microRTS – MICROSENS Switches Merge PLC Technology with the IT World

The virtual automation solution by MICROSENS replaces increasingly rigid, conventional automation concepts of the past with flexibly scalable software. Following its room automation integration, MICROSENS has now fully integrated the automation layer into the Ethernet infrastructure, as well. The microRTS now supports all PLC control features. After lighting, air conditioning, and security technology, industrial and building automation applications can now also be implemented directly within the IP network.

microRTS provides building planners with increased flexibility and planning reliability. By integrating the automation layer into the network, the classical sections at work are reallocated and minimised within the building plan.

Unique in the Automation Sector

In combination with the PLC runtime system microRTS, the development platform microSys represents an automation sector solution that is unique in the world. The PC-based engineering tool microSys is a software platform for the creation of control applications for industrial and building automation.

The microRTS runtime system embeds the automation layer into the switch firmware and allows companies to effortlessly combine redundant IT solutions with the flexibility of a user-programmable PLC system. This leads to future-proof approaches for security-relevant applications such as those used in smoke extraction technologies, security lighting, or stairway pressurisation systems.

Reducing Planning Costs

Design and setup of automation systems are among the biggest cost factors of modern buildings. During the investment phase, cost- and time-intensive planning steps are often very hard to calculate and are prone to errors. The new planning approach offered by MICROSENS mitigates these problems from the past and provides planners with more freedom. Merging the automation and network layers reduces both the cabling effort and the switch cabinet section, including associated installation costs.

This consistent continuation of the MICROSENS concept is also reflected on the field layer. To allow users to control field devices directly within the IP network, the corresponding modules are equipped with a Smart I/O Controller, which assumes both control and information transfer functions in the data network. Thanks to PoE+ technology, the controller is fed with data and powered through the network.