring and a long cable length is ideal for joining remote devices and can be used in a wide range of applications such as smart homes, electronic queue management system, interconnection between security control panels and devices such as access-control card readers. The proposed platform allows the management of network nodes through adding or deleting nodes, editing information, etc. In addition, the firmware of all network nodes can be directly programmed using a graphical programming language on an Android device. This solution can bring about quick and flexible system deployments, especially in cases where the system's requirements change over time or depend on the deployment environment, during which the staff or end-users can modify the software easily.
 

Index Terms—flexible platform, RS485 network, industrial applications.

Cite: Phan Duy Hung, Vu Van Chin, Nguyen Thanh Chinh, and Ta Duc Tung, "A Flexible Platform for Industrial Applications Based on RS485 Networks," Journal of Communications vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 245-255, March 2020. Doi: 10.12720/jcm.15.3.245-255

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